Frank,
The Alcoas have some type of wax like coating when you get them. The
original coating lasts the longest, but still tarnishes pretty fast. As
long as you don't let them get too bad, you can polish them up pretty
quickly with aluminum polish. We have found that putting wax on after the
polish really helps prolong the time between polishing. If you really keep
up with the wax, you probably would not have to polish them much at all.
We have found the original Auri liquid wax to work the best. It has enough
abrasives in it to polish some of the fine scratches out, lasts longer than
most of the other waxes we have tried on the wheels, and is easy to apply
and wipe off. I think that they have since changed the formula to a less
abrasive one, however, so the results may not be as good now. We did try
to coat them with Nylic clear coat from Eastwood which is supposed to work
on metal. We polished them up and then used wax remover to make sure that
the surface was totally clean. The Nylic just beaded up anyway, so we gave
up. We have used it on some other non-polished parts since with varying
levels of success.
Once you have them, you will actually want to polish them. They look SO
good when they are freshly polished. If you don't let them get too bad,
you can do a pretty good job of polishing and waxing in about 30 minutes
per wheel. A quick waxing every other week or so should keep them looking
good for 2 months or so (maybe even longer). Expect to spend over an hour
per wheel for polishing and waxing if you let them get bad though.
Pros: They look GREAT when freshly polished.
They look GOOD most of the time.
They look better than wheel covers or the factory steel wheels no matter how
much you neglect them.
With time, you can restore their original look no matter how bad you let them
get (within reason). Even scratches can be removed by hand or with a
polishing machine.
They are much lighter than the original wheels.
They are much better balanced than the original wheels.
(Our unbalanced set of Alcoas and Michelins resulted in less vibration
than our balanced steel wheels with Michelins.)
They will never rust.
They accept the more common 16" tire.
They accept radial tires.
You can tell everyone you meet that you have 6 (or 7 if you get the spare)
Alcoa wheels. (We actually get to tell everyone we have 13 -
6 trailer wheels, 1 trailer spare, and 6 GMC wheels)
Cons: COST
Time to maintain best look.
Cost and time of other upgrades you will now think are absolutely necessary
because your wheels look SO GOOD. (Don't be surprised if paint and a
frame off are in your future after you get these wheels. Think how
nice the GMC's whose owners were polishing their wheels were. I bet
they were not that nice looking before they got those wheels
.
>Question? Do the Alcoa Wheels have a protective coating like automobile
>wheels? I had noticed at the Marion Rally that some had tarnished badly.
>The ones that looked good where being polished every day. Thinking of
>buying a set but not if they require that much maintenance. Lets here
>the pros and cons.
>Frank TOYOTA LAND
>
>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>
The Alcoas have some type of wax like coating when you get them. The
original coating lasts the longest, but still tarnishes pretty fast. As
long as you don't let them get too bad, you can polish them up pretty
quickly with aluminum polish. We have found that putting wax on after the
polish really helps prolong the time between polishing. If you really keep
up with the wax, you probably would not have to polish them much at all.
We have found the original Auri liquid wax to work the best. It has enough
abrasives in it to polish some of the fine scratches out, lasts longer than
most of the other waxes we have tried on the wheels, and is easy to apply
and wipe off. I think that they have since changed the formula to a less
abrasive one, however, so the results may not be as good now. We did try
to coat them with Nylic clear coat from Eastwood which is supposed to work
on metal. We polished them up and then used wax remover to make sure that
the surface was totally clean. The Nylic just beaded up anyway, so we gave
up. We have used it on some other non-polished parts since with varying
levels of success.
Once you have them, you will actually want to polish them. They look SO
good when they are freshly polished. If you don't let them get too bad,
you can do a pretty good job of polishing and waxing in about 30 minutes
per wheel. A quick waxing every other week or so should keep them looking
good for 2 months or so (maybe even longer). Expect to spend over an hour
per wheel for polishing and waxing if you let them get bad though.
Pros: They look GREAT when freshly polished.
They look GOOD most of the time.
They look better than wheel covers or the factory steel wheels no matter how
much you neglect them.
With time, you can restore their original look no matter how bad you let them
get (within reason). Even scratches can be removed by hand or with a
polishing machine.
They are much lighter than the original wheels.
They are much better balanced than the original wheels.
(Our unbalanced set of Alcoas and Michelins resulted in less vibration
than our balanced steel wheels with Michelins.)
They will never rust.
They accept the more common 16" tire.
They accept radial tires.
You can tell everyone you meet that you have 6 (or 7 if you get the spare)
Alcoa wheels. (We actually get to tell everyone we have 13 -
6 trailer wheels, 1 trailer spare, and 6 GMC wheels)
Cons: COST
Time to maintain best look.
Cost and time of other upgrades you will now think are absolutely necessary
because your wheels look SO GOOD. (Don't be surprised if paint and a
frame off are in your future after you get these wheels. Think how
nice the GMC's whose owners were polishing their wheels were. I bet
they were not that nice looking before they got those wheels
.>Question? Do the Alcoa Wheels have a protective coating like automobile
>wheels? I had noticed at the Marion Rally that some had tarnished badly.
>The ones that looked good where being polished every day. Thinking of
>buying a set but not if they require that much maintenance. Lets here
>the pros and cons.
>Frank TOYOTA LAND
>
>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>
