Distinguishing clear coated rims
- Thread starter cadd
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Wills.WindowsAndWheels
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Good question, im sure the guys on here will give you some good answers 
ScottB
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painted wheels are most often clearcoated, especially those from OEM settings. Its sometimes harder to judge aluminum wheels (metal) but some take on a bit of a milky appearance.
I use a wheel cleaner that is safe on all wheel types and the issue becomes less apparent. P21S, Griots and Sonax work well on all wheel types and seen no damage even on uncoated wheels to date.
I use a wheel cleaner that is safe on all wheel types and the issue becomes less apparent. P21S, Griots and Sonax work well on all wheel types and seen no damage even on uncoated wheels to date.
Mike Phillips
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- Dec 5, 2022
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Sometimes you can determine the coating or the material the wheel is made out of from experience and looking at the rim. Sometimes you have to do some testing.
To test a rim, basically get some white cloth, apply a light polish or even a cleaner/wax and rub on an inconspicuous area. If the wheels are painted you'll see the color of the paint coming off onto the towel.
IF the wheels are clearcoated you won't see any color transferring off the wheel and onto your cloth but if you also don't see the cloth turning black you know the wheel is not bare aluminum.
Bare aluminum will turn your cloth dark grayish or blackish
Chrome will show no color except the road grime that comes off onto your cloth.
Anodizing will usually show no color except the road grime that comes off onto your cloth.
Oxidized Aluminum Turns Black
With metallic single stage paints, oxidation can show up as a darkening effect on medium to light colored paints because the aluminum metal flakes embodied inside the paint will stain or discolor the paint with a grayish black color.
If you’ve ever polished uncoated aluminum then you’ve seen this grayish black color coming off the aluminum and onto your polishing cloth as you work a metal polish over it. This same type of oxidation is taking place to the aluminum flake inside the paint.
Polishing Uncoated Aluminum
Oxidized Aluminum Comes Off Black
Wolfgang MetallWerk™ Aluminum Polishing System
For polished aluminum or magnesium, or anodized aluminum, don't use any wheel cleaner with acid in it, the acid will dull down the metal finish and in the case of an anodized wheel you won't be able to undo the damage without the project becoming time consuming and costly.
For chrome only wheels, you can used a wheel cleaner with acid it in and the key benefit to wheel cleaners with acid is the acid attacks and dissolves brake dust really well, that make for less "work" on your part to remove the brake dust. Acid doesn't really remove road grime as well as a soap or detergent.
For "factory" painted wheels, a wheel cleaner with a "little" acid is usually safe but with too much and you could dull the painted coating with repeated use.
The best way to clean any wheel is to get in clean initially and then regularly clean it before brake dust and road grime build up so badly that cleaning the rims becomes an all day project.
Have good wheel brushes on had to help agitate your wheel cleaner in the cracks, grooves and crevices that make up the design of your wheel and use them to thoroughly wash the rims clean.
Apply a wax or paint sealant to help prevent brake dust and road grime from bonding your your rims but keep in mind, any wheel cleaner strong enough to dissolve brake dust is probably going to remove your coating of wax or sealant so you'll need to maintain the coating.
This is why I'm a big fan of simple design wheels, it makes cleaning them and even waxing them quick and easy. As soon you you buy a complicated wheel design... you just created a new hobby for yourself.
If you don't need to show off your brake calibers and rotors, then get some Kleen Wheels Brake Shields.
Kleen Wheels Set of 4
Video that shows how the work...
Kleen Wheels Video
Wills.WindowsAndWheels
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For me, I just make it auto subscribe to any thread i post on...to do that click on "Quick Links" at the top..and then click "Edit Options"...then in the page that shows up you should be able to choose to automatically subscibe to any threads you post on..and to get 'instant email notification' so that as soon as someone posts, you'll get an email telling you someone did.
If you DONT want to go that route, i think when you click to reply to this thread...at the bottom somewhere there should be a check box that says 'subscribe to thread' along with the options of how often you want a notification to be emailed to you.
Hope that helps
Mike Phillips
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- Dec 5, 2022
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Besides subscribing to a thread you can also simply Bookmark it.
You could also take the URL address for the page and copy and paste it into an e-mail and e-mail it to yourself and then place that e-mail in a folder that you save important e-mails in.
Just a couple of ways to find your old post. If you don't post a lot you can also look at your posting history via your User CP or User Control Panel.
When you start getting close to 10,000 posts or so it's starts to get harder to search your posting history...
Wills.WindowsAndWheels
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Its Wills...and you're welcome:dblthumb2: