Landracing Forum
Misc Forums => NON LSR Posting => Topic started by: Clay Pitkin on April 25, 2013, 06:41:23 PM
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Has anybody tried clear coating moon discs?
I was just wondering if that would help in protecting them?
TIA
Clay
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Clear coated by Moon is a extra cost option.
DW
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yes and many anodize them to match the car color.
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One scratch and that Brillo pad won't save them.
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Yes. My experience with clear powder coated aluminum wasn't that great. Looked good for a while. Then pretty bad. I wouldn't do it again.
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I shot ours with clear acrylic, ....it comes off with a scourer, what it does do is stop them getting attacked badly in the first week or so after you get home....give 'em a quick rub with the green scourer and another quick blast.....wouldn't use anything more resilient than that stuff.
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I've used rattle can clear spray with decent results. We live in a salty environment and therefore the discs get some salty spray during the summer before the rain has washed the roads clean. We also drive the pickup out to Bville with the discs installed. They're now four summers old (I don't have them installed during the six months of winter) and are showing their age, but they're not embarrassingly bad looking yet. I had the first set clear coated at a car repair biz -- and those lasted about as long as did the home-done ones. They cost a lot more that way, though. . . :roll:
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The main thing is to take them off before you leave the salt, wash them with a "strong" dose of soap and water, dry them off immediatly (to avoid water spots) and wax them, and I mean "RIGHT NOW".
After twelve years and forgeting about the "RIGHT NOW" one too many times, I paid about a hundred bucks to have them polished, and even though I now clean them as soon as possible, I pay another fifty bucks every year to re-polish them. Bob
p.s.: If you are buying new wheels and intend to run Moon Discs, DO NOT WELD ON Dzuz tabs before you recieve the Discs, and rent the Moon templete to use when welding on the tabs !
Several years ago Bruce Geisler ordered three sets of 18" rims from "Hoppy" Hopsen (now the G.M. of American Racing Wheels) who at the time had his own sideline bussiness building racing wheels.
Long story short: I volunteered to weld on the tabs, have them powder coated, and shipped a set to Bruce, and the last set to Courtney Hizer in Georgia.
About two months later Mickey Thompson Tires new owners (Cooper Tires) pulled the plug on the LSR tires, so we had no tires to mount.
Flash forward about Three Years, and M/T came to a agreement with McCreary Tires to build new LSR tires off of the existing molds and allowed those of us who got "screwed" by the rich LSR owners who were allowed to "back door" existing inventory during the "tire non-existance" period irregardess of the "first in line, first served" process that had been used for years.
When Courtney got his tires and tried to mount his new Moon discs on his four year old (but still new) rims, they didn't fit.
After several calls between Courtney, Moon and myself, I finally sent the template (which I bought from Moon at the onset) to Courtney and he (having had Moon send him two Virgin 18" discs) and matched the tab mounts (off of their own template)!
Bottom line: Do not get the cart ahead of the horse, and if you buy your wheels from a Vendor, make sure they sell and mount the Moon Discs for you. Bob
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Bob:
"Rich LSR owners"...gotta be fewer of them than there are of us. :-D
BR
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Mine are clear powder coated. I only have them on when we run. I personally like them a lot.....JD
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I use Alodine 1001, from Aircraft Spruce Company, along with Alumiprep #33. They are both available in quart size, which lasts most people many years. It can be shipped by common carrier (UPS, etc.). The Alodine is a surface treatment (not a paint or coating) that prevents the corrosion (and stains and dulling) that bare aluminum suffers in moist air or handling. It has worked very well for me on all the billet aluminum pieces I've machined and used in competition- some of them 29 years ago and still looking good. It does wear away with lots of handling (sort of like soft anodizing)- I had to re-do such pieces (QC cover, etc.) every now and then. I also used it (instead of special primer) to neutralize the complete aluminum frame of my mini-rod pulling tractor before painting. Whenever I get to detailing my lakester, I'll definitely do the Moon discs.
Note: Professionally polished pieces would be slightly dulled by Alodine; the only choice for them is traditional periodic polishing and waxing (such as the hemi rocker covers shown here). But machined surfaces (such as the lower pulley) look great with Alodine treatment.
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I'll second Jack's statements about Alodine. It is a chromate conversion process, available in a fairly clear or gold color. It is a type of passivation for aluminum alloys and, as he says, protects the aluminum from mild corrosion-- not salt-- but from ordinary handling. It looks good as- is or it serves as a base for painting aluminum.
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
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I use a product called shark hide on my al boat,works great did it 3years ago still looks like new,first you buff it,clean with lacquer thinner, then apply with baby diapers,