Rays Volk Racing ZE40 Barrel Decals - PPF to Protect or Not

[2fast916]

I'm getting tired of winter and have begun thinking about warming things. I have a new set of God Spec ZE40's in bronze that I'm pairing with Continental 275/35 Extreme Contact tires. I am planning to ceramic coat the wheels, prior to first installation. I've seen a few mentions (@phothrottle specifically) of installing PPF over the barrel decals, prior to PPF and/or use. To be honest this is my first JDM car and Ray's wheels so, I'm wondering how important this is to hold their value? I'm that person that typically rebadges everything, as I usually like the clean look that it delivers. If I didn't see this mentioned, I would have likely done the same to my new wheels. So...should I debadge (i.e. strip the decals prior to ceramic coating) or apply PPF to protect and then ceramic coat. If it seems PPF'ing is the right thing to to, for bronze wheels, would clear or matte be the best option? I was leaning towards matte, so it helped to not stick out too much with an extremely glossy appearance vs the rest of the barrel.

Thanks in advance!

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[TypeRbuilder]

I've had my TDP6 forged wheels for 3 years, ceramic coated them and they are just fine! I'd leave the stickers....and wouldn't ppf. Too easy for it to get damaged on wheels. Ceramic protects pretty damn well on it's own, if you use the right stuff.

 

[2fast916]

I've had my TDP6 forged wheels for 3 years, ceramic coated them and they are just fine! I'd leave the stickers....and wouldn't ppf. Too easy for it to get damaged on wheels. Ceramic protects pretty damn well on it's own, if you use the right stuff.

Thanks...added that as an option in the poll.

Out of curiosity, what ceramic coating did you use? I've used and am planning on using Armour Detail Wheel Coating.

 

[phothrottle]

I'm getting tired of winter and have begun thinking about warming things. I have a new set of God Spec ZE40's in bronze that I'm pairing with Continental 275/35 Extreme Contact tires. I am planning to ceramic coat the wheels, prior to first installation. I've seen a few mentions (@phothrottle specifically) of installing PPF over the barrel decals, prior to PPF and/or use. To be honest this is my first JDM car and Ray's wheels so, I'm wondering how important this is to hold their value? I'm that person that typically rebadges everything, as I usually like the clean look that it delivers. If I didn't see this mentioned, I would have likely done the same to my new wheels. So...should I debadge (i.e. strip the decals prior to ceramic coating) or apply PPF to protect and then ceramic coat. If it seems PPF'ing is the right thing to to, for bronze wheels, would clear or matte be the best option? I was leaning towards matte, so it helped to not stick out too much with an extremely glossy appearance vs the rest of the barrel.

Thanks in advance!

All the stickers in the barrel can't be replaced.

I'm getting tired of winter and have begun thinking about warming things. I have a new set of God Spec ZE40's in bronze that I'm pairing with Continental 275/35 Extreme Contact tires. I am planning to ceramic coat the wheels, prior to first installation. I've seen a few mentions (@phothrottle specifically) of installing PPF over the barrel decals, prior to PPF and/or use. To be honest this is my first JDM car and Ray's wheels so, I'm wondering how important this is to hold their value? I'm that person that typically rebadges everything, as I usually like the clean look that it delivers. If I didn't see this mentioned, I would have likely done the same to my new wheels. So...should I debadge (i.e. strip the decals prior to ceramic coating) or apply PPF to protect and then ceramic coat. If it seems PPF'ing is the right thing to to, for bronze wheels, would clear or matte be the best option? I was leaning towards matte, so it helped to not stick out too much with an extremely glossy appearance vs the rest of the barrel.

Thanks in advance!

All the stickers in the barrel can't be replaced and they are another way of showing authenticity of the wheels. Im assuming these are bronze almite based on your questions. The bronze almite has a texture finish and the stickers tend to fall out easily. What i would recommend is just peel them off and put them on the backing of the paint protection film and place them in the box that the wheels came in. This way if you ever decide to sell all the original stickers are there. This way you kill two birds with one stone. Since you like to debadge. Hopefully this helps.

 

[2fast916]

All the stickers in the barrel can't be replaced.

All the stickers in the barrel can't be replaced and they are another way of showing authenticity of the wheels. Im assuming these are bronze almite based on your questions. The bronze almite has a texture finish and the stickers tend to fall out easily. What i would recommend is just peel them off and put them on the backing of the paint protection film and place them in the box that the wheels came in. This way if you ever decide to sell all the original stickers are there. This way you kill two birds with one stone. Since you like to debadge. Hopefully this helps.

Thanks and yes, they are the Bronze (Almite) color. I do like your suggestion / compromise...I think it would have bothered my OCD to see decals in the barrel LOL. While I don't ever really sell used tires, for some reason I've been doing something similar by saving one of the tire decals on a sheet of paper. Probably the OCD again...LOL

Keep pumping out the content...love watching every week!

 

[RODSCIVIC]

Overkill in my opinion. You should be able to reach in there with a Microfiber wheel brush and clean them off every time you wash the car. That being said, it's going to get harder to tell authentic wheels with all these Alibaba wheels being bought, best thing to do is keep the original purchase receipt.

 

[phothrottle]

Thanks and yes, they are the Bronze (Almite) color. I do like your suggestion / compromise...I think it would have bothered my OCD to see decals in the barrel LOL. While I don't ever really sell used tires, for some reason I've been doing something similar by saving one of the tire decals on a sheet of paper. Probably the OCD again...LOL

Keep pumping out the content...love watching every week!

Anytime bro enjoy your new wheels!

 

[2fast916]

I'm dropping off my new tires and wheels to get mounted today and spent some time last night removing the Rays barrel decals. Out of the 4 decals, only one required a little work. In the attached photo, it's the decal I have the red arrow point towards. This is a "tamper proof" style decal and, while I was able to successfully remove and it came off intact, it left all its adhesive behind on the wheels. The 3 other decals removed easily and cleanly with no adhesive left behind. I saved all 4 wheel sets of decals on 2 letter sized sheets. In summary, I love the clean look in the barrel without the decals but, if I were to turn back time, perhaps I would have removed the 3 easy decals and maybe left the 1 tamper-proof decal. It seems Rays made this one special for a reason...proving it's not a fake.

Last but not least, an additional thought I had with applying PPF over all the decals. I'm not an expert but, if you ever did need or want to remove the PPF, I think it would lift the 3 decals I mentioned with removal. These decals were super easy to remove. Maybe keep that thought, for those that have PPF installed, regarding a decision to remove. @phothrottle I know you are a PPF installer so, curious if you can weigh in, so I'm not creating mis-information.

 

[Sporky McGeuschky]

Option 2.5: "PPF entire Rays inner barrel including the decals with Satin Clear PPF."

 

[phothrottle]

Yes you are correct the paint protection film will take the stickers with it if ever removed. The bronze almite or any textured finish doesn't allow these stickers to adhere properly.

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