clear coat on polished fuchs.....anyone?

H20911 · 12-11-2001, 03:51 PM

So I finished the polishing on the front rims and I am going to get the tires put on this Friday (the Kumho 225/45-16 are now on order).

Has anyone used clear coat on thier rims after polishing with good results? I emailed Eastwood and they replied that they have replaced the "clear coat barrier" that they once carried for another product called "Diamond clear" . They said that it can be used over the painted and polished metal......though it will dull sightly. Really not sure how much sightly is.........anyone?

I really do not want to spend more time with buffing wheels ......10 hours a wheel is enough and I still have 2 more rims to go.

any help appreciated

steve

xtianw · 12-11-2001, 04:59 PM

POR 15 makes a great product guaranteed not to dull or yellow.

www.rustpaint.com

gr8fl4porsche · gr8fl4porsche's Garage

I would love to see some pics of those wheels!!!!!

An automotive acrylic clear coat shoud bond fine as long
as the wheels don't have any compound left on them from the
polishing. Do a solvent wipe of the same solvent used to reduce the clear.

I don't know why the clear would dull as all new cars these days have clear coats. Maybe the abuse from road debris and brake dust would dull it but wax should bring it back around.

Sherwin Williams Automotive top line products have worked great for me in the past - although slightly expensive.

Technically, corrosion can develop beneath the coating by a process called 'undercutting' in which rust and oxidation can grow
when substrate is not totally encapsulated - and sometimes when it is - most coating applications contain some microscopic pinholes.

Go for it - worst case you remove it with stripper years down the road and do it again.

don911 · don911's Garage

Steve,

I have polished fuchs on my car. I haven't re-polished my wheels in a year and a half. If you clean and dry the wheels often, you shouldn't have to re-polish very often...and once the initial polish is done, shining them up doesn't take long. I spent less than an hour/wheel when I did it.
I would be afraid a clear coat would chip off. If it starts to chip, it will be a pain in the a@# to get off.
My .02 is to polish and go.

bhaubold · 12-11-2001, 07:57 PM

I could be mistaken but, can't the wheels be powder coated clear? It seems to me I once heard of boat hardware being clear powder coated.

H20911 · 12-11-2001, 08:23 PM

thanks to all. I will check with the leads given.
steve

H20911 · 12-11-2001, 08:33 PM

oops! the color on the inside will match the car (instead of black) thanks again
steve

CamB · CamB's Garage

You should at least investigate getting them anodised (before painting!) then you get to smear vasoline on them every so often.

An industrial anodiser would probably be cheaper, but might require a little persuasion to do a small job. Maybe Beer.

Cam

MBlake · 12-12-2001, 01:42 AM

I agree with Don911.

I have fully polished wheels on mine with no coating. The car is kept clean, and the wheels have only required a full polish once in a year (30 to 40 min per rim). This year, I have decided to spray with WD40 light oil over the winter months, so that the polishing time will probably be even less come spring!

89911 · 12-12-2001, 06:19 AM

Clear coating bare metal in a highly prone area is not a good idea. One rock and the area will leave a blemish there for good. The bond between a highly polished surface and a finish, be it clear coating, powder coating, etc. is never going to be a strong as a bond between clear coating and the last finish of a base coat. The best way to bond a finish onto your rims would be to roughen that surface up enough to increase surface area and bond strength. My Fikse wheels have a factory placed clearcoating on the center spokes and there are several chips were one small stone may of hit. Polishing is actually the easiest maintenance you can do on the car. No vaseline or spotting on anodized rims. Hit them with Mothers bare metal polish, Wenol, or Cotton wadding and then polish when you wax the car. They do not tarnish readily also from the hardness of the forged aluminum.

Jdub · 12-12-2001, 06:43 AM

I have to agree with '89 above: chips etc. will detract from your work.

Do you like the bright shiny look, or are you OK with a slight dullness? If the latter, then have them properly anodized. However, as a polisher of alloy on British motorcycles, I can tell you that I love to polish my stripped and polished FUCHs. Every time I apply the rouge I get a better and better finish, and they are pretty near chrome now. So you can continue to "refine" your work over the years!

That's what I'd do.
John

sweater914 · 12-12-2001, 08:13 AM

i don't know what the fuchs are made of steel or aluminum, but now that you've got them polished like that keeping them that way won't be to hard, i use a product called Rolite on the propeller for my dad's airplane, if you keep it dry the shine lasts indefinitely, you can find Rolite at www.aircraftspruce.com, when a clear coat starts to chip off you'll be kicking yourself, hope this helps

Don Wohlfarth · 12-12-2001, 02:52 PM

I have polished Fuchs on my SC. Had them done 10-12 yrs ago. No coating of any kind. Car is not daily driver and is garage kept.
Past winter repainted the centers because of stone chips. Keep the wheels clean and repolish once a yr, 30 min per wheel. Don't let brake dust get wet and sit on wheels as it will etch them.
Brake dust is slightly acidic.

H20911 · 12-12-2001, 04:48 PM

thanks to all,
I have decided to go with "mothers polish" and just hit them when they need it.

Don, I grew up in fairfax about a mile from Fair Oaks mall ( back it was a golf course)....... saw the mall being built before moving the golf across the street.

Back in the early 80's, I use to street race in Annandale, fallschurch..... etc. In a 71 buick GS 455 stage 1 conv..........Ah, those were the days

steve