Title says it all. Are the polished aluminum Bullits on my 2006 GT clear coated or not? I have a spot on one of the wheels that I can not get off with a detailing clay bar. I’ll try some metal polish next but only if the wheels are not clear coated.



Mike

 

The wheels are clearcoated

 

I have the same wheels and have never had wheels that were clear coated. is there special handling that I should worry about ??

 

Treat them the same way you would treat the paint on your car. do NOT use abrasive products on them such as metal/aluminum polishes since they are not metal/aluminum. Sure under the clearcoat they are aluminum but you don't clean them or protect them as if they are aluminum but rather you use products and waxes/polishes designed for "clearcoat" just like the "clearcoat" on the paint.

Claybar will not harm them either as it don't hurt the paint on the car.

 

OK, that makes sense. So if you're OK to clay bar 'em, do you wax them too ?? It just seems like a real dumb question.

I appreciate your help

 

Oh man am I glad I read this thread. My '07 has 17" Bullits that I now assume must be painted and clearcoated . I guess waxing is a better idea for the spokes and polish for the aluminum rim. Used a Mother's wheel polish all over them this w/e but I won't do that again.
Thanks

 

I waxed mine as soon as I got her home as with the rest of the car. You'll be surprised at how easily brake dust washes off of waxed wheels.

 

I would never have thought of waxing wheels in a millions years. It makes sense though... what sucks is I just finished claybaring mine and put a couple coats of Zaino on it... cleaned the wheels and that's it. Gonna have to bust out the clay bar and wax here in the next day or so...

Thanks for the info. You learn something new everyday here

 

Not a dumb question at all and yes it's a great idea to wax/polish them. I took mine off cleaned them real good and the backside as well and polished them with Zaino. It makes it real easy to keep the brake dust off, especially behind the wheel that you can't reach when washing when on the car.

 

My 18" polished wheels each have a spot where it looks like there was a factory sticker on them. Any ideas how to get this off without damaging the finish?

 

Take a look at this thread...http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showth...ctory+stickers

 

funny enough this was the exact reason I popped into this thread. I used goo-gone and remembered seeing something here. Goo-gone worked like a charm, I just have to wax them now.

 

Yeah waxing wheels like this is a good idea. When I got my polished Weld Draglights way back when I waxed them about once a month, they were insanely easy to keep clean because of it.

 

Most of the Zaino people here (myself included) use it on the wheels too.
I think it works better than wax on the wheels.

 

I'm a Zaino guy too and have always used it on clear coated wheels. I assumed the polished Bullits were clear coated but asked just to be sure.

As for the spot on the wheel that started all this....it appears to be under the clear coat. Something must have gotten on the wheel at the factory prior to putting on the clear. I've only had the car for 2 months so I'll have to decide if it's worth taking this up with the dealer.

On a side note....the clear coat on the wheels seems to be much softer than what's used on the body. My detailing process has never caused scratching on any of my cars but I noticed some very light marring on the wheels...none on the body.

 

I have one sticker on each of my wheels. I am wondering if the sticker has something to do with aligning the tire with the wheel. There is a red dot on each of my tires that lines up next to the sticker on each wheel.

Does anyone know if there is a reason to have the tires aligned with the wheels using the red dot on the tire and the sticker on the wheel?

Should the red dots and stickers be left on so that in the future when the tire is remounted on the wheel, the red dot gets aligned with the sticker?

Thanks.

 

I haven't been able to get rid of the dam sticker yet. The dot came off easily but that dam sticker is driving me crazy.

 

I used Goo Gone. It takes a couple of applications, but it works. Let me know if you're interested in trying this and I'll give you foolproof instructions.

Paul

 

Since the stickers on the rims are lined up with the red dots on all four tires, it makes me wonder if the stickers and red dots are used for wheel and tire alignment. It makes me wonder whether or not I should remove the red dots and stickers. Does anyone know if this theory makes any sense? Thanks, for answering what may be a stupid question on my part. It wouldn't be the first time I've asked a dumb question.

Also, why would they be putting these stickers on the rims and red dots on the tires in the first place? What, is this just part of an "Annoyance Program" to give us something to ponder and work on in our spare time?

Maybe you can see the sticker on the rim and red dot on the tire lined up next to each other better in this picture.

Thanks.

 

Maybe used at the factory for some reference point (like tire 'This Side Out'), but that's it. Has zilch to do with anything else.

Here's what I used to remove the little sticky squares off the rim (Goo Gone didn't do it for me ). And I used my fingernail (with a little Z-10 ) to scrape the red marks off the tire.

before



after