I like the color of my Rotas, but the gloss clear is just not my style. I'd like to have them re-cleared with a matte clear now that they're off the car for the winter.

What kind of prep am I looking at to re-clear? Do I need to just "roughen up" the gloss clear, or do I need to sand through the clear and down to the paint?

Is there an off-the-shelf matte clear in a spray can that I can good good results with, OR, should I send them to a professional to finish them?

 

I would let a professional do them if I were you, just sanding down the clear will bite you in the *** if you don't know what you're doing... If not extra careful you sand through the clear and paint(mostly on sharp edges of spokes) from applying more pressure than you would even notice. Like I said, let a pro do it and you won't be disappointed... You will also get more use with your preferred finish than any rattle can. But just a body/paint man's .02.

 

Thanks for the input.

From a paint man's perspective, am I better off just bead blasting these bare and having a pro start from scratch with a new base coat? Seems like that might cost less than X hours of professional prep time.

 

You could do that, but if I were going to strip them I would just use a paint stripper instead of getting the tiny pits from the shot in the wheel. Regardless, a professional will still be able to work around the pits, but a little cussing would probably be in order lol. Its totally up to you though.

 

I agree with the dude two up, if you ultimately decide to send to them a pro, then you should just get them stripped, and my reccommendation is to get them powdercoated. Then in that case it'll last longer/be tougher.

It is completely possible to prep them yourself at home. Use 600 on every tiny square inch of the wheel, if you break though the paint to the under metal, then you're screwed. You would need to re-paint. However, if you prep them correctly, I would take them to a pro for the clear coat. Industry clear is going to be way strong with rattle can clear. And lastly, if you prep it and decide to clear it yourself, get the best kind of clear you can. Alsa makes a catalyst hardened clear coat you can buy in a can that would be your best bet, but, good luck I guess PM me if you have more questions I guess.