PERRYinLA

I just got a new set of the OEM 10-spoke "wagon wheel" SC rims, and after a bit of scrubbing with a Scotch-brite pad and Comet cleanser, the inside of the wheels look a lot better (pic below). I'd like to treat that first inch or two of the inside (the part sometimes visible thru the spokes) to stay that way as long as possible, so I am wondering what's the best treatment. My goal is to have some sort of smooth surface that could be easily be cleaned of brake dust/road grime.

PoorBoys Wheel Sealant seems very popular, but this inside area is raw alloy, as far as I can tell, and PoorBoys Wheel Sealant may be more suitable for treated surfaces.


Or I could spray some clear coat, but again, maybe clear coat is more suitable for primed, or painted surfaces.

I am trying to avoid go through all the steps I'd follow for the exterior of the wheel if I was to paint it, which is to prime, paint, wet sand and clear coat, for example. I know that would work, though.

Guitarman

Perry, the *best* solution would be to have them clear powder coated, but that's slightly more expensive and involves taking the rims to someone to do it, unless you have your own oven and some clear plastic powercoat.

So..spraying clearcoat enamel is the 2nd best thing, but there's a catch there too..

Shaker can clear is uncatalyzed. meaning it has no hardener, and it wouldn't be all that durable. It would hold up for a while yes, but chances are you'd need to do it again in time.

The better choice is to spay some 2k urethane clear, the same stuff that's on all our cars (those with clearcoat that is). It will cure harder faster and is very durable. It's only problematic if you;
A. Don't have a spray gun
B. Don't have a compressor
C. Don't have a positive pressure breathing system to avoid getting sick from the diisocyanates in the hardener. They are nothing to mess with really. One last problem is they aren't available to the general public in some states.

It's probably academic that the shaker can variety is your only feasable choice for ease of use and cost, unless you can answer to A, B and C. Either way, you need to degrease and scuff the metal with 800 grit wetsandpaper. If you used a Scotchbrite pad though, you may be able to skip the scuff step, but it never hurts to be sure and wetsand anyway. You want a good bond and that will help.


One other option is Zoopseal, but it ain't cheap either, take a look FWIW;

http://www.zoops.com/product-listing.asp?ID=15

It's very good stuff if you can swing it. Those are the only *permanent* barriers to seal the metal I can think of. Good luck whatever you decide.

PERRYinLA

Wow, you ain't kidding on the expense of zoopseal! And yeah, a nice thick glossy slippery layer of clear powdercoat would be ideal, but of course way outta my budget.

After an evening of research on www.autopia.org (including some of your posts!), I decided to go with Dupli-Color ($15):



I continued the Scotch-brite/steel wool/Comet/wire brush/sandpaper routine along the inside surfaces until I hit the point of diminishing returns. After masking, the wheels looked like this:



I then followed the Dupli-Color routine detailed at http://www.duplicolor.com/projects/howto_wheel.html, with the added steps of prepping the surface with mineral spirits, then spraying 2 coats of Dupli-Color CP199 Adhesion Promoter. It was quite a bit of work (4 coats of WP102 silver, and 4 coats of WP103 clear), but now the inside surface is shiny and chrome-like when viewed through the spokes- quite an improvement over the flat-black patina of grime that was there before:



However, as the before/after comparison below shows, the original finish on the OEM wheel is not much different from what the above procedure provides. So anyone looking to save some work can skip the WP102 step and go directly to using whatever sealant/clear coat they wish. I only painted mine to get rid of some blemishes that would not sand out.



How long this will last and how easy future cleanings will be is the big question mark- I guess we will have to see!

LB Lex

Wow, they look brand new! You did a really great job on it, thanks for the right-up I was thinking of doing something like that to the inside of my stock chrome 17's because they seem to be really porous, which causes it to hold a lot of brake dust and grime. Sanding it down and putting on a layer of clear makes it look new and makes it harder for dirt to stick to it.

Guitarman

Man, that looks truly great. Kudos.

It just goes to show that sometimes the product isn't always the most important factor, the hard work that goes into it is key. Thanks for the pics!