Removing clear coat from wheels?

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imported_StudyBuddy

New member
Hey all, I have a set of 19" Axis wheels that have gotten some bad chips in the clear coat and lots of imperfections in the lip of the wheel. The spokes are fine, so I've set out to refinish the lips. I took them off and scrubbed them clean with Simple Green and my plan was to wetsand with 320 grit, then 600 grit, then I have Mothers Aluminum polish and Poorboys wheel wax to finish it up. I'm trying to get a higher polish than they are now, so hopefully it will work out. :waxing:



My delima is getting off the clearcoat. Yesterday I started wetsanding the first wheel and it took over an hour to get the clear coat off of them using the 320 grit. I was wondering if there was any paint thinner or other product I could use that would remove the THICK clear coat without hurting my aluminum wheels.



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Thanks in advance for the help. Any other suggestions would be great to help me finish off the job. :hifive:
 
That must be some thick clearcoat. I did the lip on my HP EVO Lightnings with 800/1000/1500/2000. The clear mostly came off quickly with the 800.



You could try Aircraft Stripper. Available at most Auto Zone type places.
 
Aircraft stripper is the -only- suggestion.



You brush it on, leave it on, and wipe it off, and take the paint with it.
 
why waste your time.



take them to a wheel shop.



around here that kind or repair is 50 bucks a wheel.



lets see 50 bucks in product with several hours of labor, or 200 bucks...



Depending on your situation, that's a cinch call.
 
I checked wheel repair shops and they all wanted around $700. So... $50 worth of product and my effort is worth it to me. Not to mention I'm already started and I enjoy working on my car. I do all of my modifications that I can myself and get just as much satisfaction out of it as a good detail.



Same senario as detailing. I can pay someone $200 to detail my car or I can buy $150 in products and be able to do it over and over again. :)
 
you could use jasco from home depot also, same thing as aircraft stripper but might be a bit cheaper because its from home depot.
 
I got the Aircraft stripper from AutoZone today and I'm going to give it a shot tonight. I'll let everyone know how it works. I'm also planning on doing a full write up of the entire process for 350z-tech.com, so I'll post that here when I'm done as well.



I also got some 800 grit and 1000 grit wetsand paper to finish the sanding before I use the polish and wax. I hope I end up with a really polished finish.
 
Also, to wax the wheels I got Poorboys wheel wax & sealant. Should I just use that or are there any other products I could apply to give it extra protection or shine? I have AIO, OCW, Natty's Blue, NXT... and probably more.
 
WEAR GLOVES when working with the stripper (heh heh..I said "stripper"). Serioulsy, having done this before, I will tell you to err on the side of caution. It will burn your skin, it will hurt like a SOB and be careful of your driveway as well. DO NOT get it on anything that you dont want it on. Careful of the spokes, I see they get a little close to the lip of the wheels in question. Take your time and be careful....dont forget to post pics.
 
Be careful with aircraft stripper - it'll take anything & everything off. It's some nasty stuff. Don't even bother with gloves - it will eat right through them. And once they're stripped and polished, be prepared to keep polishing. It ain't easy. I stripped a set of wheels (stupidly) once and bare aluminum starts to tarnish in just a few days. I would recommend one of the products that is made especially for coating wheels. It's what the race teams use on their bare metal wheels. Can't remember the name of it, but I think the whole system was about $150.
 
Thanks for the advice on the stripper. I'm definitely planning on taking lots of pics, I just hope I don't screw up anything else with this stuff.



I was planning on keeping the aluminum polished and waxed often. I don't drive it every day and after all this BS I'm definitely going to be keeping them nice.
 
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