Lacquer Removal and Bare Alloy Protection

[jae]

The lacquer on my alloys started to lift a few months ago, one of those unfortunate side effects of having my tyres replaced (checked with the fitters, it's just sod's law that the grip point for their tyre machine is exactly ninety degrees to the laquer/alloy edge).

Anyway, the laquer has now started to flake in addition to having big areas where shite has crept in and discoloured.

So, a couple of questions as I do not have the funds for a refurb at the moment. When the alloys were refurbished, they were primed then painted and laquered on the outer dish and lip only.

Can I just crack the lacquer off? (Tedious, but better than unsightly black marks all round and easier than wheel dismantling to get the lacquer under the spoke mounts.)

Does the paint require special care beyond weekly wheel cleaning?

Finally, when they are refurbed again I intend to get them done bare metal and polished before some custom etching is done. Are there decent bare metal protection products on the market? (Alex @ SP, I'm looking at you ).

[jae]

Errrr... No takers? Blimey.

[s2gtr]

Hi jae,

Maybe not the answer you are looking for? But here is what Abbey sorted for me

The alloy is bare, all I do is clean them with Autoglym alloy wheel cleaner & then apply duraglit. Still look as good today as when they were done

Dave

[jae]

Hi Dave

So they've been refurbished to plain metal? Excellent. Now to go find some money... Oh, bugger. Still need to eat occasionally.

[RedHotGTR]

Jae

Food is for the weak !
Now where's my Cornish Pastie.

[lynchy]

I've had a bit of experience with split rims with polished lip that I did a bit of a DIY refurb and got a couple of pointers for you. If you're gonna run the wheels without any protection you'll have to be very careful with road salt. If it gets onto the wheels it will corrode them badly within hours. I would say just don't use the car when there is any chance the roads have been gritted. You can get a protective sealant that is applied to the wheel after cleaning that may give some protection.

You can buy a clear lacquer from Frost restoration. I've used it myself and it's pretty good, but as soon as you get even the slightest break in the surface, water will get in and it will start to lift. If there's only a small area where the lacquer is damaged you could maybe patch it up with the lacquer from Frost before corrosion sets in.

Best of luck

[andyneed4speed]

I had lacquer cancer and kerbing damage and wore my fingers to the bone filing and wet and dry back to bare metal then autoglym metal polish. This was a few months ago and they still come up shiny after a normal shampoo wash with the odd quick re-polish with autoglym. However, hadn't any salt on them yet - roll on winter

I'd also like to know if there's a good protective product to put over the bare metal shine. A good wax might do it if nothing else?

[Alex Creasey]

Sorry so late on seeing this.....

I had a new set of Kei's that I had refurbed when new to a colour I liked but had the lips machined and left bare. As above, if you're out in crap weather at least give them a quick rinse when you get in, it will save (hopefully) getting the metal polish out next time you clean them... That said, I still had to use metal polish on them say once every 4-6 weeks.

Metal polishes that give protection... Something like Meg's NXT Metal Polysh or Finish Kare Metal Polish.

Better cutting metal polishes if they need a serious bit of TLC... Finish Kare Metal Polish or good old Autosol.

If you want a decent product to protect wheels then a sealant as opposed to a wax will give better protection as they aren't as affected by the heat / crap that wheels have to endure. A sealant won't stop stuff settling on the wheels but will make cleaning alot easier and will protect as much as possible against the elements... Products wise I'd look at Poorboys Wheel Sealant, Finish Kare 1000P Hi-Temp Sealant or even my Own SP Polymer Sealant.

Hope that helps .