So anybody have them and not clearcoated? I have emailed with a few people and some say its way to much work to keep an unprotected wheel looking nice and some say its no work at all.

So... Who has polished aluminum with no clear coat and how do they stand up? Do they require hand polishing on a regular basis and look oxidized or corroded between polishes, or do they stand up to the elements fairly well allowing for light hand polishing every month or so?

Thanks,
k

 

I have the same question beacuse my R90's have a clear coat on them and i am thinking of having it taken off and just have it polished...so any advice?

 

If its just the lip I would go for regardless of needing protection. The lip is such a small area that it would be very easy to polish on a weekly basis if that is whats needed. Mothers mag and aluminum polish works very well. My concern is if it needs it weekly then the entire wheel is too much work for me...

 

With the brake dust that comes out of the MINI I would think you would want extra clear coat. I clean mine twice a week and they already have some small permanent damage in less than a year. Maybe the super brilliant coating, SBC, from enkei would get the look you want while still have protection. Its not really polished level, but it looks nice.

http://enkei.com/Performance%20specs/SC05.html

Theres those, the SC03s and few of the racing wheels with the coating.

 

Take the clear off.. Have them polished and then use a product called Zoop.

http://www.zoops.com/home.asp

This stuff is used on a ton of hot rod parts and all other auto customizing.. This should do the trick. And you can always haver the wheels polished again if needed. Check it out.

 

I have a set of CenterLine RPM 17x7 wheels that are raw polish aluminum. I used an aluminum polish and wax on them. They need periodic care. They are my secondary set. I run 16x7 most of the time. So, not a lot of brake dust to deal with.

Zoops looks interesing. Might try it.

 

My lips are polished without clear...but my lips are by no means a small area

You definitely need to stay on top of polishing them because the oxidation can really make them look dirty pretty quick....especially if you get big rain storms. It also takes quite a bit of time to give them a good polish.....but it is SO worth it. A polished wheel looks a million times better than the duller machined metal with clear coat. The reflections and shine are worth the extra care you have to put into them.

 

Very nice. Do you have any more pictures on the car straight on to the wheels?

 

I had a 56 ford p/up that had the ol school 5 slot aluminum rims on it. All I did was have them professionally polished when i got them (used) then from then on hand polished them once a month. it was easy work and they always looked great.
I prefer to not have clear on them, it tends to chip off, after all, there is clear being sprayed to an aluminum suface with no etching primer to bind it. plus add the heat factor and your lucky if they last a few years.