Polished wheel care

[Zach5.9CTD]

Hey guys. Just purchased a new set of polished (uncoated i believe) aluminum wheels for my hot rod truck. Wanting to protect them asap when i receive them. I was wondering if i can use the adams ceramic spray coating on the face and barrel of the wheels without concern. Also whats the best method to prep them for coating if im able to coat them and whats best method for care afterwards.  Thanks and heres a pic of the wheels. 

[Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin]

Hi Zach, nice wheels. 

Yes, the Ceramic Spray Coating is suitable on wheels. However, you may want to look into the Wheel Coating kit as it leaves a much thicker much more robust protection that will last for years. Ceramic Spray Coating will last for probably one year.

Process in coating the wheels would be dependent on a few things.

Have you been driving with them already? If you have you'll want to do a full cleaning with Eco Wheel Cleaner/Wheel cleaner and likely use a claybar to remove any additional contaminants that the Wheel Cleaner couldn't get. You want them to be completly free or any dirt, grime and contaminants before you coat them. If they need to be re polished do that. Then use surface prep to remove any polishing oils or anythings else left over on the finish, this is a critical step and paves the way for the coating to truly bond to the surface. Then apply your coating, and allow to cure.

 

Maintenence would mainly be using something like Car Shampoo in your bucket with your wheel tools to clean the wheels, and every once in a while using Eco Wheel Cleaner/Wheel Cleaner to get any stubborn contaminants off. But for the most part, just using car shampoo should do a good job of cleaning them since the coating will not allow dirt and grime to stick. Every 4-6 weeks you'll want to use a ceramic infused product to maintain the wheels after you have cleaned them. So you would clean them and after they are clean apply either Ceramic Boost or CS3 or H20 Guard and Gloss.

[Zach5.9CTD]

Ah ok. But ceramics are ok on raw polished aluminum?

[Bscott94]

4 minutes ago, Zach5.9CTD said:

Ah ok. But ceramics are ok on raw polished aluminum?

I talked to a company that does Clear Bra and ceramic coating and the owner said that Ceramic on Raw Aluminum doesn't work. Aluminum will corrode under the ceramic and then it will be harder to polish. He suggested trying clear powder coating but wasn't sure if that would work either. Raw Aluminum sucks and the only way to keep them clean is to wash and polish regularly. 

[shane@detailedreflections]

Out of curiosity, take some fine metal polish to the wheels. See if it comes to grey instantly. If it doesn’t, they’re clear coated. Most (not all) aluminum wheels are clear coated due to maintenance issues. 
 

That being said, you can polish, seal and ceramic if you’d like. But no matter what raw aluminum wheels will need regular maintenance or they will look horrible and possibly be ruined. 

[Zach5.9CTD]

Ok. Well their still being shipped so i cant do any testing yet. 

[Rich]

I want pictures of them on your truck!!  

[Zach5.9CTD]

10-4 rich. 

[Zach5.9CTD]

It is confirmed the wheels are raw. Knowing that with moving forward now what precautionary steps should i take to avoid damaging the finish through cleaning or protecting them. 

[Gustavo214]

On 2/11/2020 at 12:40 PM, Zach5.9CTD said:

Hey guys. Just purchased a new set of polished (uncoated i believe) aluminum wheels for my hot rod truck. Wanting to protect them asap when i receive them. I was wondering if i can use the adams ceramic spray coating on the face and barrel of the wheels without concern. Also whats the best method to prep them for coating if im able to coat them and whats best method for care afterwards.  Thanks and heres a pic of the wheels. 

I just bought some new American forces and had them ceramic coated with they’re product and just today I went to wash them for the first time using they’re wheel and tire cleaner and they stained my wheels terribly bad I am supppppppeer pissseeed stay away from these products I will be giving them a call first thing tomorrow morning.

[BRZN]

I do feel for you, these can be made to look like new again.

What I put on your other post:

 

"First off, Ceramic Coated wheels shouldn't need a product any stronger than Adam's Eco Wheel Cleaner.

 

The Tire & Wheel Cleaner is some really aggressive stuff. Use it with caution! It's awesome for cleaning nasty tires, and does a pretty good job at cleaning wheels. As with all Adam's tire and wheel cleaners; APC, Eco APC, Tire & Rubber Cleaner, Wheel Cleaner, Eco Wheel Cleaner, and Tire & Wheel Cleaner use them on a wheel that's been rinsed of heavy debris with water, out of the sun, on a cool wheel, and DO NOT let the product dry on the tire or wheel. Once you believe you have them rinse thoroughly, rinse them again.

 

Start your wash job with the wheels and tires first. By doing this you can spray them with clear water again as you clean the vehicle. Spray the Tire & Wheel Cleaner on the wet wheel first, and then on the tire. Start by cleaning the wheel, then move on to the wet tire, making sure the wheel is still damp with either water or more product. Once the tire is scrubbed clean, rinse both the wheel and tire. Make sure the lug holes have been rinsed clear of product. If any chemical remains in the lug holes it'll drip out, and down across the wheel and tire, possibly staining both.

 

Metal Polish #'s 1 & 2 should clean up your wheels."

 

* Edit

I just thought of something. If those wheels have been Ceramic Coated correctly; cleaned, Surface Prep, Ceramic Wheel Coating, and allowed to cure properly, those stains may very well be on the coating, not on the wheel itself. Brilliant Glaze may get the stains off, or try Adam's new Hand Polish first. The Metal Polishes will most likely remove the Ceramic Coating. You'll know if the coating's gone if your applicator or towel turn black.

 

These raw billet aluminum wheels were cleaned with Adam's Tire & Rubber Cleaner last fall. The picture is just before I began to give them their yearly polishing.

The products work well when the correct amount of care and caution is taken.

Remember the original Deep Wheel Cleaner? The red stuff? The blue Wheel Cleaner we have now is not as strong as the red stuff. Please read the label instructs and follow them to the letter, so more chemicals, like the Tire & Wheel Cleaner don't have to be diluted.

Edited April 15, 2020 by BRZN