I have some American Racing Mojaves on my truck that I've had about 3 years now. The brake dust has destroyed their looks. They are pitted and black. I can't believe the way these aluminum wheels turned out. I inquired about Eagle aluminum wheels and they are not clear coated. I emailed someone from here about their Eagle wheels and he said they need constant upkeep.

Are there any people out there that have maintanence free wheels? I don't mind scrubbing them from time to time to get the dirt and road grime off. It's the damage to the wheels that the brake dust creates that I don't like. Will clear coated wheels stop the brake dust damage?

It's hard for me to imagine that people are spending much of their time needed to stop their wheels from turning black and pitting.

 

If you by aluminum wheels you must buy a set that has a clear coat otherwise you will have this problem. I think Eagle actually makes a few sets with a clear coat, but not very many

 

Mine have no clearcoat......

 

I don't believe Eagle makes any clearcoated wheels. I think the closest thing to maintaince free would be chrome plated aluminum wheels. Also, switching to ceramic brake pads will cut down your brake dust a lot.

 

The Eagle dealer told me they don't make a clear coated wheel. I've seen chrome plated aluminum wheels before but don't remember who made them. I have SBS pads on slotted rotors in the front. I was thinking the SBS's were ceramic but I could be wrong. It is still hard to believe that they make wheels that require constant upkeep like this and people are doing it.

 

The reason is bare polished aluminum wheels are much less expensive than chrome wheels.

 

If you wash the wheels every 2 weeks or so, the brake dust won't have time to eat into the wheels. Also try waxing them. This might protect them better.

 

Aluminum wheels are very inexpensive (most of the time) compared to chrome or powdercoated. That is why people keep going with them. The look great when they come out of the box, but eventually the will be dull and impossible to bring back to the original shine. Chrome plated aluminum wheels will be just as easy to clean as any other chrome wheel as long as the plating is in good condition. Personally I think powdercoated wheels are the way to go, but if you go that route you get no bling, if that is important to you.

 

Every 2 weeks?? What is actually happening between the brake dust and wheels? What is actually causing the pitting? Last winter I put my truck up on jack stands and gave the tires and rims a good thorough cleaning. Then I took them inside the house to work on them. I tried about 6 different wheel cleaners with no luck. I wound up using steel wool to clean them up and semichrome to polish them the best I could using a dremel. I then applied Carnuba wax to them. Within a week they looked like crap again.

 

What do you mean by powder coating? Painting them an actual color or putting a clear coat on aluminum wheels?

 

Although many folks (myself included) love the look of polished aluminum, without some sort of protective coating, this kind of wheel is doomed to oxidize over time. Oxidation on aluminum looks like white flecks of salt and eventually pits the surface of the wheel. Once the pitting starts, it's very difficult - but not impossible - to bring the wheel back to its original appearance. Do a search in the General Care forum for help.

To prevent this kind of thing from happening, you basically have three choices: plating, painting or powder coating. Plating tends to be the most expensive - generally due to environmental considerations - but can be the most durable. That said, a crummy plating job can be a bigger headache that an average paint job.

Painting is a decent finish, but again comes down to how well the pre-paint (clean and prime) steps were done. Some folks think painted wheels look "cheap" for various reasons. Cost wise, it's a very attractive coating though.

Powder coating is like painting in that the prep steps are critical for durability. Think of it as spraying very finely ground up plastic powder onto a surface, then putting that surface into an oven, which melts and flows the plastic into a protective layer. This can be very durable, but the plow on my work truck has a powder coated finish that just flakes off in large sheets. Again - the prep was bad. The coating itself was great.

Hope that helps.

 

I try to wash my wheels weekly...never longer than 2 weeks....Polish them 3-4 times a year. I use Wenol Metal Polish Wenol polish . I have tried Mothers but it don't even compare to Wenol. This is my second set of Polished Alums. The 1st set was a booger to polish, so I made myself a promise that the next set would be easier to do...and they are. My first set oxidized over time. Before I sold them, I sat down with a tube of Wenol and a Drill with a poilshing wheel and went to town. Looked like new. Alot of elbow grease though.

I've heard this stuff really works once you get them poilshed good. I've never tried it but would like to.

Zoop Seal

 

I'm a big fan of Wenol too, but I much prefer to NOT have to use any kind of polish on my wheels. The problem with aftermarket wheels is that nobody seems to want to put any kind of protective coating on them. Even the chrome plated ones don't compare to a factory chrome wheel from a durability standpoint. By the way, the Zoop product does a decent job of sealing the surface of aluminum to prevent oxidation. Unfortunately, it's no substitute for a clear coat.

 

Has anyone clear coated there rims after buying them? Can it be done?

 

It CAN be done, but it's not easy. First of all, you really need to dismount your tires from the wheels. You need to do this for several reasons. First, you need to be able to get the clear coat to cover all exposed surfaces. If you leave the tires on, you won't be able to get the lip under the bead area. This will allow oxidation to creep under your clear coat - slowly destroying it. Second, you want all balancing weights off because they too offer a place for oxidation to start.

The biggest problem with clear coating after you have your wheels is getting a properly prepared surface to apply the coating to. It can be done and some of the better collision / paint shops can do a pretty decent job. Unfortunately, your probably going to find out that the whole process is pretty expensive, which is why the wheels didn't come that way in the first place. It's actually cheaper to do this step when the wheels are being manufactured.