Remove clear powdercoat from rims?

[jk]

Are there any cons to doing this? I am getting my factory rims repaired/repolished and I understand without the clear powdercoat the rims will be more reflective. The powdercoat seems to add a slightly milky look to the polish. I know a lot of aftermarket rims (HRE, etc) come fully polished without a clear powdercoat, so is there a downside to not having the factory rims clear powdercoated? More maintenance?

Also, are all year Viper factory rims finished with a clear powdercoat?

Thanks

 

[v10kingsnake]

use a product called ZOOP after the wheels are polished to prevent having to repolish these every time you go out, they sat it lasts for 2 years but i would suggest to apply every year. you will be fine with out the clear, unless the car is outdoor kept or you live near the ocean, then you may want to consider the protection the clear gives. hope this helps.

 

[Ulysses]

w/o the clear, there is definitely A LOT more maintenance.

 

[jk]

Ulysses,
By maintenance do you mean you need to physically repolish the rims periodically, or are you talking more about just keeping a good zanio polish on the rims? Right now, I do a brake dust wipe down quite often, but if I have to break out a random orbital polisher every weekend, then that is definitely too much!

 

[Ulysses]

Yeah, without a sealer like ZOOP, the wheels oxidize real fast. You're always polishing the wheels. I've heard good things about ZOOP.

 

[pullshard]

The rims on my porsche are powerder coated black. You must polish them or they will fade, and pick up other gunk just like paint on your car-just not as bad. That's the first thing the painter said tme.

 

[onerareviper]

The milky white appearance of your OEM rims is (for the most part) fine scratches in the clear coat. Try this: Buy some 3M swirl mark remover. Apply with small terry rag. Buff fast and hard to create some heat. Buff of any remaining residue. Works like a champ!

P.S. - Unless you have a garage queen, I would not recommend removing the clear. If you can't get rid of the milky appearance, just get them chromed. Only a few hundred more bucks and sooooo easy to maintain.

My .02

 

[onerareviper]

I never new the OEM rims were POWDER coated clear. I though they were just sprayed with clear. Is the powder coating more durable?

 

[Jerry Scott[CO]]

I think that the stock rims are only coated with a clear lacquer and not powder coat. Powder coating is applied as a spray-on powder then heated in an oven to melt it into a smooth coating. It is much more durable than lacquer and will not be damaged by brake dust as is the case with lacquer.

To have your wheels powder coated, you will need to have the lacquer stripped and the wheel repolished if you want to keep the same polished look.

I recently (2 years ago) had a set of aluminum Audi wheels powder coated with a grey coating that was very similar to the original paint. They sand blasted the rims to remove the old paint and did not have to repolish since the finish was a grey color. Cleaning them after driving in bad weather is a breeze, since brake dust does not stick to the coating and it easily blows off with a power washer.
Jerry

 

[XS TORQ]

Jerry,
Far be it from me to argue with you, as you have been a very valuable source for me on this site since WAY back on the old board...
BUT.... I am pretty sure the wheels are powder coated clear.
I am doing some hunting to see if I have the info in my archives, but I'd lay 10:1 that they are powder coated.

 

[RedEnuf93]

Send them to CALCHROME to be chromed.
No more polishing EVER!!! Or clearcoat.

 

[Bernard]

Chrome for street wheels, whatever else for the track.

 

[kverges]

Plate the wheels; the cost is not much more than a polish and clear coat and the finish is far more durable and reflective. On aluminum wheels, there is no hydrogen embrittlement, either.

Downside is if the plating is not perfect or you curb a wheel, the plating will come off in a hurry and can't be touched up. A slight scratch in a polished wheel can be sanded then polished out.