With ceramic coatings becoming more affordable and easier to use, companies are creating coatings for more and more surfaces.
People have always toyed with the idea of putting regular coatings on alloys. However, the effectiveness is always brought into question.
The problem is that your wheels reach much higher temperatures than the car body panels and there are also various different finishes on an alloy wheel.
Because of these two factors, you may be wasting your money applying regular coatings to car wheels.
If you don’t want to waste your money, it’s best you use a specific ceramic coating for wheels.
The best ceramic coating for wheels will help to repel dust and dirt, no matter how much hot brake dust is thrown at it.
Below is a list of the products that I’d recommend.
Best Wheel Ceramic Coating
When choosing the best wheel coatings, I took into account 3 main factors. The instructions, ease of application, durability and cost.
Of course there are many other variables and qualities that you may look for in a product, but those are the main 4 for me.
GTechniq C5 Wheel Armour
If you’ve never heard of them before, GTechniq are a company that are well known for their coatings and sealants.
Their ceramic coatings are among the most popular in the industry. It shouldn’t be a surprise that most detailing professionals also recommend their ceramic wheel coating.
The C5 Wheel Armour product promises to repel brake dust and make wheel maintenance much easier.
GTechniq promises that C5 Wheel Armour will work on absolutely any wheel. Meaning that the product will work on steel wheels, as well as painted and powder-coated alloys.
This is considered to be one of the better performing coatings because of its unique chemical bonding mechanism.
C5 Wheel Armour is said to last anywhere between 1-2 years. Of course, the more time that passes, the less effective it will be.
C5 also retains its integrity up to temperatures of 600C, so if you wanted, you could even apply it to your brake calipers.
When it comes to actually using the product, the instructions are listed on the box and are fairly straightforward to follow.
Application of the product is simple.
After cleaning your alloy wheels, apply some drops of solution to an applicator pad and then apply it evenly to your alloys.
After 10 minutes has passed, simply buff the coating from your wheels and you’ll have up to 2 years of protection.
This product isn’t too expensive, however the 15ml bottle will only cover the faces of wheels that are 17 inch or below.
If you choose to buy 30ml, you’ll be able to cover up to 20 inch wheels inside and out.
Luxury cars and saloons will require 30ml of product. Bigger vehicles such as jeeps and trucks may require 45ml.
Overall it’s a great product that I can’t recommend enough. No matter what type of wheels you apply it to, you’ll definitely see the difference.
Buy GTechniq C5 Wheel Armour from Amazon.
Carpro Cquartz Dlux
Carpro Dlux is another wheel coating that’s super popular.
I’m sure if you’ve done your research already, you’ll have seen this product widely recommended across the internet.
Carpro Cquartz Delux promises to add a protective layer to any surface that it’s applied to.
This is where it’s slightly different than GTechniqs C5 Wheel Armour.
While Cquartz wheel and trim coat works great on wheels, repelling brake dust, iron fillings and making them easier to wash, it’s also a trim coating.
This means you can apply it to steel wheels, alloys, plastic wheel trims and even rubber mouldings if you’d like.
Personally, I think it’s a little too expensive for using on rubber & trims, I’d rather use VRP, however it’s a nice bonus feature.
Claiming to be the most advanced wheel coating on the market, Carpro Dlux claims to protect your wheels and trim for 2 years, or longer thanks to it’s unique nano composition.
Unfortunately this product only withstands 420 celsius, which is significantly less than C5 Wheel Armour.
As for application, it’s pretty much the same as any other wheel coating. Put some product on a cloth or applicator pad and then apply it directly to the areas you want protected.
Just make sure to buff any residue or you could end up with streaks and spotting.
Out of all of the products on the list, this one works out to be the best value for money.
10ml of this bottle will cover all 4 wheels on your car, as well as your rubber and plastic mouldings.
This means that you get 3 applications out of a 30ml bottle, potentially resulting in 6 years of protection.
All of this and it still costs less than GTechniqs C5 Wheel Armour which can only be applied once?! Count me in.
GYEON Q2 Rim
GYEON is a premium detailing brand that offers great products and great packaging. They’re not too well known for their coatings, however, I really like what they offer.
Q2 Rim is an advanced quartz coating designed specifically for wheel finishes.
It’s resistant up to 760C and can be applied to your wheels, brake calipers and even your exhaust.
Whether your rims are painted, powder coated, anodized or even polished, Q2 Rim will protect them from contamination and make them much easier to clean.
As well as being heat resistant, this coating claims that it can resist various different cleaners. That said, with this coating applied, there wont be any need for acid based cleaners.
Unfortunately in terms of durability, this is probably the least durable product on the list.
Gyeon don’t make any bold claims. They suggest that Q2 Rim may last up to 6 months depending on the wheel. In the product description they suggest that layering the product could extend its duration.
The application is pretty much the same as any other coating. However, if you are layering it, you should wait at least 4 hours between layers.
If you’re applying just 1 layer, 1x30ml bottle will be enough for 2 applications. This will give you up to 12 months of protection.
GYEON Q2 Rim is already the most expensive product on this list, before you take into consideration its short life-span.
When you buy GYEON, you’re buying an experience. You get nice packaging and a good product, but value for money goes out of the window.
It’s the perfect gift for a detailing enthusiast, but not necessarily a product you’d want to use regularly.
You can buy GYEON Q2 RIM on Amazon
Carbon Collective Platinum Wheels
Carbon Collective Platinum Wheels is one for the UK reader and even then, it’s pretty hard to get your hands on.
Unfortunately, it’s out of stock on the carbon collective website as well as every other 3rd party seller.
Just like any other wheel coating, Platinum wheels is a product that produces a hard “permanent” layer on your alloy wheels.
This layer is “resistant” to contamination, preventing dirt, brake dust and other hard contaminants from sticking to your wheel.
You can apply carbon collective platinum wheels to alloys that are painted, powder coated, bare metal as well as stainless finishes.
This certainly isn’t a product for your plastic wheel trims! Carpro Dlux on the other hand is!
In terms of durability, Carbon Collective claim that this product is durable for a MINIMUM of 2 years. That being said, it’s the least heat resistant product on this list, with a max temperature exposure of 350 degrees.
While it depends on the size of your wheels and how much product you really use, it’s said that a 15ml bottle will get you 6-8 wheels (or two coats).
This means you could get over 4 years of protection from a 15ml bottle.
It’s also the cheapest wheel ceramic coating on this list.
If you’re someone that loves value for money and lives in the UK, it’s definitely worth giving this product a shot once you can get your hands on it.
You can buy Platinum Wheels on Amazon or directly from the carbon collective website.