rpg51

Not sure this is the best sub-forum for my questions. But, here goes.

I just purchased a set of JDM BBS Honda OEM 16" wheels for my S2k. They are in very good condition. They have some finish imperfections and I am trying to decide whether to have them professionally refinished, (paint and clear coat). I believe they have their original finish now. I can't tell if there is a clear coat on this original finish - anyone know?

There is no curb rash. None. That is a good thing.

One or two wheels have minor surface scratching. Is this something that could be buffed out somehow? I am not very experienced with detailing - but I do have a porter cable DA polisher if that is helpful. I have not done this sort of work much so advice from the experts about how to approach this - if at all - would be helpful.

One wheel (see pics) has a stripe around the inside of the barrel. The pic shows the worst of it. It looks like it is raised - might be material that has been sitting on there a long time and it is not going to come off with simple soap and water. It might have caused some etching - not easy to tell. It almost looks like something was slinging off the rotor? What is the best approach to deal with that without doing any physical damage and to try to preserve the underlying original finish??

Is there is a way to deal with these issues at home? In the end, if the at home efforts don't work, I'll probably have them refinished. I am not interested in refinishing them myself although I know that is possible. If I do it, I'll spend the money and have it done professionally.

Your thoughts?

zeroptzero

The rims do have clearcoat on them but very thin, the paint is very thin too and brittle/soft so easy to chip. The inside barrels of the rims are not clearcoated so crap sticks to the all time time, road tar and stuff. You can buff out scratches that can't be felt with your fingernail, if you can feel it with your fingernail then it likely can't be buffed.

I painted mine and the paint quality is so much better, much thicker clearcoat and the paint is much thicker and stronger too. When I painted my rims I had the interior barrels painted and clearcoated too, it was much more money to do them but I don't get stuff sticking in the barrels nearly as much and they wash off clean. After painting them I put on some coats of Menzerna Powerlock sealant and dirt comes of much easier.

rpg51

I feel myself being pulled toward refinishing with paint and clear coat. My impression is that while the wheels are wonderful, the oem finish leaves a lot to be desired.

manystyles

Take a look at AMMONYC's video about compounding/polishing his track wheels.

zeroptzero

Yup the OEM finish leaves a lot to be desired, what's that saying about polishing the brass on a sinking ship ?, same thing likely applies to your rims. I had some ap2v3 rims that had some imperfect paint and clearcoat too, and I had them refinished. If you plan to keep the rims a long time that is the way to go.

rpg51

If I put all that work into detailing these rims my prediction is I end up with something that is still not the sort of finish that I'm looking for.