aco2451

Hey everyone, I could use some input on what I need to do to get my wheels stripped clean. any help will be greatly appreciated.

So I picked up some 91-92 Factory 16x8 Camaro wheels on Craigslist for $50.00 bucks. I went and picked them up and looked at them and found that 2 of them were really rough and the the other 2 were spray painted white, but being a guy that likes challenges I thought I could do something with them. The guy originally wanted $75.00 for the set but I was able to get them for $50.00 (I tried to give $40 but we settled at $50)

So they were sitting in my garage for a couple of months (wasn't going to do anything with them till got the Camaro running. Well I got the Camaro running and decided that I can't test drive it until i get wheels and tires put on.

So after weeks of searching and looking at pictures and getting the idea on what I need to do. I finally got around to getting the Aircraft Stripper and proceeded with the project. I put the 1st coat on and let them sit for 45 minutes and it got the spray paint off and on two of the wheels were the red. So I then proceeded to do 2 more coats and let each coat sit another 45 minutes and it didn't even come close to removing the original oem red paint.

Is there anything else that I can do to get these stripped without sand blasting (people want $75 bucks a wheel).

Any help would be appreciated.

CruzinQueen

IF the aircraft stripper is not removing the original paint you may find yourself with LOTS of sanding to do! The bare aluminum spokes look like they are well on their way to being able to polish, but you are right about the red. What temperature was the air when you were stripping? I believe that it has to be reasonably warm for the catalysts to work properly with the stripper. My next suggestion would be to sand (by hand) with 400 grit wet to get the red areas smoothed out and then follow with some primer (mask off the polished parts you do not wish to paint). Sand the primer smooth and then shoot with the paint of your choice (charcoal, black,... whatever contrast color you want). Next, wet sand your polished areas with 400, 800, 1000, 1500, and then 2000 wet to get it smooth as glass. Follow with rubbing compound and then a metal polishing compound. I used 3M Perfect It II rubbing compound and then followed with Blue Magic all metal polish. This brought out a near-mirror shine. Check out this thread for more details on the process I used:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...g-buffing.html

SiCkRs

iTrader: (6)

Yeah sanding it will take off the rest i did it to one of my 91 wheel and it came out great just takes aloooot of time lol

aco2451

The temp was in the 70's but kinda cloudy so maybe that was the issue.
I found a cheap portable sandblaster at harbor freight for $20 bucks so I think I'll give that a shot and see if I can get them cleaned.

If that doesn't work I guess I will just return it and us the $20 bucks on wheel paint and get them painted.

I'll keep you all posted, hopefully I get time this week after work. right now I'm trying to get my exhaust put together.

flrtin1

If you can find a powder coater in your area that does chemical stripping you can usallly get them stripped for $15-$20 per wheel......saves a lot of grief

Guest

I'm having this problem right now and it was 45 degrees out... I got most of but boy does it look like crap... Rest are white and only the left rear is all stripped. I want to polish mine how would i go on doing that.

CruzinQueen

If you want to polish them, the most economical way is to buy some sand paper- you will need 220 and 320 dry and then 400, 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 wet. Start working your way up with 220 and 320 dry until you get the parts you want to polish smooth and no factory machine lines show. Soak the other grits in soapy water (dish detergent is fine) and then start wet sanding (I used a spray bottle with soapy water to keep the surface wet) with 400 and work your way up to 2000 until you have a very fine finish with no sanding marks. Next, polish with a terry towel and a good quality rubbing compound. I used 3M Perfect It II Rubbing Compound. Then, you will want to use an aluminum polish to bring out that mirror shine. I used Blue Magic all metal polish and a microfiber. I will probably go back over them with the power ball and metal polish to get the final shine. Some people will tell you that white rouge and drill drum sanders are the only way to go, but I managed to polish mine using materials I had lying around from other projects so this was done very cheaply and they look fantastic. Be prepared though, this will take a lot of time (I have 40 hours into mine).

KiLLJ0Y

iTrader: (1)

you sure the red paint is not actually powder coat? because aircraft stripped WILL remove paint... it WILL remove the powder coat too but its a BEEOTCH.. i had to buy the aircraft stripper that cam in the jug... got a metal turkey pan.. ahahah.. and soaked a powder coated part in it for a few hours.. then it turn the powder coat to mush.. still hard to completely remove though..

you can also get a drill and a soft wire wheel... that will take it off same as sanding but 100x faster..


OH also.. dont use the aircraft stripper than comes in the black can from O'Rielly's... it SUCKS.. it comes out as a greeny color ...

this one SUCKS




use the stuff from Autozone.. comes in a whiteish can.. thats the only stuff that works..

this stuff.. use it

SiCkRs

iTrader: (6)

As CruzinQueen said but if you got the extra cash i would buy the polish kit in harbor freight its $20 and will polish it better i first did it with aluminum finish but i got a much better mirror look with white rogue and the dremel

drknow90rs_ss@y

iTrader: (3)

As far as polishing goes, you could take your wheels to a truck stop and the polishing department will usually do them for around $5 to $7 a wheel. (They will almost always get them to a mirror shine. Do the polishing BEFORE painting the line (S) as it will almalst always strip the paint right off. Good luck!

Guest

YES THE MAR HYDE STUFF SUCKS I PAID 20 DOLLARS FOR WHAT!! NOTHING THAT'S RIGHT I GOT SOME CLUMPY BOTTLE OF CRAP AND IT DID NOTHING STAINED MY RIM GREEN AND DIDN'T DO CRAP. I was supposed to get the bottome stuff but autozones system was down...

3rdgenfever

if you are going to sand blast be careful of the sand you use,try to get a finer sand, course sand will pit the aluminum and turn out kinda rough. a soda blaster is the ultimate solution, wont pit just clean the coatings off without hurting the substrate(wheel). Or just keep using aircraft stripper if you cant find a soda blasting place. also 75 a wheel is pretty high for sand blasting wow.