Pros & Cons: Polished lips vs. Polished with ClearCoat

[s85e90]

Originally Posted by slicer

I have had both and would never get a wheel with clear coat on the lip again. It chipped and peeled in every instance (both BBS and HRE wheels). Polished lips are very easy to maintain (1-2 minutes with metal polish per wheel) and any scratches or scrapes can be repaired. I only needed to polish them once every few months. There is zero debate in my mind on this one...

I recently purchased a set of BBS wheels with annodized lips and one was scratched while off the car sitting in the garage.... Niece hit it with a bike pedal. I had to replace the lip. If it were polished without a clear coat I could have easily buffed out the scratches.

Anodizing scratching vs. proper paintwork is not a truly fair comparison, but I'm surprised you had those issues w/ the clearcoat failure. I have seen it before on BBS wheels, but over time, and I personally never saw it on any of my wheels. It's no diff than a painted wheel which is nearly 99.9% of all wheels on the road.

[slicer]

Originally Posted by s85e90

Anodizing scratching vs. proper paintwork is not a truly fair comparison, but I'm surprised you had those issues w/ the clearcoat failure. I have seen it before on BBS wheels, but over time, and I personally never saw it on any of my wheels. It's no diff than a painted wheel which is nearly 99.9% of all wheels on the road.

The point I was trying to make is that if/when a scratch happens, it can be buffed out if there is no paint, anodizing, or clear coat. Even a deep scratch on a polished lip can be sanded and polished out (using multiple steps). The only reason I don't have polished lips is that I generally don't like the look. Even "proper paintwork" can scratch, and when it does it can only be fixed via repainting. Why not have the extra flexibility if you want the shiny lip look?

I'm not sure why I have had the issues with clear coat peeling but I will say that the hre wheel with the issue was almost 10 years ago so I'm sure they have improved finishes today. Even if that's the case, I would still go with a polished lip for the repair ability.

[s85e90]

Polished wheels do look good when clean and your right about being able to clean/repair. I took a set of Weld Draglites that looked like the were black/rusted back to a mirror finish.

[tbone28]

Brett, my experience with the clearcoat peeling also has me wary going that route again, similar to how my chrome peeling now has me wary.

1-2 min per lip on an uncleared, polished lip works for me. If anything, I can give it a try and clear it later if I don't like the added labor. Easier to go that route than clear it first and remove it later.

[slicer]

Originally Posted by tbone28

Brett, my experience with the clearcoat peeling also has me wary going that route again, similar to how my chrome peeling now has me wary.

1-2 min per lip on an uncleared, polished lip works for me. If anything, I can give it a try and clear it later if I don't like the added labor. Easier to go that route than clear it first and remove it later.

Sounds like good plan to me. I use mothers metal polish and an old sock to clean. Just don't get the polishing paste into the crevices and/or let it dry. A little goes a long way... That's what she said.

[tbone28]

Originally Posted by slicer

Sounds like good plan to me. I use mothers metal polish and an old sock to clean. Just don't get the polishing paste into the crevices and/or let it dry. A little goes a long way... That's what she said.

What happens if the polishing paste dries?

[slicer]

Originally Posted by tbone28

What happens if the polishing paste dries?

Nothing other than it's just harder to remove than when it's wet.