Stripping clear coat..
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 1
From: "Too Low, Too Fast, Too Loud" TX
Stripping clear coat..
Hi all,
What is the procedure for stipping the clear coat off of a set of 81' stock alloys? Can this be done with the tires on? What paint can I use to redo the the black slots on the rims once they have been stripped and polished...thanks in advance for any info! Joe..
What is the procedure for stipping the clear coat off of a set of 81' stock alloys? Can this be done with the tires on? What paint can I use to redo the the black slots on the rims once they have been stripped and polished...thanks in advance for any info! Joe..
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,227
Likes: 50
From: Pomfret, CT
Finalist 2020 C4 of the Year - Unmodified
Joe,
Hello. I did my buddies wheels with him. He also has a silver 81! We did them with the tires on the rims. Best to take the wheel off the car though. His wheels were in pretty bad shape. Very oxidized and yellowing. Here is what we did.....
Used a light grit sanding wheel and a drill. The kind of sanding wheel that has little square pieces attached to the shaft and they are flexible. Not the flat kind. I hope this explanation suffices! Anyway, we got all the old, ugly clear off the wheels with that. Some areas are real hard to get at, we hand sanded them. Then we used Mother's aluminum polish and a LOT of hand buffing to make them shine pretty nice. Finsihed up with a coat of wax and a nice hand buff. They look great. If you want to see pics of before and after, shoot me an email and I will send them to you.
Takes a lot of elbow grease, but the results are worth it!
-Rick
Hello. I did my buddies wheels with him. He also has a silver 81! We did them with the tires on the rims. Best to take the wheel off the car though. His wheels were in pretty bad shape. Very oxidized and yellowing. Here is what we did.....
Used a light grit sanding wheel and a drill. The kind of sanding wheel that has little square pieces attached to the shaft and they are flexible. Not the flat kind. I hope this explanation suffices! Anyway, we got all the old, ugly clear off the wheels with that. Some areas are real hard to get at, we hand sanded them. Then we used Mother's aluminum polish and a LOT of hand buffing to make them shine pretty nice. Finsihed up with a coat of wax and a nice hand buff. They look great. If you want to see pics of before and after, shoot me an email and I will send them to you.
Takes a lot of elbow grease, but the results are worth it!
-Rick
Pro
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 541
Likes: 5
From: Epping NH
I met a guy at a show several weeks ago who had just had his 81 rims refinished. We got to talking and he mentioned that he works in a body shop that routinely sends wheels out to be repaired and highly recommended Keystone (info on the web under "Keystone remanufactred wheels").
Apparantly, the rims had been curbed by the previous owner and looked terrible.
As he explained it, the rims were machined on a lathe and then the dipped into a cleaning solution. Somehow they are then electrostaticly charged (to promote better adhesion) and clear coated. The black slots were repainted at that point.
All I can say is that they looked brand new. I didn't ask cost, but I suspect that this process is not cheap.
Mark
Apparantly, the rims had been curbed by the previous owner and looked terrible.
As he explained it, the rims were machined on a lathe and then the dipped into a cleaning solution. Somehow they are then electrostaticly charged (to promote better adhesion) and clear coated. The black slots were repainted at that point.
All I can say is that they looked brand new. I didn't ask cost, but I suspect that this process is not cheap.
Mark
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 4,883
Likes: 11
From: North Easton Mass
There is something called Aircraft Stripper available at Autozone. I've used it on a couple of wheels and it takes the clear coat off easily. Doesn't seem to harm the metal at all. You can strip the wheel with the tire on but the edge of the rim is difficult to clean and the area between the edge and the tire is impossible to clean. Mask off the tire to avoid getting stripper on the rubber and be careful about hitting the sidewall with the sander if you use that method.
It's better to remove the tire if possible. You can then clean the inner rim before remounting the tire. I've had aluminum rims develop leaks around the bead over time from corrosion buildup and the recommended solution is to clean the rim.
Rick B.
It's better to remove the tire if possible. You can then clean the inner rim before remounting the tire. I've had aluminum rims develop leaks around the bead over time from corrosion buildup and the recommended solution is to clean the rim.
Rick B.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 7,493
Likes: 1,502
From: Little Rock AR
Originally Posted by tom102
I used a clearcoat stripper made by Busch Enterprises a few years ago and it worked great on my wheels
You can probably get the same results or better for less $$$ if you go to the hardware store and look for "Dad's Easy Spray" paint stripper. It comes with a sprayer included and seems like the exact same stuff for less $$$ and less work. Spray it on thick then wait a few minutes before using a nylon brush on it. Maybe spray/scrub again if the coating is not all off yet. Then hose it off and polish with Mother's or your favorite mag polish.
-Mark.
