Any experienced oppinions about a durable & easy cleaning wheel coating?

Every new wheel I've ever had has gotten roached from all the heat & brake dust. So unless there's a proven option, I'm just planning to paint them so they'll at least be easy to touch up...

 

when i painted my track wheels, I sanded them down. I used different grits but mostly smooth ones (800+). I proceeded to primer and then paint. Finally a layer of clear coat. I would recommend high temp clear coat. It seemed to make cleaning the wheels much easier

My whole reason for painting them was I got brake dust caked on it, no matter what I did. I wouldn't come off. I even tried a wire brush and various chemicals.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thawley &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Any experienced oppinions about a durable & easy cleaning wheel coating?

Every new wheel I've ever had has gotten roached from all the heat & brake dust. So unless there's a proven option, I'm just planning to paint them so they'll at least be easy to touch up...

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Since I paint all my race wheels white, Rustoleum appliance epoxy in a spray can from Wal Mart works great. Extremely hard, bright white very high gloss, almost completely impervious to brake dust and fluid, cleans up very well. Also very good at going on smoothly with virtually no runs as long as you don't dork it up too badly when spraying.

And yes, that wheel is pretty, uh, battle scarred. It was the only one I could get a god pic of with the car in the garage.

 

Have you tried just plain old car wax? I put wax on my wheels and the brake dust just washes off with a hose. Also another thing I've accidentally found that works well is the Dupont Teflon Tire Shine. That stuff is really slippery and nothing can stick to the wheel (just be careful and don't get it on the tire)

 

I just gave up and painted them dark...to match the brake dust!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Track rat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I just gave up and painted them dark...to match the brake dust! </TD></TR></TABLE>

hey NC boy!
Why not use the tried and true NASCAR trick....PAM oven spray.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thawley &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Any experienced oppinions about a durable & easy cleaning wheel coating?

Every new wheel I've ever had has gotten roached from all the heat & brake dust. So unless there's a proven option, I'm just planning to paint them so they'll at least be easy to touch up...

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Flat black Rustoleum BBQ paint. It'll never get hot and flake off and you NEVER have to clean the wheel again. Just hose off the loose dust when you get home.

I know this hurts your photographer sensibilities, but after a month of owning these bright orange wheels that are a bitch to clean, I miss my old flat blacks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Catch 22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Flat black Rustoleum BBQ paint. It'll never get hot and flake off and you NEVER have to clean the wheel again. Just hose off the loose dust when you get home.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

plus you get that mAd tizzite JDM look, y0.

 

Best racing wheel EVER!!!
Its light.
Its cheap.
Its durable.
Comes in 15x7 and 14x7.
And its "Anthracite" in color. AKA "Brake Dust Gray."

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Catch 22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Flat black Rustoleum BBQ paint. It'll never get hot and flake off and you NEVER have to clean the wheel again. Just hose off the loose dust when you get home.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Plus if your 2-year-old decides he wants to "help" you work on the car and gets hold of a socket wrench and "works" on one of the wheels for you, you can easily do touch up painting on the BBQ wheels No need to ask how I know this!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Catch 22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Best racing wheel EVER!!!
Its light.
Its cheap.
Its durable.
Comes in 15x7 and 14x7.
And its "Anthracite" in color. AKA "Brake Dust Gray."

</TD></TR></TABLE>

...and what brand are they? Where to get them? About how much $?.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Johnny Tran &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
hey NC boy!
Why not use the tried and true NASCAR trick....PAM oven spray.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wonder how well Pam would hold up to the evil Hawk Blue dust? Worth a try!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Catch 22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Best racing wheel EVER!!!
Its light.
Its cheap.
Its durable.
Comes in 15x7 and 14x7.
And its "Anthracite" in color. AKA "Brake Dust Gray."</TD></TR></TABLE>
And:
Its got 2-3 times more spokes than it needs and is a total pain in the *** to clean
Its spokes stick out past the rim and get scratched every time someone lays it face down
Its inside bead diameter (on mine) is far enough over the manufacturing tolerance that the tire guys at the track couldn't get the new RA-1 beads to seat even with 180psi, ****-loads of lubie-slip stuff and every tire guy but one running for cover (and that's been a problem with every set of tires...)
Its not available in 15x7.5 or 15x8 for 225/45/15s

They are strong and affordable, though. "Best racing wheel I can afford" is more like it for me.

 

I tried the BBQ paint trick on my stock WRX wheels which have some sort of evil powdercoat/clearcoat that the BBQ paint fell right off. After I Aircraft-stripped the heck out of them, I used Duplicolor Wheel Coating. Seemed pretty durable, graphite color is very similar to SSR "anthracite" and it's pretty hard to screw up during the paint process. I shot my valve cover with it too, came out perfect. Everyone who's seen it thought it was powdercoat. Held up for 4 months now, couple track events and occasional around-town.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Track rat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

...and what brand are they? Where to get them? About how much $?.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

x2

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Track rat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...and what brand are they? Where to get them? About how much $?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Team Dynamics from the UK. Don't know if they have a US web site. Seems like I paid $125 ea. Very popular with the Spec Miata guys...
http://www.teamdynamicsracing.com/

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thawley &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Its not available in 15x7.5 or 15x8 for 225/45/15s</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll bet the 225/45-14's will fit the 15x7's. I've got 225/45-13's on 13x6 wheels no problem.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Track rat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...and what brand are they? Where to get them? About how much $?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Team Dynamics. 14x7 4x100. 11.5 lbs. $135 ea.

http://www.opmautosports.com/

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thawley &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Very popular with the Spec Miata guys...
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Then they must be strong as hell given the amount of body contact in the spec pinatas race (and in warm-up for that matter).

 

How difficult would it to get the wheels anodized?

I have a set of anodized wheels and the brake dust just wipes right off.

 

I asked the local coating guy about that a few years ago and was told that cast aluminum cannot be anodized, only powder coated. I didn't know if it was BS or not and never did understand why it would be a problem, but he insisted it was. [shrug]

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thawley &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I asked the local coating guy about that a few years ago and was told that cast aluminum cannot be anodized, only powder coated. I didn't know if it was BS or not and never did understand why it would be a problem, but he insisted it was. [shrug]</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've heard that before too. I remember being told that it comes out looking like crap and will not hold up because of the pores in cast alum.

I also found this which confirms it:

http://www.alphametal.com/tech_notes.htm

Anodizing Castings

Cast aluminum parts in general will not anodize as well because of their tendency toward porosity. Pores do not anodize and contribute to the same type of problem that highly alloyed aluminum parts encounter. Good high-density castings without porosity will anodize with good results. It should be noted that in color anodized castings some difference in color will exist between machined surfaces and the natural as cast surfaces. Some of the better casting alloys are 514, 518, 520, 535, 713, and 771. Again the same principle applies: higher purity aluminum, (less alloys), anodize better, producing better finishes.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thawley &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Its spokes stick out past the rim and get scratched every time someone lays it face down</TD></TR></TABLE>

FWIW, there's a second version of that wheel called the "Pro Race 1.2" that has the spokes pulled in.

Good picture here.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thawley &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
And:
Its got 2-3 times more spokes than it needs and is a total pain in the *** to clean
Its spokes stick out past the rim and get scratched every time someone lays it face down
Its inside bead diameter (on mine) is far enough over the manufacturing tolerance that the tire guys at the track couldn't get the new RA-1 beads to seat even with 180psi, ****-loads of lubie-slip stuff and every tire guy but one running for cover (and that's been a problem with every set of tires...)
Its not available in 15x7.5 or 15x8 for 225/45/15s

They are strong and affordable, though. "Best racing wheel I can afford" is more like it for me.</TD></TR></TABLE>
I just bought a 2nd set of them last week.

Spoke count doesn't matter b/c since they're grey they don't ever look dirty

With 225 Toyos on 14x7 wheels, the face of them has never been scratched.

I had the Toyo's mounted at Discount Tire... they didn't report any problems getting the bead seated. I'm having Hoosier 225's mounted this weekend and don't expect any problems but I'll let everyone know if I encounter some.

Christian, who admittedly thinks it's funny to spend 3 times the $$ for only 2 lb lighter "wear items"

 

I have 3 sets of 15x7 team dynamic pro race 1's. I have gray and black

BTW: Lat time I checked http://www.robearracing.com was selling the 15x7's for $120ish each.

 

beware of powder coating. i have some friends who are pretty sure that is why they had some wheel failures. in two seperate cases, the wheels were fine until the first track event after the powder coating.