Polishing Fuchs/sealant?
#1
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I am almost done with all my wheels of sanding down to get a nice mirror finish and polishing. I was wondering if there is anything you can put on the wheels to keep them sealed besides just the polish? I just did the lip of the wheels, not the whole wheel. My first wheel took 20 hours, 2nd took 18 hours, after that I went to using easy off on the lip to get the clear coat off compared to 60 grit and going up from there. On my 3rd wheel, using the easy off method, I took the clear coat off in 2 hours compared to 10 hours before, and spent 2 hours sanding from 400 grit, 600grit, 1000grit, 1500grit up to 2000grit then polish of 2 hours. So, I have about 6 hours into my 3rd wheel and I am pretty much done with it. After I am done I will post some pictures.
#2
Hey Man
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I use a good polymer product like Zaino, Dri Wash, or Rejex. Wax on polished aluminum just seems to attract and embed brake dust and dirt. The polymers work great and acts sort of like Teflon, stuff just doesn't stick as well and washes of very easily. The Rejex would be my first choice...do not try to clear coat them it will not stick, no anchor profile to bond to on polished aluminum.
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i dont mean to steal the thread..but is polishing fuchs the same as polishing cookie cutters? (time wise)
over the years from mechanics putting the tire weights ON the lip >:O, it developed really gross, brown, stains. i really want to repolish these
over the years from mechanics putting the tire weights ON the lip >:O, it developed really gross, brown, stains. i really want to repolish these
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How much would getting the power coated clear cost for a place to do? Would they still look like as shinny as they are now or would they get a haze over them?
#6
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ive seen some that were clear coated and they looked great, like a factory finish. I was planning on doing that to my club sport wheels when i take the tires off. If you just want to leave it polished, sounds dumb but i always used some armor all. I would spray the heck out of the tires and wipe it on the rims while cleaning them off, just wipe off the haze. It doesnt really protect them BUT when brake dust etc gets on them it sticks to the armor all instead of the metal. Then you can wipe them or spray them off and recoat them whenever. It does attract alittle more dust than without it but at least it doesnt stick as much.
#7
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Personally I would never apply a non OE powder coat (color or clear) to a set of Fuchs. There are too many things to go wrong such as excessive oven temp, caustic wash contamination, and structural degradation of the wheel itself. I know people have done this but in this case he has already polished the lips to a mirror finish. To clear PC the wheel at this point they will need to chemically tank it and that will damage his colored spoke finish and cloud the once nice polished lip. The Fuchs are forged and coated under very strict conditions at the factory...will your powder coater do the same? Even though PC is a very tough finish, powder coating can not be touched up like a painted finish when the inevitable chips happen. Take into consideration what happens to the wheel if that oven gets hotter than anticipated. It just isn't worth the risk in my opinion for any structurally loaded aluminum alloy part unless you can document and monitor the entire process.
Here's an interesting response to PC on motorcycle parts.
YMMV
Here's an interesting response to PC on motorcycle parts.
"Found your article most enlightening. A metallurgist friend told me a few years ago that things like aluminum wheel spindles should not be powder coated. He explained that aluminum billet material (6061-T6 ?) changed crystal structure at a critical temperature around 410 degrees F (as I recall). The thrust was that the heating step would adversely affect the strength of the material. Non-structural components would be OK, but not something that "holds the spokes on". The metallurgist is correct. Products like wheel billets, scuba tanks, etc. can be powder coated, but only with powders which cure below peak metal temperature of 300 degrees F. The magic temperature is about 275F. The crystalline realignment at 400 degrees F causes the previous ductile aluminum to become brittle. Imagine the catastrophe when an 80 cu. ft. scuba tank explodes under 3000 psi pressure after an unauthorized powder coat (this actually happened). To my knowledge, all Aluminum wheels and other strength-critical aluminum components are powder coated with these cooler curing powders.
Heating Al alloys above this temperature causes a granular rearrangement of the metallurgical structure resulting in a significant change of bulk properties. The tensile strength of the metal is dramatically lowered, much like a stress relief anneal on a steel piece would do. The resultant metal is not as strong, nor will
pressure vessels made of such treated aluminum (e.g., scuba tanks) hold near
the pressure that they were originally rated for. Since wheels are essentially load-bearing structures, they should never be heated like this unless the alloy is known to tolerate it well.
Heating Al alloys above this temperature causes a granular rearrangement of the metallurgical structure resulting in a significant change of bulk properties. The tensile strength of the metal is dramatically lowered, much like a stress relief anneal on a steel piece would do. The resultant metal is not as strong, nor will
pressure vessels made of such treated aluminum (e.g., scuba tanks) hold near
the pressure that they were originally rated for. Since wheels are essentially load-bearing structures, they should never be heated like this unless the alloy is known to tolerate it well.
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#8
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I don't recommend clear coat or powder coat. After several years experience with polished Fuchs and other polished alloys, the approach that works best for me is to maintain the wheels with periodic cleaning and polishing only.
You might want to consider ZoopSeal or various brands of wax/sealants but all my aluminum wheels are maintained with Mother's.
You might want to consider ZoopSeal or various brands of wax/sealants but all my aluminum wheels are maintained with Mother's.
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Based on information from one of my aerospace buddies, my understanding is that you have to put something on it, poly sealer, clear coat, etc., especially considering where we live. Dirt, brake dust and road salt can get into the grain structure and cause intergranular oxidation which can lead to cracking. This would be an even bigger concern if they were cast wheels.
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Thanks everyone, that is what I was going to do anyways, just looking to see if there was anything better and longer lasting. Is mothers just a polisher or does it protect at all? That is what I use to get the mirror shin out of them. When the weather turn Manning, I can swing by and you can see them.
#11
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If you only removed the anodizing/clear coat on the lips you might want to try this Everbrite product over the polished areas. I've heard some good things about from truckers with nice wheels and maintenance people maintaing exterior bright work on buildings. Sounds pretty interesting and is hand applied.
http://everbrite.net/how-to-apply-on...-or-brass.html
http://everbrite.net/how-to-apply-on...-or-brass.html
Last edited by KuHL 951; 02-14-2006 at 04:59 PM.
#12
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I have done two sets of fuchs and a polished aluminum lip on my jeep. On all of these wheels, after full polishing, i applied two coats of Wurth clear laquer. The first coat very thin, will look kinda bumpy. Second coat somewhat thick to fill in the first coat. Loses a very tiny bit of its shine, but looks excellent. I have never had to take a wheel brush to my wheels. I use an old wash mitt, car soap, and hose em off. They all look perfect after over a year, with no maintenance. Just make sure the wheels are not cold(will make the clear look like milk, oops.)
#14
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If u want them shinnier spray some WD-40 on them while sanding and you get a sick shine. My method after taking off the clear was 800 grit WD-40 and 1200 grit and WD-40 here are the results. Actually this is about 6 months after so you can imagine how shinny they really where. I finished with polishing them with Mothers Mag Polish with newspaper. Think they came out ok.
http://djnarush.com/test/testcfrjan/35.jpg
http://djnarush.com/test/testcfrjan/35.jpg