Best coating for Bronze Anodized Volk TE37 wheels?

[Mike Phillips]

Best coating for Bronze Anodized Volk TE37 wheels?



Anytime I get questions via e-mail, a PM or a FB message I prefer to invest my typing time where

A: It's easier for me to share links, pictures and videos.

B: More people can read and thus benefit from the information. (no just one set of eyeballs)


The reality is, most people that contact me found me via an article I've written or a reply I've written on this forum. The thing is, instead of figuring out that the whole reason they are contacting me is because they found me via an article or answer I wrote on the forum that they to should bring their question to the forum because not only will that help them.... but it will help a future "them". If I answer everything in a private e-mail or other touch point, no one would find and contact me. It's a cycle or pattern that repeats as long as everything is shared in the public domain.

The above is kind of wordy but re-read it slowly and it will make sense.


So I get an e-mail asking,

Hi Mike,

I have an 99 Acura Integra with a set of Bronze Anodized Volk TE37 wheels. I’d like to put a coating on them but I want to be sure it doesn’t damage the finish. What coating would you recommend that would be safe for them?

Also, what would be a good series of products to use to prep them i.e. iron remover, cleaners etc. I have a couple of the black baked on brake dust spots that i’d like to safely remove.

Also, as a non professional hobbiest detailer, What ceramic coating would you recommend for paint? Thanks in advance for the help and thank you for doing what you do for the auto community.

How do I get in on the news letter as well?

Thanks for everything

Chad

Great questions Chad,

Let's see if I can answer them in order.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Mike,

I have an 99 Acura Integra with a set of Bronze Anodized Volk TE37 wheels. I’d like to put a coating on them but I want to be sure it doesn’t damage the finish. What coating would you recommend that would be safe for them?

Until a few minutes ago I didn't know if these wheels are in fact fully anodized or painted or a combination of both, which is common. So I typed the below into Skynet



And found this thread on a Honda S2ki forum

Volk ce28n refinishing - S2KI Honda S2000 Forums

Here's a quote from forum member .eric. post #6

Good luck with trying to match the original Volk Racing bronze since the lips are anodized and the faces are painted.

I've tried to replicate the color on several sets of TE37s. BMW Bronze Sepang A32 and Toyota Avensis Brown Mica 4Q9 were close but not exact matches. I have a set of 19s getting powdercoated Highland Bronze - I'll post pictures of them when I pick them up at the end of the week.

So according to .eric. the LIPS of the rims are anodized and the rest of the wheel is painted.


That all said, anodizing is TOUGH! I doubt any coating would ever harm anodizing.

The toughest wheel coating I've used is the GTechniq C5 Wheel Armor. You can get it here,


GTechniq C5 Wheel Armor 15 ml.

Also, what would be a good series of products to use to prep them i.e. iron remover, cleaners etc.

My experience, or nitemare, was that iron removers can and will stain anodizing. You won't know until you try but the deal is, if you use an iron remover and it DOES stain the anodized portions of the rim, I've only seen one person fix anodizing before and that was me.

Stick with a safe, non-acid wheel cleaner like the SONAX Wheel Cleaner Full Effect

I have a couple of the black baked on brake dust spots that i’d like to safely remove.

The SONAX wheel cleaner should tackle these. If you don't have a Wheel Woolie brush I'd highly recommend getting these brushes. I wash a LOT of wheels and tires and my favorite are the Wheel Woolies and the Speedmaster Wheel Brushes.

Here's just ONE article I've written where I share the wheel cleaning tools I use.

Review: Speed Master Wheel Cleaning Brushes by Mike Phillips

Also, as a non professional hobbiest detailer, What ceramic coating would you recommend for paint?

I get asked this question a LOT. My normal answer is

Choose a brand you ALREADY know and trust and go with it.


In my classes I show,

BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating
Pinnacle Black Label Paint Coating
GYEON Mohs Q2
CarPro UK Edition 3.0
GTechniq C1 Crystal Lacquer


The above are all established brand names with great reputations. All of the above coatings apply the same way. As long as you do the PREP WORK correctly you will get professional results.

I also teach how to do coating installations at all my classes. 60% of the people that attend my classes are ENTHUSIASTS, not pro detailers. Here's an example,

Rick shares his experience at the recent Texas Roadshow Class


I'm 58 and Rick is at least as old as I am.


Rick

Thanks in advance for the help and thank you for doing what you do for the auto community.

Thank you for the recognition, I believe I'm the only guy that teaches classes and since 2002 - regularly writes accurate, in-depth how-to articles on a forum because you can't write articles on Facebook.

How do I get in on the news letter as well?

I've added your name to the Mike Phillips Newsletter. I've only sent out ONE since I started it. The next one goes out this Friday.

Thanks for everything

Chad

I hope you can appreciate it took me about an hour to do some research, find some articles I've written, located pages to more information and "coded" them into my reply. This is why I don't answer questions via e-mail but instead share them on the forum. With an e-mail, only one set of eyeballs will ever see the information.

If you were to look a the number of views my articles, reviews and even the threads I post in-depth "replies" to - they get tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of views. All this means is my work is seen by so many others when I invest the companies time on the forum not in e-mail and not on Facebook.

I'm a hard worker for Autogeek. I do my best to earn my keep.


10 Year Autogeek Anniversary

[Mike Phillips]

Also - here's the link to join this forum as this is where I interact with like-minded people.


Click here to register with our forum

If you have any trouble registering with our forum, then you are encouraged to call me while you're behind your computer with the registration screen up and I will help you to successfully register so that you can actively participate

1-800-869-3011


This is all part of Autogeek's customer service.

[Mike Phillips]

And also....

Thank you for sharing this in your e-mail when I asked how you found me and you said,


I haven’t been able to get an answer on any of the detailing forums so I thought I would ask directly.


I never mind when someone sends me questions via e-mail - just answer them on the forum.



And I LOVED this,

I have searched and asked on posts in different detailing forums and FB Groups. I have asked people in the import community who have said they ceramic coated a bronze anodized wheel but have received no responses.

I have read manufacturer instructions and information but haven’t found a direct answer.

I'll go try again to see if someone has an answer. I just thought maybe you could help shed some light on the subject.



I challenge anyone to ask any question on any Facebook group or other car detailing discussion forum and then post it here and then see where you get the best, most detailed, complete and accurate replies.


I love a challenge and I love competition.

[Mike Phillips]

And for reference, this is the closest thing to a set of Bronze Anodized Volk TE37 wheels I've coated,


Coating a set of Cosmis Hyper Bronze Racing Wheels! Yum yum...

[Chadwikky]

Thank you for taking the time to reply with some great information. I really appreciate it.
Chad

[Chadwikky]

You really are the first person to provide a clear and direct answer with specific product knowledge and advice. Of course I then found the Cosmis post after I emailed you! Thank you forbeing a great source of knowledge and help for those of us still lost it he weeds trying to figure things out.

[Mike Phillips]

You really are the first person to provide a clear and direct answer with specific product knowledge and advice. Of course I then found the Cosmis post after I emailed you! Thank you forbeing a great source of knowledge and help for those of us still lost it he weeds trying to figure things out.

Thank you for the e-mail and thank you for getting why I prefer to answer e-mails on the forum where the info can help so many others.

Also - thank you for joining our forum.


Nice people here...

[Mike lambert]

Excellent answer to his question. However may I suggest Griot’s iron and fallout remover instead of sonar. It has cleaned much better for me compared to the others on the the market. It contains twice the active ingredient as the others as they were used as the base for developing the product.

[Mike lambert]

My apologies, Sonax