Stripping rear wheel

Originally Posted by barwel1992

not sure i think its a bit like the lacquer is not as clear as glass so its a bit like having slightly frosted glass in front of a mirror

Maybe that's the cheap lacquer you mentioned then I don't think it should do that

dont forget lacquer gives a smooth shiny coating, doesn't have to actually be clear, as long as the colour shows through clear enough

Originally Posted by barwel1992

dont forget lacquer gives a smooth shiny coating, doesn't have to actually be clear, as long as the colour shows through clear enough

As far as I know lacquer on its own should be clear (given it's used on top of paint, you wouldn't want it to change the colour of the paint you've mixed), but I'm sure you can get it with extra bits - I'm pretty sure I've seen stuff like metalflake lacquer with bits of metalflake in the lacquer itself (as opposed to the paint). Another name for lacquer is clearcoat (used more in the States though I think) but does kinda point to it being 'supposed' to be clear

he pm me as im doing my wheels he used Belgom Alu A very fine metal polish, suitable for aluminium and its alloys, brass, copper and chrome. Belgom Alu contains a wax additive that protects and seal the polished metal for several weeks costs around £14.00

wish i had the balls to do this as my engine realy needs painting this post is the best i think and
thanks for your help buddy

3 hours polishing wheel ready now for primer never sprayed before so fingers crossed

Originally Posted by muffles

As far as I know lacquer on its own should be clear (given it's used on top of paint, you wouldn't want it to change the colour of the paint you've mixed), but I'm sure you can get it with extra bits - I'm pretty sure I've seen stuff like metalflake lacquer with bits of metalflake in the lacquer itself (as opposed to the paint). Another name for lacquer is clearcoat (used more in the States though I think) but does kinda point to it being 'supposed' to be clear

It will have to be with the way that polished metal achieves its finish. Think about it, to get that mirror finish you sand and then polish until the surface is almost completely flat, I mean the flatter the clearer the reflection. That is because it becomes a flatter surface allowing the light to reflect off it consistently rather than being refracted. With lacquer the light has to go through the lacquer and then reflect, I couldn't explain very well how that makes it dull. But I know that it would. A light coat seems the sensible answer being that there would be less material refracting the light as it passes through.

Although I may be wrong, just what my mind thinks.

No, I think your logic makes sense, it's just I thought that lacquer is supposed to be clear enough to not affect the reflection of light - like looking through glass, you can get some glass where you can clearly tell it's there, but then you can also get glass that is polished up up and flattened enough that you can't.

Thinking about it, there must be some reflection off the surface of the lacquer itself...perhaps just the white light or something? Because - you can use lacquer to create a smooth polished finish on an otherwise-rough finish paint (instead of polishing up the paint, which presumably is also an option). Confusing!