My gta wheels are looking very dull. The first two photos are my wheels the 3rs photo is the polished look I want them to look like. Is there a way to polish the ear coat? Or do I need to strip the clear off?

 

Not being overly familiar with the GTA wheels, it's hard to say for sure, BUT.....typically it's not the clear that's the issue. On my IROC wheels, there's a machine/texture on the silver, which keeps it from looking polished. The clear is just...well....clear! It's possible the clear is a little dingy, but my thinking is that's NOT what the issue what your wheels is. You'd likely have to strip the clear, and sand/polish the actual metal. THEN...you could either re-clear if you daily drive, or just leave 'em bare if you don't DD. That's what I did to my IROCs. AGain, not 100% sure the GTA's are the same, but that's my guess.

You could always buff the clear a little bit and see what happens.

 

I just refinished my GTA wheels this fall, yours are in very nice shape but you want the mirror shine like I did. IIRC when I asked for advice another member recommended “1000 grit wet sand paper and polish them out with a wool pad and 3M cutting compound and finish with a polish. Tape off the gold portion of the wheels.” which I think would work nicely in your case. It looks like no one marred the rim with weights on the outside and the clear looks to not be peeling.

To achieve that look on my rims I hand sanded wet with 220 to remove the clear, then 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 as recommended by bob88gta. Then the mothers mag polish with mini ball on the drill and finish up with a coat or 2 of Wolfgang aluminum wax. It took anywhere from 3.5 to 6 hours a wheel with most of the time dedicated to removing the clear coat with 220. I was hesitant to use the aluminum stripper because I did not want to worry about damaging the gold cross laces which were in good condition.



Before

Before

Before

Before

After

After

 

Awesome. This is exactly what I needed. Much appreciated

 

If you want them to look like an OER reproduction fresh out of the box..... Buy a set from Classic Industries and be done with it. Sign up for their sales emails and wait for a holiday for the best deal.

 

Nice!