Wheel correction and Opticoat

**Rocket** · 11-18-2011, 02:31 PM

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.

**Rocket** · 11-18-2011, 02:33 PM

I bet you couldn`t tell that I`m not a pro photographer. My point and shoot skills rock

**mrclean81** · 11-18-2011, 02:54 PM

Looks great. I bought some OptiCoat not long ago but haven`t used it yet. So far I haven`t had any clients interested, and I never have the time or interest to use it on my own stuff. If you were to see my vehicles, you would never believe what I do for a living lol.

**Rocket** · 11-18-2011, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by mrclean81

Looks great. I bought some OptiCoat not long ago but haven`t used it yet. So far I haven`t had any clients interested, and I never have the time or interest to use it on my own stuff. If you were to see my vehicles, you would never believe what I do for a living lol.

You should see my truck. I haven`t washed in a little over a month. Wheels are brown from brake dust and paint is real dirty... But the interior is spotless.

**fergnation** · 11-18-2011, 06:14 PM

Funny, my truck is super dirty also. Just dont have the energy after a very demanding detailing season to clean the darn thing. Kind of embarrasing actually!!

Wheels look awesome.

**mrclean81** · 11-18-2011, 08:07 PM

Im just burned out on it. I do the worst of the worst vehicles all week, then do my own clients cars on weekends. I haven`t had a day off in months, and when I do get a few hours to myself, the last thing I want to do is clean a car.

**Concours.John** · 11-19-2011, 05:27 PM

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. quote Rocket

This is good to know There are several vehicles I do that are wires with aluminum barrels. Ive been hesitant to try a permanent coating. They are a PITA to clean @ $550 per wheel to have polished out and trued. I might test the inside barrel first.
Thanks for the write up

**Rocket** · 11-19-2011, 08:24 PM

I spent a lot of time wet sanding and polishing the lip to get it perfect so I could make sure I could see any change that it might make. I even left the wheel outside in the rain for a week to see how they looked and after I washed them the opticoated one still looked great and the other didn`t look nearly as good.

I wish this stuff was out when I first got the wheels... I would spend a lot of time each week polishing them just to keep them looking good.