How would I tell if my aluminum rims have clear coat on them? Planning on polishing them tomorrow. Is it necessary to strip the clear off before doing so? It's an 81 by the way.

TIA

 

Use a white rag with some polishing compound, I like Mothers. If no clear coat, rag will turn black which is the aluminum coming off. If no black residue then you have a clear coat. If you have a clear coat it should be removed before polishing. Good luck. mds...

 

I have the same deal, I have a 80 with the orig wheels, I tried the Mothers with the power cone, and it never turned black a bit, so I have the clear coat on them, what is best way to strip the clear coat off?
These wheels are dull looking.

Mike.

 

There was a thread on this a few months back. Sorry, I do not remember what the guys recommended to use to remove the clear coat. mds...

 

paint thinner. Stupid question but how would I know when the clear is coming off?

 

NOT just 'paint stripper' but some stuff known as 'aircraft stripper'....not sold in Lowes Depot....you need go to a paint store, maybe automotive type....

that factory clear coat is ON there, it will bubble easy with good stripper you will know when it's off of there....

use wood, like a paint stick to scrape, keep from marring the finish...rinse with garden hose....

 

Pep Boys and Walmart sell the aircraft remover...I've used it, and it works fine

 

I used Citristrip - the same I used on my body. Brushed it on, covered the wheels with black plastic and left them to nake in the sun for several hours. Whem I came back used some plastic razor blades (from Jegs) and it all scraped off nicely. Then washed them off with water and removed any residue with acetone. Easy.

 

I am having a local guy do mine (just didn't have the time... and he is excellent and incredibly reasonable). I pick them up today, and will try to get all the details--if you guys are interested--on how he did them. I know, so far, he stripped them. Then he used a Mother's Power Ball with polish on it. He also removed the center caps and painted them with semi-gloss black paint on the sides. And painted the centers. Here are some pics, so far:

Before (with old clear coat):
After (clear coat removed, power ball polished)--centers not painted yet:
Painting the center with semi-gloss black
(using a standard cut off coffee can to outline the center):

 

So I polished my rims today...here are the results:

I used a mini mothers ball and mother's mag and aluminum polish 5oz.
Together they were about $32.

First I cleaned them with some Eagle 1 aluminum wheel cleaner, then I used rustoleum wax and tar remover to prep the surface. Then started polishing.

I bought aircraft stripper and brushed it onto one rim, after five minutes nothing happened so I just hosed it off. I guess my rims didn't have clear coat on them. I couldn't find a metal pan to pour the stuff into so I made the mistake of pouring the stripper into a plastic bowl, big mistake. I was like why is this stuff dripping out...I look on top of the bowl and next thing you know the bottom of the bowl falls off. Stuff ate through the plastic like nothing.

Anyway here are the results:

Before:



After:






Spent over an hour on them, not sure exactly how long didn't keep track of time. Overall I was amazed at the results, they are not perfect yet and could still use a little more polishing but I'll leave that for another day. The pics do not do them justice. Difference was like night and day. I never thought I could get them from being dull and ugly to be so glaring. So for those of you that want to do this it only takes some polish and not that much time.

I also noticed that some of what I'm guessing are water stains are still somewhat there. Any idea on how to get them out?

 

Also does anyone know how to get the center caps in? Are they supposed to just be pushed in or...?

 

Yes, the center caps just push in. If they seem loose, what I and others have done is run a bead of black silicone around them, stick them in and let dry over night.

I used a regular sized car buffer on mine, I had the wheels off the car, layed them down and and I think I used Mothers on them. After the buffer my Wife actually helped clean the residue off.

They came out pretty good without too much work.

The original '77 wheels were a "natural" finish so I got an extra set and did those.

Frank

 

Leung: What a difference on those wheels!

Concerning the other spots you mentioned, possibly try some Eagle One Never Dull wadding polish. Once you get them the way you like them, coat them with a light coat of Meguire's Tech Wax (paste).

Also, for the tires... I used Bleach White on the letters to whiten them up. (Rubbed them with a thin dish towel rag and my finger). Finally, once this is done, Turtle Wax Wet n Black tire shine foam will blacken the sidewalls and not turn the letters brown again.