Coating your wheels: Tips

[RToyo86]

Today I ceramic coated my wheels, and thought it may be useful to show the procedure for anyone looking to attempt this them selves.
This can also apply to using wax/sealant.

UPDATE. For new wheels you can skip over most of these steps. Step 1, step 2, and step 5 are suggested before coating. Polishing is optional, as you will get diminishing results for wheels

These are the products I used.

Optimum gloss coat, Carpro eraser, Meg's polish, optimum power clean[APC], ONR, Sonax wheel cleaner, [not in photo]5-10 MF towels, two applicator pads, clay bar


Steps 1-3 are decontamination, 4-5 prep, 6 is coating.


Step 1 - Clean the wheel. Spray the wheels down with wheel cleaner, and aggitate. I used Sonax for the initial wash, and optimum power clean to touch up the areas around the lug nuts. After wiping off the dirt, I used a damp ONR rag to remove any residue



After a bit of elbow grease



Step 2 Inspect wheel. I used a leaf blower to dry the wheel entirely. Make sure the wheel is fully cleaned before moving on, any dirt will slow down the next steps or potentially damage/scratch the wheel.


Step 3 - Clay bar. Depending on the condition of your wheels, clay will pull stuck on debris from the surface that chemical washing could not. Barrels of the wheel are almost always the worst. An easy way to tell if you need to clay is to put a clear plastic bag over your hand and run it over the surface.

Step 4 - Polishing. This is a important step as it will clean the paint, and bring out extra gloss ensuring best results.

I would highly recommend using something like mother's powerball to speed up this process. Mine was shot however so I did it with a applicator pad by hand. Lots of elbow grease. Apply polish to applicator and buff into wheel. Remove polish with a clean MF towel.




Step 5 - Apply paint prep. Use paint prep to remove any leftover oils, or polish residue. I used Carpro eraser, but a diluted IPA solution will also work. Mist the wheels and buff off with a clean MF towel.

Step 6 Apply coating/wax/sealant

I used optimum gloss coat which I had laying around from coating my car. This stuff is very forgiving to use, and has a 1-3 year lifespan. I expect to get two season's use. Directions below are for this product specifically. Different coatings have different flash times before needing to be leveled. Follow directions on the bottle.

Apply to top half of applicator pad by tapping your thumb on the syringe. You'll need to apply more product on the applicator intially as it is dry, cut back once it is saturated. Work into wheel surface until the applicator feels grabby, and reapply. Wait 1-2 minutes before removing, it will start to disappear into the surface on its own, and Highspots will have a oil slick appearance. Buff out gently with a clean MF towel. Main goal here is to level high spots, not remove the coating.

If desired apply a second coat after waiting 1 hour. This coating doesn't layer, but a second layer can ensure 100% coverage.
Keep away from water for 12 hours.

Alternatively for this coating you can apply opti-seal 1 hour after coating if you need to use the wheels immediately. Opti-seal will protect gloss coat while it cures. It will shed off the coating on its own after a week when it has fully cured.


Finished product. Wheels feel slick to the touch.