Blistering on alloy wheels, how to prevent

I understood it was caused by metal dust from the brakes bedding into the lacquer and then rusting giving an air hole to let moisture get to the alloy. exacerbated by people using acidic wheel cleaners.

I'm sure you're right. Reading between the lines, are you saying there is nothing that can be done to prevent it on a new car? (apart from not using acidic wheel cleaners, which I never did).

John

Regular cleaning should make them last a bit longer, some makes of wheels seem to last longer than others, ford alloys last better than Toyota ones for instance, but probably the best bet would just be to get your wheels re-finished after about 5 years or whenever they start to deteriorate. the re-finish people put on something much tougher than the cheap finish that comes new.

I've always found maintaining a good coat of wax seems to work.

Thanks Mr Cheerful and Duncan. I will pay closer attention to spraying the alloys with wax in future. (This is something I've never done - just used Sainsbury's car wash + wax from time to time).

John

The finish on my MX-5's wheels started to bubble on the inner part of the rim after 2 or 3 years, after 4 or 5 years the finish on the outer face of the spokes and rim was badly oxidised and starting to bubble.

I had the wheels blasted and powder coated in the early parts of this year. They are shiny now.

Some manufacturers use better quality finishes than others, my experience is that Mazda's wheel finish (at least from the period my car is from) isn't up to much.

Not sure there is an easy way to prevent it, but having the wheels painted/powder coated isn't all that expensive. I paid £45 per wheel.

Thanks Douglas. Interesting, isn't it that Mazda has a reputation for reliability, and yet their alloy wheel finish seems to be inferior to others. BTW, I should say that my Mazda has been utterly reliable on all other counts over those four years.

John

Mine has also been faultless so far. I have a feeling that quality in some areas dipped a bit in the mid-late 90s for a few years as facelifted (mk2) MX-5s have a worse reputation for rotting prematurely than earlier ones.

I don't know for sure but I suspect closer ties to Ford and penny-pinching during that period are at least partly to blame.

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Would there be any reason against getting a water based clear varnish like Ronseal and brushing on a coat of it?

It'll flake off even fatser than the original.

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Faster than your suggestion of wax ? we used a couple of coats of ronseal polyurethane on a dinining table and it stays stuck on after regularly taking a hammering.

The wax is rather more trivial to "repair". ANd I doubt your table already had a coat incompatible laquer on it