The Lotus Grand Tourers

I'm trying to clean up the set of used alloys I bought a couple of months ago. Unfortunately in some places I've had to scrub so hard I've worn through the paint surface (TBH I'm surprised how easy it is to do this!).

Has anyone tried painting or touching up the paint on their alloys? Any recommendations for paint, something that is a close match to the originals? I've got the OZ wheels fitted from '89 on, but the colour looks similar to the 85-88 wheels.

Fortunately it's only on the back that any paint has come off (so far, at least...), so it doesn't matter if it's an imperfect match - my priority is more about protecting the metal, but no-one is going to be inspecting this area closely.

Also, any experience with "product" that can protect the wheel finish once it's clean and painted? I'm tempted by Wonder Wheels Wheel Sealant or something similar, but it's hard to filter manufacturer's claims with who actually makes the best (or best value) product and do they really work. It'd be nice if Practical Classics magazine did a "Which?" style comparison of stuff like this, but I guess it's not worth upsetting their advertisers by being honest about a product.

If you want a good, long lasting finish you will need to prepare the surface (sand) then use an etch primer on any bare metal before you paint them with base coat and clear.
If you want a good match, you can take a wheel to a local auto paint supplier that has a spectro camera - they can scan the colour and mix paint to match. You will then need to paint lacquer/clear coat to protect the base layer.

By the time you’ve done all this, you’d probably be better getting them professionally stripped and powder coated.

If it’s just the inner barrel and you want to just tidy things up a bit, there are a number of silver alloy wheel paints available in spray cans - never used any, so can’t comment.

When I had my wheels refurbished last year I then used GTechiq C5 wheel armour to protect them. It’s a ceramic coating specially designed for wheels. You don’t get much for your £, but you don’t need much to all wheels.

Thanks Alan. Yeah, I only need to do the barrels, and they don't need to be show-worthy, just not cr@p and (more importantly) not leaving exposed metal, where there is a bit after I've had to scrub hard. Spray can will be fine (followed by some clear lacquer I'd guess?); I was hoping if someone had been through this before, and found a paint that is a good enough match to the original finish.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Wheel Armour. A bit pricier than the Wonder Wheels stuff I'd stumbled across, but if it gives the best results £45-odd isn't exactly a fortune.

If you do use the C5, a small amount goes a loooooong way!!

You should be able to do 4/5 15” wheels with the small bottle (15ml) which is closer to £25.

You could also go the graphene wax route. This is taking over from ceramic coatings and can be used on the whole car. I’ve recently bought a jar, but not tried it yet. Any of these coatings will protect the wheel from brake dust, but will still need regular cleaning.

When warmer weather comes (and before the NEC) mine will get the graphene added over the ceramic coat.

I used it as it was the iron cross wheels I had refurbished, which includes diamond cutting and then just a powder based clear coat over the whole wheel. Unfortunately any damage to the clear will allow moisture to get under the clear, and then the only way to repair is a full strip, recut wheels (can only be done a few times as material is removed each time) and clear again.

Alan_M wrote: Tue Jan 21, 2025 20:39 If you do use the C5, a small amount goes a loooooong way!!

You should be able to do 4/5 15” wheels with the small bottle (15ml) which is closer to £25.

Thanks, that's worth knowing, I was assuming I'd have to buy the 30 ml bottle.

Thanks for the suggestion Kev - I should have done a search for this sooner! I've already gone and bought some Simoniz paint and lacquer, I'll let you know how I get on.

Finally got round to painting the wheels yesterday - after what feels like months of scrubbing away with Bilt Hamber wheel cleaner and 2 packs of plastic scouring pads to get decades of filth off the insides of the wheels.

I ended up painting fronts and backs (but not the outside edges), a couple of coats. Really pleased with the finish, they look brand new (apart from some minor kerb scrapes, and some patches on the back where I couldn't totally remove the remains of the adhesive from balancing weights). The colour of the Simoniz paint is a very good match to the original colour. The clear lacquer I was concerned about as it describes itself as "high gloss", and I really didn't want them looking super-glossy-shiny, that wouldn't look right. In fact I am very happy with the finish, it's got a bit of a shine but I wouldn't call it glossy, it's just right. Water beads off the lacquer nicely, so it should protect well, but I'm going to give them a coat of GTECHNIQ C5 Wheel Armour as well just to make sure.

There was just enough paint in the cans to give 2 adequate coats, front and back (but not outside edge), on 4 wheels. I've still got a 5th wheel I haven't cleaned yet, but I think I'll keep this as the spare and not bother repainting it, since I've run out of paint and can't be bothered getting more.

Paint and lacquer were £20 for the pair of them off eBay.



Yes, I am in trouble for getting paint on that old wooden sleeper in our garden.

Great to hear all went well Richard. Good results can be acheved at home for little money. My home refurbed wheels are still looking good after years of year round use in all weathers

Pretty much agrees with my findings over the years, too.

I've painted a fair few wheels with rattle can wheel paint. Mostly using a 1 can system, mostly various generations of Halford's wheel paint.

The most disappointing session was when I put a clear coat over the top, thinking it might need extra protection. A few months later, after the clear coat had fully hardened, it peeled off in sheets! So not bothered with clear coat since (tbf the under colour coat wasn't a base coat per se, it was an ordinary 1 can system).

1 can system last years, resistant to stone chipping, but not kerbing.