[daw78_T/A]

Originally Posted by 78w72

the paint choice is up to you, you can get the correct code in a single stage or base for clear to spray from a gun or they make a good quality gold in a can, think its oer or oem brand from summit etc. i used their silver for honeycombs & its a very good paint.

as for restoring, i would suggest against powder clear, i had my first set of 15x8 snowflakes done that way from a major wheel resto company done through one of the popular "f-body" vendors, they came back looking TERRIBLE! all kinds of orange peel & even debris stuck in the clear, i sent them back for refund & used another company out of texas & chose no clear. powder clear goes on so thick that its hard to get a smooth finish & cures so hard you cant really sand & buff it. also, if & when they get a chip or scratch (& they will) it cant be touched up & once its chipped it can crack & cause corrosion under the clear like you see on so many modern factory wheels that are cleared. if you insist on clearing them consider a good quality automotive clear that can be sanded & buffed & touched up when needed.

on the 2nd set i had done i chose no clear, like the factory did on these snowflakes. they did the full restoration, smoothed edges & lathe turned the faces. came back looking better than new. i keep them clean & lightly wax them each season & 10 years later they look like the day i got them. if they arent on a daily driver or exposed to road salts etc, leaving them bare is fine & will look 100 times better IMO. i can post pics if you want to see the difference between powder clear & bare alum. & can tell you where i had them done, they were about $100ea + shipping. if your local guy can smooth the curb rash & poilish them up nice, i would seriously consider no powder clear.

What company in Texas did you use for the 2nd set? I would be curious to look into the same for a gold set I have.