Factory Anodized vs. RSR Finish

[RTincher]

I am going to have a set of Fuchs refinished, and would like to have them done in the RSR style finish.

Before I do I that though, I’d like to hear from others who have lived with the RSR finish about whether they are much more difficult to keep clean of brake dust, grease etc, compared to the factory anodize finish.

Thanks for your feedback.

Bob

[JackMan]

Harvey Weidman did a great job of recreating a 72rs finish on my 6x15 flat sixs fuchs. The rs finish is similar to the rsr finish. I find the rs finish will patina overtime with left over smudge and smear marks from cleaning. Elbow grease and a firm nylon bristle brush get into the RS finish to clean things up. (The smaller the brush head the better.) I use a small amount of Dawn liquid detergent on the wheels mixed with very warm water. Nothing fancy just something that will help release the oil/grease from the surface of the wheel. The standard anodized and painted finishes are much easier to keep clean. My RS finish looked the best when it was coming straight out of the box. I used to go bananas keeping the wheels clean but realized keeping the wheel finish perfect is a flight of fancy and what I should be doing is enjoying the drive. So my wheels are a little dirty -- big deal. Years ago I did find a great product for my wheels that also happens to be one of the best bug removers in the business: Original Bike Spirits. I spray a light coating on the wheel after I'm finished cleaning the wheel and buff the wheel. The product has an antistatic property that helps repel brake dust. Notice I said repel so it reduces brake dust build up and makes the next cleaning a little easier.

I do many track days and have found this product is excellent at removing R compound rubber smears from car paint. And it polishes the paint at the same time. And this stuff removes dried, hard as a rock bug guts/parts with a quick spray, soak, and wipe. Incredible.

http://www.originalbikespirits.com/p...leaner-polish/

[91133]

I have RSR finish rims on mine and the cleaning regime is simply to spray the rough anodised surfaces with a product called De-Solvit - it's lemon oil based and PH neutral. Then a wipe down with clean rags. Repeating the process a couple of times and they literally look like new. No scrubbing required. Then smear the petals and the rough part of the outer rim with Vaseline. The Vaseline coating no doubt attracts more road and brake dust but makes the cleaning process a walk in the park.

[JBQuick]

Bob, the 8"s, 9"s & 11"s look best on RSR finish while the 7"s & 8"s combo look best on RS finish.

[skinnerd]

My limited experience is that the frosted RSR finish looks killer....but is killer to keep clean.
Brake dust, road film, etc will adhere to these wheels like nobody's business.
If you don't pick the correct cleaner, the stains will imbed themselves into the finish making them nearly impossible to clean up.
That said...I love mine...it's a love/hate relationship.
The best cleaner I've found is that P21S stuff.



Spray it on and let is sit a couple of minutes, scrub with a soft brush and then rinse completely with water. Towel dry.
That's the best I've been able to do.

My RSR finish is on a set of 9x15 and 11x15 Fuchs.
Additionally, I tried a faux RSR finish on a set of 6x15 for my 914, and they look great, but cleaning?

[RTincher]

Thanks to everyone for their experience and feedback.

Jack an or JBQuick, do you have any pictures that you can post of the RS finish on your wheels? Mine are going on my ‘78SC, so that might be the best route.

Appreciate the help.

Bob

[Arne]

I had the 16" on my '84 refinished in the standard clear anodizing. No cleaning issue, looked great.

[Harvey Weidman]

The RSR finish is what was originally referred to as the "race" finish. Many years ago, after trying unsuccessfully to describe the finish, I started to use "RSR" to describe the race finish and it seems to have stuck. The finish is as forged on everywhere but the outer lip. The lip is polished and then anodized. The bad rap that RSR finish has is from the refinishers that anodize the wheel and then blast the areas for a rough finish. This leaves the aluminum exposed and it is harder to clean. We anodize the rough areas after prepping them like Fuchs did as forged. As far as I know we are the only ones that do this anodizing over the rough finish. Saying that, the finish is still rough and even with the anodizing it will pick up stains easier than smooth anodizing. However, the smooth anodizing is more likely to permanently stain. So as long as you don't let them set with road grime and use mild cleaners, they aren't any more difficult to keep clean than anything else on a Porsche.
For your consideration, 7,8,9&11 in RSR finish. Only you can decide what you like on your car. The RSR looks more industrial and the production finish (I call the RS or street finish) is more detailed.
HTH

[JBQuick]

Hi Bob, heres a few RS finishes on my G body cars namely 1977 911S Targa Ice Green, 1978 Euro 911SC White & 1979 911SC Talbot Yellow, both SCs sunroof delete.
Hope this helps in your decision which choice to make.

[RTincher]

Thanks Arne, Harvey and JB - this is all very helpful.

I’m trying to achieve something I think between the RSR finish that Harvey shows and the RS finish that JB has on his wheels - i.e. I want to tone down the polished finish of the factory anodizing on the paddles and barrels of the 7 and 8x16 Fuchs.

JB, do you have a close up of the RS finish on the 7 and 8’s with exposed paddles on the Talbot or Targa?

BTW, your G-body cars are really nice examples - well done. My ‘78SC is Sahara Beige, seems I found the same black trim H4’s as you.