I'm new on this forum and have found it to be adictive with all the great information and advise. I picked up a set of 80's vintage aluminum bullit wheels (Cragar's) for the coupe...wheels look bitch'n but the previous owner kind of f#*^&d them up by trying to clean them and really messed up the clear coat finish. Black stains in every nook and cranny. I had wheels glass bead blasted and for clear coat I don't know if i should polish wheels prior to new clear coat (and if so, with what?) or to leave blasted profile for the clear coat. As you all can tell, I am anything but a painter.
hehehehehehehhehee at the tinman. ok, i'll bite, polish em if ya want, or have em powdercoated whatever color/look your going for and then high gloss powder clear for a top coat.
like I said, i don't know shit about paint/finishing...I do have some experience with industrial coating systems and the need for a "profile" or ''tooth" to bond the new finish to. that was the nature of my question. I was un-aware of a clear powder coat top finish
Clear is used to preserve a mirror gloss finish, not create it. So, if you want your wheels to look new, you first need to polish the aluminum to a mirror finish. Search for info on polishing aluminum, and you will find clear finishes developed specifically for this.
I had a similar set of wheels that I cleaned up, about 30 years ago. I took them into work and the painter use a urethane clear on them, they looked great. Then I traded them to another friend and he put them on his car, about a year later the clear started flaking off of them. He had a hell of a time getting all of the clear off them; then he just kept them cleaned and polished.
keeping them cleaned and polished really is the best way otherwise things start turning ugly over a period of time.Just like the man above said!
That is false. If you spray clear coat over "flat black" it will create a shine, or more shine than there was before clear coat.
I ran into the same problem with a set of aluminum rims. I took coarse steel wool and scrubbed them down, to get the old flaking clear coat off. Then used fine steel wool and cleaned them up. Gave it a brushed look. Just remember to go in the same direction or you'll have swirls. Used black brake caliper paint for the spokes. Turned out looking better than I thought. Hope this helps.
Hoped this thread would take off. I have a set of aluminum wheels that are going on a work truck. What I've been thinking is perhaps have them soda blasted and then clear powdercoated. Not going for a polished look just a uniform finish. Sand would be too aggressive, beads too fine to get rid of the deeper corrosion, IMO. Don't think any spray on clearcoat would hold up on a daily driver let alone tire changes. I polished out a set of factory S10 alloy wheels several years ago. Thought they looked real good. Had them clearcoated, it magnified all the flaws in polish job. Still looked good five foot away, but wrecked them up close. Didn't keep the truck long enough to know how it held up.
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