Are most forged wheels clear coated nowadays? The shine you find on people's forged wheels here is just incredible. But I had compomotive wheels year ago, and they readily oxidized and lost their sheen. So how you guys and gals keep these superexpensive wheels clean?

Here's a pic of 4 year old HRE's from a porsche on ebay. Note how they no longer have the mirror shine that new wheels do. And there are signs of oxidation.

 

a few coats of wax... and proper care. keep em clean. should be fine. many wheels these days are powder coated.

 

yes, I've been told that waxing the wheels helps a lot. But some rims, like the iforged's Aero's that rodH has, appear to be highly polished but naked - and aluminum oxidizes quite easily. That's why Nissan's stockers are painted or powder coated. But what about the polished alloys? How do you keep those looking new?

 

only my lips are naked, the chance of that oxydizing is MUCH lower, the surface is very smooth and I wash and dry often. WHen I wanna polish, I just use Semi-chrome paste. I don't think my lips will oxydize based on the finish, and how I care for them.

 

rod, youd be suprised. When I took off my wheels to send them back to be refitted, the rears were a mess after I washed them. It looks like I have a full dys worth of work ahead of me when they come back.

One thing I noticed during this time is how delecate the clear coat is. It peeled off in the lug nut areas because of the friction when the lugs were taken off. I hope it doesnt happen on the spoke parts.

 

rodH, those iforged wheels have almost a mirror shine. Does the simichrome restore the surface to the mirror-like finish, or is it one step less shiny?

 

SImichrome, if you work hard enough, will get it brighter than stock.

Brad, after scrathing wheels many times, I now have learned to put electrical tape on the wrench, I actually coat the whole thing, but especially where the head fits in the wheels, by the lug nuts. It saves a lot of headache.

 

rod, I think he means where the lug nuts seat at the base, but thats to be expected too (I noticed it flake off mine too when I took them off). btw, 7lbs, savings without bolts is awesome!

 

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oh, I thought he was referring to the edge of the lug holes, I have seen MANY wheels stratched/chipped there because of the wrench given by auto manuf with the JACK. they typically have a rough surface and scratch easy.

Thanx 2003