So I coated some brand new wheels with the center section being powder coated and the lips being bare aluminum. After a week of some rain they were washed and saw the lips being covered in water spots, but not the center section. So what are my options here, try UK3.0 instead of DLUX from now on, or is bare aluminum just not coating friendly?
DLUX on bare aluminum wheels getting water spots
- Thread starter RZJZA80
- Start date
The Guz
Mike
What was your prep and application process? How soon was the coating exposed to water?
Bare metals don`t always accept a coating that well.
You could use a waterspot remover and see if that helps. Worst case you polish, recoat and top with say Reload to protect the coating if it will be exposed to water.
Bare metals don`t always accept a coating that well.
You could use a waterspot remover and see if that helps. Worst case you polish, recoat and top with say Reload to protect the coating if it will be exposed to water.
I though most wheels were clear coated these days ?
I had black rims on a customers car that water spotted despite the fact that they were coated. I used several different coatings on them, some rim specific and other just paint coatings and they showed signs of spotting. Not sure if it was rain water or sprinkler water but it was removed with polish quickly by hand and ibird. Water spot remover made a mess. There with very glossy black rims. Finally gave up after trying several coatings. The coatings appeared to stick so I blame some hard water or acidic spray or something. Customer claimed neither was the case but it was my only issue and I’ve done many black rims.
He ended up taking the car elsewhere and had similar issues so I’m not sure. He came back to see if I had anything to try the following season. I told him I’d blame some environmental factor. Just never was able to pin point it. Never had Anotner similar issue ever. The coating appeared to protect the wheels but still spot. Never had an issue on the black paint. Could have been caused by brake dust mixing with water having a reaction ? Or some tire protectant he was applying liberally. It was at the train station 5 days a week but iron removers didn’t fix it either. I Never figured it out. Comped the rims a few times trying different products and then gave up. Spots could be present in 2-3 weeks after fixing. It was a long season.
I still get weak when I see black Rims. Lol
I’d say he was picky but it would have bothered me too.
I had black rims on a customers car that water spotted despite the fact that they were coated. I used several different coatings on them, some rim specific and other just paint coatings and they showed signs of spotting. Not sure if it was rain water or sprinkler water but it was removed with polish quickly by hand and ibird. Water spot remover made a mess. There with very glossy black rims. Finally gave up after trying several coatings. The coatings appeared to stick so I blame some hard water or acidic spray or something. Customer claimed neither was the case but it was my only issue and I’ve done many black rims.
He ended up taking the car elsewhere and had similar issues so I’m not sure. He came back to see if I had anything to try the following season. I told him I’d blame some environmental factor. Just never was able to pin point it. Never had Anotner similar issue ever. The coating appeared to protect the wheels but still spot. Never had an issue on the black paint. Could have been caused by brake dust mixing with water having a reaction ? Or some tire protectant he was applying liberally. It was at the train station 5 days a week but iron removers didn’t fix it either. I Never figured it out. Comped the rims a few times trying different products and then gave up. Spots could be present in 2-3 weeks after fixing. It was a long season.
I still get weak when I see black Rims. Lol
I’d say he was picky but it would have bothered me too.
They were brand new out of the box so i gave them a wash and then wiped them down with Eraser. After coating they sat for a few days before they were mounted on the car and a couple days later they saw rain for a few days. About 9 days after the coating they were washed and that`s when the spots were noticed.
The Guz
Mike
Factory wheels yes. Aftermarket wheels are available in polished aluminum which is bare metal.
I have not had good luck with coating polished aluminum wheels with GTechniq C5 or DLUX. The coating just does not last that long on them as they will still oxidize just at a slower rate. Wolfgang Metal Sealant is nice on polished aluminum. You could try CQUK 3.0 but I suspect you will have the same result.
Did you apply 1 layer or 2?
1 layer. I actually didn`t realize they weren`t clear coated until after the client sent me the water spot pics and said they might be bare. A conversation with Carpro didn`t help much either, as the final advise was maybe try Hydro and see how it goes. I kind of expected a more definitive answer but that`s fine.
The Guz
Mike
You could polish the metal surface with a metal polish and determine if it is indeed not clear coated. I have moved away from DLUX as a wheel coating and have gone with CQUK. DLUx does do well as trim coating and that is what I use it for. I actually prefer 22ple VM1 as a wheel coating and if I didn`t test various coatings, I would settle on it being my wheel coating. Much better than DLUX and a few others.
Stokdgs
dansautodetailing.com
Mike ,
Hope you guys are all good down there in SoCal !
Thank you for your input on this..
Regarding your wheel coating preference - is this ^^ your preference for bare metal wheels, clear coated wheels, or both ?
Thanks !
Dan F
I`m also thinking of just using UK3.0 for wheels from now on. I think Corey even recommended it a while back.
mobiledynamics
New member
RZJ -
My experience seems to differ alot from others so here goes...
I don`t like coatings on bare metal. IMO, all I`ve tested always seems to take it 1-2 notches down in clarity as opposed to uncoated BM...
The more higher the luster, the faster it also seems to oxidize.
It`s work IMO, but for bare metal, I prefer to just keep it product free and just keep ontop of the polish side......ahem, sorry, I did say it`s work...
My experience seems to differ alot from others so here goes...
I don`t like coatings on bare metal. IMO, all I`ve tested always seems to take it 1-2 notches down in clarity as opposed to uncoated BM...
The more higher the luster, the faster it also seems to oxidize.
It`s work IMO, but for bare metal, I prefer to just keep it product free and just keep ontop of the polish side......ahem, sorry, I did say it`s work...
The Guz
Mike
Dan for clear coat wheels it is my preferred wheel coating. The jury is still out on metal surfaces. I’m in the process of evaluating its performance on metal surfaces.
You are right he mentioned this before. I forgot to mention that DLUX at times will spot on plastic trim. They do fade over time though from what I have experienced.
i put dlux on the black plastic tailgate handle of my truck and while it looked great after putting it on, it looked like it wore down to where it looked like crap and didnt know how to remove it. looked horribly worn down and oxidized if that makes any sense. tried meguiars 39, even took my polisher to it but seemed to look the same. eventually wiped it with eraser and used csl on it and now looks a lot better. problem is i put dlux on my gf`s black trim and probably want to remove it also after what i experienced. and while it looks ok so far i hate to see it get that worn down look like what was said and what my handle looked like. will definitely not use dlux again.
Accumulator
Well-known member
As I continue to ponder using mine, I`ll be interested to hear what your experiences with it are over time. If it`s good on bare metal that`d be *great*
JustJesus
New member
As I continue to ponder using mine, I`ll be interested to hear what your experiences with it are over time. If it`s good on bare metal that`d be *great*
What are you currently using?
This thread has me a bit glad I haven`t polished the bare AL wheels on my Jeep!!!! I would hate to go through the trouble of making them pretty, only to have some issues down the line.
Accumulator
Well-known member
I`m not really using/doing much of anything, other than wiping down with whatever SprayWax I use as a Drying Aid. Well...the exterior aluminum trim/etc. gets FK1000P/KSG, but I was thinking about underhood/undercarriage bits that I might consider coating.
Having grown up with bare aluminum wheels, there`s zero chance that I`d ever [mess] around with them again. Period. I`d replace/refinish wheels that had bare aluminum rims or somesuch.
Yeah, I *DO* appreciate it when guys keep aluminum/magnesium wheels shiny, but I`m not spending my time that way.
Stokdgs
dansautodetailing.com
The last time I had a set of beautifully polished BBS Wheels, the only way to keep them lovely, was to get out my air die grinder, chuck on a really nice cone shaped buff from eastwood, rub some red rouge on it and hit the wide wheel part, and the lip.. Yes, a bit of the cone material blew around and I always wore a really good mask, but that was the only way to really polish them correctly.. And it turned the cone black..
I am thinking that if the bare aluminum wheels today are not completely flat polished but instead have those machined lines still in them, it will be perhaps harder to do this, and if the entire wheel is machined like that, it is going to take a lot longer to polish each one..
Guess one has to decide how you want the final "look" to be...
Dan F
Accumulator
Well-known member
Stokdgs- Yeah..I had Epsilon wheels like that myself and I too used the various felt/cotton bobs. Big PIA to say the least.
Fortunately the BBS ones on the `93 Audi have cleared rims And yeah, under the clear those have the "machined lines" too.
Fortunately the BBS ones on the `93 Audi have cleared rims
And yeah, under the clear those have the "machined lines" too.
JustJesus
New member
Oh, okay. I`ll probably try out some different combos and see what I like best down the road. The half wheel I hand polished with the Mother`s polish still looks fairly decent, and if all four end up staying that way for at least that long (since late 2016) [edit: okay, looking at the pic from 2016, and recalling what it looks like now, maybe they`re not fairly decent after all -oops]
I`ll mess with them ONE time. Just to see. Then I`ll decide whether or not I`ll mess with them again!
JustJesus
New member
Pic from around Nov 2016
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
Accumulator
Well-known member
JustJesus- At least those aren`t the *worst* design I can think of with regard to all that polishing. Not that I`d want to do it...