You know… The one thing that sucks about modding cars is that it’s never simple. It’s never just “I’m going to get some wheels and call it a day”. It’s always “I’m going to get some wheels… Wait, I need tires too. Wait, I need lug nuts too. Wait, I need suspension too. Wait, I need to mount and balance them too. Wait, I need to install everything too. Wait, I need to protect the wheels with ceramic coat so they don’t get fucked too”. I mean, the last part isn’t necessarily everyone’s train of thought but it was mine and the point is that it sucks because it gets really expensive really fast.

I’m not going to dabble in the specifics because this post is supposed to be about ceramic coating the Advan GT’s. Oh, I forgot to mention that I got Advan GT’s for the CTR. My plan wasn’t really to do anything to the car this year (I promise), but Peter Luu (@realwheeldeal) of Invision Motorsports up in Edmonton happened to DM me one day of a shot of the new Umber Bronze Advan GT Premium asking me if I wanted it before he posted it up for grabs.

Just a quick note on Peter and Invision Motorsports – they are one of the few physical standing shops left that is around here that carry a wide range of JDM parts so that they are readily available for customers. Most shops have a few display sets here and there but most of the time, it would be special order and you would rarely walk out of a shop with a part the same day unless it was an air freshener or something along those lines. I’ve been following Peter and the shop page on Instagram for quite some time now and their parts inventory is impressive – the only time I’ve ever seen a shop remotely close to theirs are those in the States – ICB Motorsports, RavSpec, etc… And it’s exciting because we’re so used to hopping on our phones or computers to do online shopping and getting it done quickly that we’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a kid in a candy store and physically see these iconic JDM wheels on the wall or coilovers on a shelf for you to touch and pick up. A big part of building your car is being physically able to look at something to admire the colour, the fit and the finish because it helps you imagine your build. There’s only so much an image on a browser can do for you.

Peter has a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/realwheeldeal) where he talks mainly about all your favourite JDM wheels (and other accessories/parts) and reviews them thoroughly. It gives you an extra viewpoint and angles on wheels that you don’t get through blogs or manufacturer website specs. It’s quite a rare thing to see nowadays in the world of online shopping – but after following along for sometime now – I knew I wouldn’t be making a mistake picking up the GT’s from Peter. When he DM’d me the first time, I declined because I didn’t want to be poor and it wasn’t in the stars for me but I think that’s what Peter’s plan was… To put the bug in my head to eat away at me slowly, and that’s exactly what happened. I think I talked about it everyday to Diana and she eventually told me to splurge and do it for an early Father’s Day gift. Do you know what that feels like? It’s like a brain orgasm for car dudes.

It was Saturday morning and I messaged Peter about the GT’s. I know in his mind, he knew what he did and I know he’s not guilty of it but he should be. He started up the video chat and said “let me show you more angles of the wheel and how it compares to Volk bronze”. That was it. Game over – even though Diana had already given me permission, I had a small ounce of power left to say no but as soon as he put it up to a TE37v and then put it on a scale, I let go. The foreplay was too much. I asked Peter to send me additional pics just so I could tease myself a little more for whatever reason and the straw that broke the camels back was when I asked him for a low angle picture to get the concavity of the wheel. The second he sent it, I said “Fuck you, Peter. Take my money” and that was the story of how I got the Advan GT’s.

Peter also arranged for his friend to deliver the wheels down to Calgary from Edmonton the following Monday. A++++ service from the team up there – I have nothing but good words for them and now I have my dream wheels.

But I digress, let’s talk about ceramic coating for a bit!

I’ll admit right now that I’ve never ceramic coated anything in my life. I’ve been interested in the idea but never followed through. I enjoy detailing and I enjoy the process of paint correction and finishing up with a nice touch of wax and sealant so that you can take in all your hard work when it’s all done. The idea of ceramic coating to me is the easy way out because you do it once and it’s done for a long time – but what if I like waxing my cars? I actually don’t know how I feel about it…

However, the thought of ceramic coating my wheels is a much less arduous task than ceramic coating the whole damn car. The other plus side is that there is much less prep involved in coating brand new wheels that have never seen dirt versus prepping a full car that probably needs everything under the sun before ceramic coat touches it.

The only go-to place for detailing solutions around here is Carzilla. It is THE best place because they have a huge amount of products and the best customer service hands down. I picked up a bottle of Gyeon Q2 Rim – designed specifically for wheels. I got home and prepped the wheels by polishing them lightly and then removing all the oil and grease that might have been left over after production. After that, the gloves go on and the application begins…

I don’t have any pictures of the progress because my hands had ceramic coating on them so I didn’t want to touch the camera and the speed at which you have to work makes it difficult to take breaks in-between. Instead, I’ll just write about it…

All these pictures are after the first coat was completed. I’ll be honest – it doesn’t add much more shine or gloss to it than the rim already has. I don’t think that’s the purpose – so if you’re looking for extra gloss – you can top up with wax after the fact.

The process for Gyeon Q2 Rim is actually very straight forward. You apply a generous amount in a nice vertical line on the suede cloth provided. The foam brick is helpful for spokes but not so much for the inner parts of the wheel.

Once applied on the cloth, you’d work in sections ideally depending on the wheel design. The GT is simple enough that I’m able to work on each spoke as one section, then each inner spoke as another section, the inner and out lip as another section and the center area as the final section.

For Gyeon Q2 rim specifically, there’s no actual waiting or drying time needed. You wipe on and wipe off. It adheres as soon as it’s on the surface. However, depending on the humidity you’re working in would depend on how fast you wipe it off. The higher the humidity, the quicker you’d wipe it off.

By waiting too long, the coating can get tacky and hard to remove which is not what you want. I was working inside so the humidity was pretty average at around 46% according to my Nest so I applied the coat, waited about 15 seconds and then wiped off with a clean microfiber cloth. It’s that easy.

The curing time after you’ve wiped it all off is a minimum of 4 hours before applying a second coat. If you don’t want a second coat, it needs 12-14 hours before you drive it and then 2 weeks before the wheel sees any type of detergent or soap to fully cure.

I will be applying three coats of Gyeon Q2 Rim as there is plenty in the bottle for at least that much depending on wheel design. The main reason I want to ceramic coat my wheels is because cleaning wheels is a bitch, to put it simply. Especially the inner barrels – ceramic coating the inside should hopefully make it an easier task to clean them when the time comes.

The life expectancy of Gyeon Q2 Rim with one coat is quoted at 1 year. I don’t think 3 coats means 3 years, but hopefully it brings me many years of easily washable wheels LOL.

The end! Can’t wait to get these suckers on.