How to protect these wheels? Matte black inside...

S

STL WRX

New member
Ordering these wheels next month for my 350Z and I would like some recommendations for the care and protection (wax) of them. They are a mixture of matte black spokes with a gloss back step lip. What kind of wax should I use to care for the matte sections as to not make them shiny but add protection to the finish from brake dust...





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Wonder how OptiCoat would work out :think: I'd expect it to add a "light sheen" rather than a "high gloss", but that's merely a guess based on how it behaved on the "not super-shiny" areas of my wheels.



Note that I wouldn't want the matte spokes to be *too* "matte" anyhow, lest they look more like "neglected" than "contrasting finish".
 
Opti-Coat should work very well and I applied it to a set of Vossen wheels that were matte black. It does add a slight darkening though.
 
Accumulator said:
Wonder how OptiCoat would work out :think: I'd expect it to add a "light sheen" rather than a "high gloss", but that's merely a guess based on how it behaved on the "not super-shiny" areas of my wheels.



Note that I wouldn't want the matte spokes to be *too* "matte" anyhow, lest they look more like "neglected" than "contrasting finish".
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A slight gloss would be ok as it's looks like they are a shiner matte finish. Can you provide links to said products?



I was also looking at the DP detailers wheel glaze and the Wheel Wax brand on autogeek.com
 
If you don't want to opticoat them you could always use optimum car wax. It goes on very easy and it also seems to smooth out the look of the matte finish wheels after they start getting worn. Used them on a set of relatively expensive wheels on a jeep srt8 that was in pretty bad shape and it really added that 'something special' I was looking for. Unfortunately, it doesn't last very long so you would have to reapply often
 
STL WRX said:
A slight gloss would be ok as it's looks like they are a shiner matte finish. Can you provide links to said products?
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IIRC, I ordered my OptiCoat off the Optimum Forum- Optimum Car Care Products Discussion Forums



I would absolutely just use that as getting into the recesses around the lugs on a regular basis (as required with most anything else) is just such a PIA.



Be sure to wait until after the tires are mounted ;)
 
Hey guys, without me starting a new thread.

I tend to wash my car once a week and use a wheel cleaner on rims and rinse off, then I use soap/water with a foam pad and sometimes a wheel brush.

Generally, I do not use any protection on the wheel.



If I were to use a wheel wax/sealant, would you advise me to just use soap and water instead of an actual cleaner to help preserve the wax/sealant on my rims?
 
b34tBoX said:
If I were to use a wheel wax/sealant, would you advise me to just use soap and water instead of an actual cleaner to help preserve the wax/sealant on my rims?
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Yes. I use a sorta-strong shampoo mix for that. And FWIW, after doing this for ages (still am doing it that way on a few of my vehicles, at least for now) I finally tried the OptiCoat and was utterly astounded by how much better that approach is.
 
I've been doing some experimenting with opti-coat on Matte finish vinyl wrap on with 3M's new 1080p wrap films. On three different matte finishes I was only able to detect a VERY slight change of the actual finish of the film. I would expect the same from matte finishes, but no way to be sure until you do it. I imagine using the SuperBee method of applying it wtih an airbrush would be the way to do it. Maybe Rasky can chime in as I've seen some FB pics of him airbrushing opti-coat on some BMW wheels.
 
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