Topcoats for rims

The topcoat is a transparent coat that serves to protect the rim and its paint.

There are glossy and matt topcoats.

Before gathering all the necessary products to redo your rim paint (link to parent page) it is important to know when to use a rim topcoat ?

You should apply a topcoat when you have applied a metallic rim paint.

Most manufacturer's tints must be varnished.

All car rims that have been factory painted with a metallic color are varnished.

Rims made of pure raw metal are bare: they can be, to be better protected against oxidation and corrosion, provided that special metal products are used.

Rims with glossy black are often epoxy lacquers made by baking.

If a glossy black is desired, you can use either a 2K paint or a 1K black basecoat.

What are the most resistant rim paint topcoats ?

The best solutions to protect automotive paint, whether they are manufacturer or "custom" types, are the ceramic or flexible types.

We are only talking here about products and solutions to be used by spray gun or spray can without industrial machinery or equipment. Generally speaking, 2-component coatings provide the best hardness, far superior to "consumer" mono-component products

In addition to water, oil, gel, petrol, heat and sunlight, a rim is subject to constant projection of sand and gravel : a rim topcoat must therefore be ultra-resistant to abrasion and impact.

There are two opposing solutions to avoid scratches, but also bursts and delamination :

- Prefer an ultra hard rim topcoat, such as ceramic topcoats.

- or prefer an extra flexible topcoat, with the addition of an elasticising agent.

Tip: Avoid applying too many coats or too much thickness to the rim paint, as this makes it easier to break and peel off!

The different types of rim topcoats :

We offer classic professional topcoats, with selections of the best products on the market, such as WET SPEED (glossy, covering and fast topcoat), Ceramic (range of ultra hard topcoats), but also aerosol versions with integrated hardeners, and finally other topcoats, more specific.

Among the specific topcoats, there are ones suitable for rims made of all types of metals.

Special additives and specialities for rim paints

In this category, we also find some specialties, such as the softening additive that can be added in any final topcoat, with a rate of 1 to 3% maximum. This trick is known by many body painter who use this product especially on bumpers.

There is also the liquid nanoceramic product, which is applied over the topcoat to protect it from micro scratches : This innovative liquid product looks like a microscopic layer of glass when dry.

Primer for rim paint

Accessory for rim paint