Clearcoating Aluminum?
 

Whats up, members? I bought unfinished polished aluminum rims (no clear) and my uncle, who is quite the gear head and worked on cars for years, swears to me I need to get them cleared. He said that after one winter, they will never look the same.

I live 45-minutes within the Philadelphia area, so we do get some snow but I'm quite meticulous with my vehicles and thought I'd be able to keep up with them with polish and proper cleaning. I contacted one guy and he said he wouldn't be interested in doing it because it peels because the clear has nothing to "grab" onto.

Does anyone have any recommendations or first hand experience? I don't want to waste money on someone who will simply take it to do a job that will peel in a couple months. The guy I originally spoke to was respectable in how honest he was so now I don't know what to do. :confused:

For general spring & summer driving, just keep them clean..That should be fine.

I read that some people are using PlastiDip on their wheels to protect them from winter conditions. Price is right at $6 a can at Home Depot. You just need to like the look of Black Rims!!

You can always lightly sand them to get imperfections off. If you dont want to clean them all of the time, clear them.

Well, clearly I don't want to clean them ALL the time. I know they require a good amount of upkeep, which I'm fine with while it's warm but the winter doesn't necessarily allow for that up here. And as I stated, clearing them seems to be a waste because the guy said it won't stick and it'll likely peel. That's why I was asking if anyone had experience...

It sounds like a lose, lose.

powercoat would hold up, but they would lose some of the luster. You could also look into zoopseal.
edit, zoopseal is no more, but check out shineseal
Zoop Seal is no more, Now there is this. - LouisvilleMustangs.com

I'm just now seeing this, but thanks Mike. That looks pretty legit. I'll have to give it a try.

I polish mine everytime I wash my car using an aluminum polish. Pretty easy process, however I do use winter wheels and keep my spring/summer/fall off