Clearcoat aluminum wheels?

[Noozer]

I've got some new wheels for my car. They're polished aluminum. Before I mount them on my car I'd like to put a clearcoat on them.

What kind of coating will stick well to polished aluminum? Would I be better off taking it to a shop and having it done professionally?

[<aemeijers]

You&#39;ll probably get better and more accurate answers over in one of the rec.autos.* groups.

But having had similar wheels that came on used cars before- I&#39;m reasonably certain there is a factory clearcoat already on them. And yes, it is subject to pitting from road debris, curb rash, acid rain, and so on. There are companies that advertise in the back of the car magazines that do wheel repair- they walnut-shell or similar soft-media blast the wheels, repolish, and recoat. If these are brand new, I&#39;d just try to keep them clean and waxed, be careful of curbs and chuckholes, and let it go at that.

aem sends...

[Noozer]

Thanks... Trying there right now.

According to the American Racing website (These are Baja style, aluminum and not chrome) these may just be bare aluminum:

I figured that someone here might know if there is any real difference between the clearcoat the pro shops use and what comes out of an aerosol can. I&#39;d be willing to toss each wheel into the over for 15 minutes after a spray coat, but I don&#39;t think anything would really stick to polished aluminum.

[hallerb]

Note when the weather changes and you get a flat!

Alunimimum rusts by corroding at the tire bead its sealing surface. Turns to white dust and ttire loses air and ultimately goes flat:(

My wifes car had this trouble one nite she drove on the flat anway and ruined the wheel , bad place to break down and pouring rain. couldnt get a matching one that day so bought a steel one, and busy didnt get around to replacing fancy wheel, broke at the time..........

anyhow within 6 months all other tires went flat, except steel wheel which never lost any air.

tire store showed me the white powder area said the wire brush and use sealer but it just reoccurs.

bought new tires and all steel wheels flat trouble ended. it was most noticeable at weather change time.

something anyone with fancy chrome wheels need to be aware of............

[Richard J Kinch]

Are they not already coated? Typically they are.

[indago]

I have the polished aluminum wheels on my car, and every spring I polish them with Turtle Wax Chrome Polish, using a towel type cloth. Don&#39;t let any road salt accumulate on them for very long. My car is five years old, and still looks like a new car, and so do the wheels.

[<aemeijers]

Chuckle. Every car I&#39;ve ever had with fancy cast wheels had the &#39;slow leak when weather changed&#39; problem. I&#39;d never pay extra for fancy wheels, but since I buy used cars (not being a rich man), I don&#39;t get much of a choice- the car has what is has. Never could bring myself to pay 50 bucks a wheel to change to (new) steel ones, and since I have a day job and the junkyards around here aren&#39;t open Saturday, chasing down used ones for 30 bucks a wheel didn&#39;t seem worth the bother, since they are usually rusty anyway.

aem sends...

[Larry Bud]

They make clearcoat for aluminum. Do you have a sprayer? I wouldn&#39;t buy the out of the can stuff.

BUT--In my experience, if they don&#39;t already have a clearcoat, I would leave them natural. Just get some "Mothers Aluminum Polish" and polish them up a couple of times a year. I do that for my &#39;86 Vette. I&#39;ve tried to clearcoat the wheels, but they don&#39;t last more than 3 years or so without flaking off. If you don&#39;t want to build your biceps, you can get a polish kit that works with your drill.

[Noozer]

This is what I&#39;ve decided to do... Now I just need to figure out which polish/wax will give the best protection.