Paint or Clear Coat?

Is it bare/polished aluminium now? I like having bare aluminium, so I can polish it when I want. I would leave it bare or clear coat to keep the shine.

Just leave it plain aluminium. looks good and you don't have to worry about the clear wearing off in the future.

The aluminum will tarnish, believe it or not. Not only that but wheel cleaner will etch it as will brake dust. I polished mine and left them cause they did look good. Now it is a constant battle. I need to polish them really well then spray with the clear coat.

Healey said:

Is it bare/polished aluminium now?

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They have partially worn off clear coat. Up close they just look bad. I have tried Mothers polish & others but the remaining clear is like dead skin. There is a local company that will refinish on location w/ paint or whatever in a mobile unit for about $100/wheel...

I used paint stripper to get the clear coat off my rims. Just like yours,the clear coat had been stripped in some areas and like yours,just looked bad up close. I haven't clear coated yet. I wash my car weekly and clean the rims and so far they look really nice. In my case,I'm not sure if I will clear coat.

I used paint stripper and a soft toothbrush.

Yo, COOLHAND. I met Paul Newman at the track. Do you have his eyes?

There is a product out there called "Shark Hide", made just for polished aluminum, saw it on the Sat morning car shows. Haven't used it yet, but with an engine bay full of polished goodies, I might just give it a try.

Bonzi Lon

I've heard that aircraft paint stripper works great on aluminum wheels. Guys use it on motorcycle wheels all the time. I'm sure it will strip the clear off. I've seen it around in a can, can't remember where.

Autozone...of all places

So you guys want me to keep the AL rather than paint siver? What about the covers that are plastic?