# Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat?



## snarbles (Aug 19, 2002)

I am about to take my Audi fat fives in to be polished and was wondering what are the pros/cons of clear coating them? Does anybody happen to have a pic comparison of a polished wheel vs a polished and clear coated wheel? 
I've heard that if I do not clear coat there is an option of using Zoop Seal to minimize oxidation and the need for polishing.
Thoughts suggestions?


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## OrlandoR (Mar 16, 2005)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (snarbles)*


_Quote, originally posted by *snarbles* »_I am about to take my Audi fat fives in to be polished and was wondering what are the pros/cons of clear coating them? Does anybody happen to have a pic comparison of a polished wheel vs a polished and clear coated wheel? 
I've heard that if I do not clear coat there is an option of using Zoop Seal to minimize oxidation and the need for polishing.
Thoughts suggestions?

I did mine myself and by hand, it you clear them they will look hazy, just like they do stock. The fat fives are already polished and clearcoated from the factory. Yeah if you polish them more and then clear it will probably look better than the oem finish, but not by much. As long as you maintain them, clean them well and apply an aluminum polish to them (like mothers) once maybe twice a month they will not oxidize.
Here are what mine look like.

















_Modified by OrlandoR at 2:28 PM 8-12-2007_


_Modified by OrlandoR at 2:30 PM 8-12-2007_


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## snarbles (Aug 19, 2002)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (OrlandoR)*

Wow, pure hottness man. Definitely getting this done soon.


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## VWGolfDriv3r (Jul 27, 2005)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (snarbles)*

I'd also suggest against clearing them. It can be hard to get an even clear sprayed over polished wheels. Often they'll end up looking 'milky' or uneven. I'd also recommend simply maintaining them after you're happy with the polish. Keep a good coat of wax on them and they shouldn't oxidize rapidly. A good, fresh wax should keep road and brake dust from getting stuck as well. When they scratch again (and they will) just polish them up a little with metal polish or some fine compounds. Depending on if it's a daily/weekend/show car I'd wax them bi-weekly (as often as you wax your car) and polish bi-monthly (that means every other month







) or once a year.


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## drkmrk4 (May 1, 2006)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (VWGolfDriv3r)*

I have a set of fat 5's on my indigo blue gti and they have some serious road rash and oxidation how do I make them look like the ones on that r they are the hotness?
HELP HELP HELP


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## snarbles (Aug 19, 2002)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (drkmrk4)*

There are many magic spells you can do to make your wheels SHINEY! The most important one is to remove the clear coat with Aircraft remover. Then polish the living hell out of them with mothers wheels polish.


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## snarbles (Aug 19, 2002)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (snarbles)*

Also Zoop seal prevents oxidation.


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## drkmrk4 (May 1, 2006)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (snarbles)*

awesome thanks man now one more quick question where would I get this clear coat remover that you were talking about? is it something I could buy at autozone or somewhere or does it have to be ordered?


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## Uberhare (Jul 30, 2003)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (snarbles)*


_Quote, originally posted by *snarbles* »_Also Zoop seal prevents oxidation.

Good stuff!!! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## VWGolfDriv3r (Jul 27, 2005)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (drkmrk4)*


_Quote, originally posted by *drkmrk4* »_awesome thanks man now one more quick question where would I get this clear coat remover that you were talking about? is it something I could buy at autozone or somewhere or does it have to be ordered?

Yeah, you can get it at a lot of auto places, or just high strength paint strippers from hardware/ home improvement stores.


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## snarbles (Aug 19, 2002)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (VWGolfDriv3r)*

Does anybody have any pics of clear coated polished fat fives? I'm still thinking about getting them cleared so I don't have the maintenance headache.


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## JonnyKuhns (May 10, 2003)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (snarbles)*

Of all the sets of wheels I've had over the years... I've stripped the clear coat off most of them, anything that was polished.
Remove the clear with some chemical paint stripper as mentioned above, it's really not difficult to do and the final result is extremely nice. If the wheels have any curbage or corrosion, wet sand that out and you'll have a near mint wheel.
The upkeep on them really isn't bad at all if you take decent care of your car with regular car washes once a week or every other.
http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## 87vr6 (Jan 17, 2002)

*Re: Polished Fat Fives - to clear coat or not to clear coat? (snarbles)*

I'm just posting to track this thread for later. Thanks


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## 02 TDI (Mar 25, 2008)

I've had several wheels polished out and you have to maintain them. Polish them out and Zoop Seal them and they will stay pretty alot longer. I used Mothers for a long time and still do, but Zoop Seal is the best. Do it right the first time.


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## Noobercorn (Aug 17, 2007)

*Re: (02 TDI)*

where does one find this "aircraft" stripper, or is there another stripper that is reccomended with taking the clear off these?
also, since the wheel is technically already polished, it appears that just stripping off the clear will add to their brilliance. is that correct?


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## JDriver1.8t (May 20, 2005)

*Re: (Noobercorn)*

There is clear powerder coat.
That is an option for people who don't want the headache of overly regular cleaning of them.
It will reduce the bling slightly, but may be worth it to you.
PC runs $50-$80 a wheel in most areas. (info gathered on vortex)


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## Noobercorn (Aug 17, 2007)

*Re: (JDriver1.8t)*

PC? 
also, i would be interested in seeing a polished, then clear powder coated wheel. 
sounds interesting. 
has anyone annodized a wheel before? namely one of these?


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