Paint or powder

[Polecat]

I'm finally happy with my refinishing/polishing of my rims. Just curious if I should just paint them myself, have them painted and clear coated, or have them powder coated. I took one rim down to a local wheel refinisher and he said that he would touch up my polishing, paint the centers black and clear coat all the rims for 200 cash.

If I'm doing it myself I'll be using dupli-coat from the can and don't know what the results will be. 200 bucks seems reasonable and it should be much more durable but do most of you guys get the whole rim clear coated or do you just clear coat the center. My thinking was if the whole rim is clear coated I won't have to do much polishing later. Any advantages or disadvantage to the clear coating?

Thanks,

 

[TURBOV8R]

Clear coating the polished section is a great idea,but finding clear specifically for raw aluminum is the key.some rattle can clears may yellow or flake off from the heat 'specially on the fronts.Eastwood sells diamond clear for aluminum applications that can withstand heat,and chemicals.Just be sure that the surface is void of all polishes before applying.
As far as the centers,they also have extreme primer which is basically a self etcher,and believe it or not chassis black.Comes in 3 finishes and if it can withstand holding onto frames and chassis parts as well as durable to chips and chemicals seems to be a cost saving alternative aside from the labor you'll have to invest.I'm gonna be doing a set of torq thrust d's this route soon as the weather gets warmer,but have seen this way taken before on another ride and the results looked good.Mine nor his was a daily driver so longevity is unknown.But with good care should last.Good luck

 

[Polecat]

My plan is to make the car a daily driver so perhaps its best to get the rims clear coated and reap the benefits of less labor in the future.

My concern now is that I wasn't really happy with my refinishing job until I polished them with Meguires NXT aluminium polish. If I understand you I should get this polish off the rims now before I have them clear coated?

 

[TURBOV8R]

as long as theres no wax in the polish,there should'nt be a problem.But if your going to clear coat them yourself,I would use a test panel and be sure the clear will adhere to the surface without fisheyes.If your gonna farm it out talk with the vendor and tell him exactly what you used to clean them so he'll know what course of cleaning to take before the final coat's applied.
In a nutshell always keep this in mind,wax/grease and paint don't get along very well!I cleared the rims on my '89 GTA with a product that came in a rattle can specifically for rims,but haven't seen it in years.I scrubbed the wheels with Mother's and cleaned off the residue with alcohol wipes and had no issues with craters and cleaning was a snap.