Alloy wheels - To lacquer or polish, that is the question.....

[Roy_S]

I found an older thread on here https://www.socforum.com/forum/forum...quer-or-polish about refurbishing the alloys, I'm about to do this before I replace the tyres.

The previous owners might have had an issue with choosing between 175, 185 and 195 and decided to fit a mixture to the car, size replacements I'll decide on later.

The wheels don't look too bad but up close, where water has crept under the lacquer there are white sections of alloy corrosion that I want to get rid of and a quick test on the much older spare with the dremmel takes it back to clean alloy pretty well. The lacquer covers well, but as usual it's the edges where the water gets in and I can't get a decent edge finish with the lacquer between good and bad so looks like it will all have to come off.

Once clean and polished, do I lacquer again or simply polish up as and when needed, I can't say it will ever see wet winter salty roads in my ownership.

What do other do for their alloy care?

[Andrew S]

Don't lacquer and you can always polish and you wont get the water marks

[trunt]

I cleaned mine up and glass beaded them to get all of the lacquer off cleaned up the alloy and then hand painted the black areas with a gloss calliper paint then sprayed the whole wheel with a 2 pack clear coat which I felt would be more durable than something from a rattle can. Though having said that 2 packs are available in rattle cans nowadays..

Its not that high gloss look that some like but Its tidy and I hope durable plus easy to keep clean.

Terry

[DJT]

I did mine several years ago and did not lacquer them. I just give them a once over with Solvol Autosol followed by Poorboys wheel polish annually and they come up fine. Any form of lacquer and, sooner or later, you will get spider marks creeping under the surface and be back to square one.