Has anyone stripped their own wheels?

I don't like the black wheels on my red VFR. I much prefer the alloy look.

Has anyone stripped their wheels themselves? I have a how-to that I found on another site, and all they did was use paint stripper with a foam applicator, and then steel wool for the tougher parts. The author did not clearcoat them, and said he simply touches them up with steel wool or scotch brite pads when necessary.

I'm considering going that same route, and intend on keeping the wheels well waxed. Sure, powdercoating or andodizing would be the optimal route, but I'd rather spend my money on an exhaust than on changing the finish on my wheels. I don't know if buying a rattle can of clearcoat is worth the effort - I think that it may not hold up all that well.

Any input from those that have done this themselves would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks Jason - that's really helpful. I did search, but somehow I didn't find that!! :redface:

 

Wait...Did Jason just link to MY thread? Wow, it feels like after getting so much out of this website, I might actually have something to contribute.

 

This can be done. Wheels off, rubber and rotors off. Use a solvent type gel stripper. The so called "green" strippers are caustics (lye/sodium hydroxide) Very tough on aluminum. Aircraft strippers are a little hard to come by. A good alternative is Jasco Epoxy stripper. Homer's stocks it. Get a gallon. Don't use a foam pad or brush. The stripper will melt that in a NY minute. Pop for a couple of 2-4" chip brushes of the bristle type.

Nasty shit to work with but it works. Cool weather is best or at least work in the shade. Stay upwind. Nasty shit including methylene chloride.

Lay on lots of stripper to the point where it runs. Let the chenicals work. Most folks start removing stripper and degraded paint as soon as some indication of bubbling is evident. Waaaay too soon. The factory paint on wheels is tough stuff and is also primed. Same deal with powdercoat and automotive repaints.

Most of this is just plain old grunt labor. The polishing part is time consuming.

Several clearcoats are good. I don't think you are going to find any rattlecan clear that is going to last.

Just my two-bits on this one.. Do your own teardown and send them out to a professional powdercoater.

 

I polished the lip or rim of my wheels, and did it manually. It took roughly a day of sanding and polishing for each wheel. It can be done this way, but the stripper method is probably better for larger applications. My hands and finger tips were really messed up for a few days after doing this.

 

I removed the paint from my wheels with an epoxy paint remover that I got from the Home Depot. I just brushed it on and then hosed it off. It took a couple of tries but the paint came completely off. After this I polished the outside ring off the rim with Mothers mag wheel polish and then I taped off the polished edge and painted the center spokes with rattle can black paint.The wheels look great for the 25 dollars and 4 or 5 hours I spent doing it.

 

Any metal polish for non-ferrous metals will work on "mag" wheels. One of the more aggressive types is Brasso. An easy rig for buffing can be made with hand drill, a nail, a chunk of dowel and a section of a paint sleeve.

Solvent type strippers contain several types of solvents. The gel types also contain liquid paraffin. (for our mates in UK and OZ, what you call paraffin, we call kerosene)

The liquid paraffin rises to the top and retards evaporation of the various solvents allowing the solvents to dissolve the paint. High pressure water will help in removal of the paint. IMO the paraffin (wax) residue should be washed away with either paint thinner or a good slosh of household dish detergent. What ya got here is basic degreasing..

A little more on rattlecans. Some but not all contain, methylene chloride. As seen above a fraction of the solvent in paint stripper. Yep it's true. The meth is added to some rattlecan paints as an anti-caking component. Just a heads up..

The larger problem with painting "mag" wheels with rattlecans is that the "mag" is mostly aluminum. Aluminum outgasses and will eventually if not primed push even the best paints right off the metal. The cure here is to prime the bare metal.

Lots to know here but strangely, there are rattlecan primers made for just that purpose. Ya won't find them at Homers though. Hit an auto paint supplier or sometimes some of the NAPA stores that deal in Martin-Senour paints will have it in stock. About ten bucks a pop and more than enough to do a couple of wheels.

See the pic of my 91. I used the primer on my wheels and my frame before painting them with auto paint.

 

Paint - OEM starts to peel off in 4-5 Years I've been told. Repainting - would probably powdercoat because it's thicker, takes more effort to scratch all the way through the powdercoating itself, and powdercoats have a candy-like appearance and are so smooth looking. I used to have valve covers powdercoated all the time. There is one drawback - take it to someone who knows what they are doing on Rims or does really good "known" work. If there is any oxidation left on the alluminum, it will have a low spot or look like a depression in that area. And I don't think you can remove the powdercoating once it's on!! I do know you can buy a special polish to buff out light scratches though. ...Also, most places beadblast or sandblast the alluminum before the start powdercoating the parts. ..Powdercoating will creep into pores and small cracks keeping corrosion and what looks like bubbling if it were paint - from forming.

Powdercoating - see above.

Anodizing - This is what I know already from reserarch and some personal experience. The Blue and Reds fade rather quickly - couple of years depending on exposure to the sun. I've seen this in Annodized parts of Rims on imports in Japan. Gold and Black are the longest lasting. Everything else in between is moderate. I've also been told there are hardness stages. Everything but Black and Green are at an intermediate stage - can't remember the number. But I was told Black can be made at the hardest stage. Each progressing stage has an increased hardness. Annodizing will last much longer then paint. Annodizing does scratch easily. It is not thick, in fact it is on the thin side, unless it's black. However it is very hard I've been told. I have yet to see the abuse personally on a set of rims completely annodized, but Ducati and Aprilia Gold Anodize plenty of there rims and front forks - so it must be a good thing.

Personally going to be doing this here soon

 

cost

In my area powder coating has become very affordable during these money strapped times. I have done this both ways many times and at 80 bucks a wheel these days to strip and powder coat I must say that is the way to go. If you buy striper paint or clear coat (which I would NEVER DO AGAIN) and other related materials you can tip 30 to 40 bucks and lets not forget the joy of doing it yourself. It could very well be the worst money you ever saved.

 

Powder Coat

I took mine to the powder coater, he blasted them and coated them for $50 each,

more pics in my album

 

yes

I'm with him.:thumbsup:

 

Wow,$50 bucks a wheel,thats great. I talked to a few powdercoaters today here in
good old Pa. and I guess I am going to have to look harder. The best price I got was
$150 a wheel. All operations are priced seperately,first they get you for bead blasting,then if you want any color besides black or white,they call that a special and thats another adder to the price then they actually charge you for the powdercoating .They said it would be about $150 a wheel but then cautioned me that depending on the origional paint and the degree of difficulty to remove it,that it may cost 2x to 3x more for grit blasting. Thats why I LOVE THIS SITE, we discuss these
things and that helps us from getting the old rip off ! eddie

 

Powder

Here is the guy who done mine, maybe if it's not to much you could ship them to him


http://www.powderriverinc.com/

 

Maybe your powder coaters are in the same union as the autoworker making $77 hr

 

money

The economy is tighter out here. 135 a year ago if stripped. People just hungery for work.It may be your way soon.

 

I found a local powdercoater that charges $75 per wheel to strip and powdercoat them. I'm trying to put an addition on my house, so I decided I couldn't justify it.

Well I ended up going the cheap route, and bought a gallon of paint stripper, a cup shaped wire wheel for the drill, and a Mothers PowerBall. I am very happy with how they look - and I do know that I'll need to hit them with the PowerBall and some polish occasionally for them to keep their lustre.

Before:


After:

 

Looks 100% better! Great Job!!

 

Thanks for showing the before/after pictures. I have to admit I've thought about doing that as well because the rims are getting a little scratched up and figure stripping the paint will get rid of all the hassle in keeping the black wheels looking shiny.