Rocket
New member
So i decided to spend some extra time on my Trans Am a couple months ago and the wheels really needed some attention. The centers were powder coated about 5 or 6 years ago by a friend that owns a shop. After spending time as my daily driver and just sitting in the elements and just washing them they had lost their gloss and had developed splotches. Over the past year the car spent most of its time in storage. Out of sight out of mind. While most everyone couldn't notice the defects in the wheels I could tell and it bothered me that I let them get like this.
So I decided to pull them off and get started.
Tools:
PC with 3 1/2" back plate
LC Orange pad 4"
LC Black Pad 4"
Menzerna SIP
Menzerna PO85rd
Carpro Eraser
Opti-coat 2.0
Microfiber towels & foam applicators
This was the first time I had polished these wheels and they prooved to be a little challange. I had to work out a method because the shape and space would make the pad stop rotating. After a little testing I found the best technique to allow me to correct the defects and keep the pad spinning
Before pics:
Hard to tell from this pic but the spokes had splotches all over them. It kind of looks like a reflection but it's not. The spoke was hard to get a picture of
Spoke after SIP
50/50 of the barrel
I tried PO85rd to see if it would amp up the gloss but I didn't notice much difference. The powder coat was pretty hard and SIP finished down very well and I decided not to waist my time with an extra step on the rest of the wheels
Finished
Prep for OC
Freshly Opti-coated
Back on the car
Final Thoughts on OC
Opticoat was easy to use and after a couple months I am very impressed. The wheel stays cleaner and its easy to wash. It almost comes completely clean just rinsing. On the wheel in the pics I didn't coat the polished lip to compare to one that was coated. Opticoat did not change the apperiance of the polished lip and it protected it really well. I've used other products in the past to "seal" the aluminum wheel and it always seemed to dull the finish some which I didn't like. I'll be opticoating the wheels on all my cars now.
So I decided to pull them off and get started.
Tools:
PC with 3 1/2" back plate
LC Orange pad 4"
LC Black Pad 4"
Menzerna SIP
Menzerna PO85rd
Carpro Eraser
Opti-coat 2.0
Microfiber towels & foam applicators
This was the first time I had polished these wheels and they prooved to be a little challange. I had to work out a method because the shape and space would make the pad stop rotating. After a little testing I found the best technique to allow me to correct the defects and keep the pad spinning
Before pics:
Hard to tell from this pic but the spokes had splotches all over them. It kind of looks like a reflection but it's not. The spoke was hard to get a picture of
Spoke after SIP
50/50 of the barrel
I tried PO85rd to see if it would amp up the gloss but I didn't notice much difference. The powder coat was pretty hard and SIP finished down very well and I decided not to waist my time with an extra step on the rest of the wheels
Finished
Prep for OC
Freshly Opti-coated
Back on the car
Final Thoughts on OC
Opticoat was easy to use and after a couple months I am very impressed. The wheel stays cleaner and its easy to wash. It almost comes completely clean just rinsing. On the wheel in the pics I didn't coat the polished lip to compare to one that was coated. Opticoat did not change the apperiance of the polished lip and it protected it really well. I've used other products in the past to "seal" the aluminum wheel and it always seemed to dull the finish some which I didn't like. I'll be opticoating the wheels on all my cars now.
