Zora's Brother Joe

I am in the process of stripping the clear coat on a set of 2002 factory polished aluminum wheels option QF5 the reason is the clearcoat is damaged I have stirpped and polised one wheel about 4-5 hrs. they look great since the car is only used for the fair weather months would coats of wax work ? I know that clear coat is the way to go , was just wondering if the non clear coated wheels hold up just as well .???

$$$frumnuttin'

Very common....many aftermarket 3 piece wheels exist with bare aluminum...maintenance is high...you will need to polish often with a special polish that removes the oxides, but it is worth it if you have time and energy to keep them at their best.

dadaroo

Several people here are running without the clear coat. They are also garage kept cars and they are having great luck. One said he could go a year withut needing to do and touchup with an aluminum polish. If you clearcoat then the wheel will not be as "bright" as the natural finish. This Summer I plan to strip mine, polish, and run them without a clearcoat. You can always clearcoat them again in the future if you want.

Evil-Twin

May people run non clear coated wheels. I've had My CCW 505 for 12 years. I'm retired and have time to care for them. I don't take the car out in bad weather, so that is an advantage. I spend about 8 hours twice a year keeping them looking as good as new. I put about 5000 miles a year on my car.
I have 75,000 miles on these wheels.

lionelhutz

Bare polished wheels are look great and work great for a garage queen but they suck on a car that sees bad weather. Polish and keep waxing them and they stand up not too bad but they are difficult to keep clean. I've been debating painting everything but the front faces and outer barrel of my 505a's so they are easier to keep clean.

Cliff8928

This is definitely making me want to send my set of 19/20 HREs to the powder coater before they even go on the car.

Zora's Brother Joe

I was thinking of powder coating them clear , has any one powder coated there wheels ? pro's con's?

SaberD

one advantage to not applying a coating is that fixing minor curb rash is a peice of cake.

Although I would never run a set of wheels in the rain that didn't have a coating. Nor would I run them on the track where they will be exposed to melted rubber peices flinging everywhere and tons of brake dust.

skyavonee

corvetteforum.com/c5-general/has-anyone-applied-a-clear-powder-coat-to-aftermarket-aluminum-wheels.html

sainthinds

Look i stripped mine and they are a mother to take care of. When u wash the car you have to fully dry the wheels then go over them with a polishing cloth .

$$$frumnuttin'

There is quite an ECHO in here.....