Wheel rim polishing

[seeby]

I am polishing the outer rim on my alloys with the view of spraying the wheel centres a colour and then laquer over the complete wheel . I have removed the paint from the rim and polished it up to 2000 grade paper. Can I use Solvo Autosol to polish the rim up to a shine and then panel wipe it before laquer? or will the laquer react ? or what should I do to laquer "in" a shiny finish ?

[jds32]

Not tried it myself but I would think the lacquer might react with the autosol. You could try rubbing compound as it shouldn't react with the lacquer.

[FRMATT]

If you want a mirror polished finish, I'd look at polishing kits where you get a few mops and some compound, then finish with a metal polish like Mothers, which is less abrasive than autosol. Depending on how often you use the car you may want to top this off with a good wheel sealant or wax to add further protection.

Lacquer won't stick properly to a polished surface and leads to the milky, hazing and peeling you see on some wheels

[seeby]

Thanks chaps,I,ve decided to take the safe route and only paint the wheel centres.The outer rim will stay un-coated so I can polish to suit and with no worry of any coating flaking off

[mneame]

Blackfire make a metal sealant iirc which should help protect the outer rim. Not used it myself though.

One thing I would say is if you're leaving the outer rim as an unprotected surface, be careful which wheel cleaners you use.