A protective clear coating covers the surface of original equipment cast aluminum wheels. A surface degradation develops if frequent automatic car wash cleaning wears off the factory applied protective clear coating. This can happen at some automatic car wash facilities that use aggressive silicon carbide-tipped air brushes to clean whitewalls and tires. Once you damage the protective clear coating, exposure to caustic cleaners and road salt can cause further surface deterioration. The following procedure details how to strip, clean, and re-coat aluminum wheels affected by these conditions:

Important: You do not need to remove the tire from the wheel in order to perform this procedure. If you remove the tire, mark the tire position to the wheel. Use the valve stem as an index. When remounting, return the tire to the original position on the wheel.

1. Mark the wheel and the tire for position on the vehicle.
2. Remove the tire and wheel assembly. Refer to Wheel Removal .
3. Mark the position of the wheel weights. Remove the wheel weights.
4. Wash the wheel inside and out with a water base, all-purpose cleaner. Remove the grease and oil with a solvent cleaner.

Accent Color Preparation

Sand the painted areas that will not require recoloring with 400 grit, wet or dry, in order to promote adhesion of the clear coat.