jim dorociak

Well guys looking for some input from the group. I have a set of OZ 3 piece wheels that I have restored and are almost ready to reassemble. Question is do I clear coat the centers and outer rims or just bolt together in their polished state and buff from time to time to keep looking good? I have read about clear powder coat and wondered if anyone here has used this material and how satisfied they were with the results.

I want the best result.

Jim

Jim Howley

Hi Jim,

Finally all coming together now? I would clear coat them, my mechanic had a set of 3 piece wheels on his 993 and the clear coat started to peel in some areas. Once he had stripped the rest of the clear coat off he had to polish them once a month to keep them looking reasonable.

CWay27

Clear coat or else you'll be polishing every second week. Even rain stains them and with heat, everything tend to stick. Clear coat will peel off eventualy but after 2 years. For me it's 2 years of trouble free.

DustinTarditi

Brake dust will also wreak havok on the metal - I would rather deal with a sacrificial layer of clear coat than pitting in the metal itself... just my $.02

jim dorociak

Thank you all for the responses. The manufacturer of the rim halves recommended not to clear coat, but I just do not feel comfortable with that answer, which is why I asked for opinions.
Has anyone tried the clear powder coat? It is baked on and if it is as durable as most powder coating could be a viable coating? Jim

By the way only one set of wheels is coming together. The car still awaits.

CWay27

Powdercoat clears are tough to apply in even coats. The results looks like a bad paint job with orange peel and it tends to yellowish with heat, not that wheels generate alot of heat. Clear coating is not applied like the usual powder coating. The piece has to be pre-heated and you don't ground it while shooting the clear.

jim dorociak

Just an update, spoke with a polishing shop today, who also recommended not to clear coat the finished part. The claims that any damage will require everything being stripped just to start over. I also asked about the clear powder coating. He said because of the high temperature that the part has to bake at that the heat alone would cause the fresh polished piece not to be a high gloss finish. So I still need to drop the 4 centers off for final polishing since hand polish just does not bring the luster I think a machine polish job will reveal. It continues. -- Jim