It's kind of a late start, but since I still have the stock wheels for my 89 and they won't fit over its brakes anymore (Corvette C5 brakes), I decided to use them for winter wheels on my 92, which still has the stock brakes.

Probably won't happen this winter, but I took the finish off one of them with generous amounts of aircraft stripper, a wire wheel, and 100 grit sandpaper. Aircraft stripper does wonders on the clear coat that was on the wheel I did, but took a little more work to get the red color almost all the way off. Then 100 grit sandpaper took the color almost 100% off. I used a small 80 grit paddle wheel to finish up the back side of the wheel as much as possible.

Now I have 3 more to do before I put a different color paint (black??) on them, polishing is too much maintenance for a winter only wheel and black would look just fine on my purple RS . Maybe three more weekends of work, then I can paint.

Here is the result of about 5-6 hours of work (mostly waiting for the stripper to work) with an untouched wheel on the left.

 

just dont get that talstrip aircraft paint remover on you it burns something fierce.

 

get em chromed ive always wondered what these would look like chrome

 

Chrome isn't going to happen. Not yet anyway I don't want to dismount the tires, and manual labor on my part doesn't cost as much


One down, three to go...

It's not perfect, but it'll suit my needs just fine. I still need to clean up the back side some more and maybe put some paint in there, then maybe I'll see about a clear coat.

 

That looks 10x better. I am debating on doing something similar with my fiance's stock gold iroc wheels since we changed the stripe package to silver when we painted the car. I'm thinking about stripping them and repainting them in charcoal or something.

 

they look amazing man good work

 

Holy badass factory. Can you tell us how you did it? I dont understand how you were able to paint certain places on the wheel. How did you tape it off? What paint did you use? Hopeing something that can last through washes and dirt.

 

After stripping all the paint off and cleaning up the wheel, I just used painter's blue masking tape and an Exacto knife to mask off the machined surfaces. I used a good primer, then black caliper paint because of its supposed resistance to chemicals (i.e. brake fluid), then pulled the tape off when dry. That same type of paint has worked well for my 89's rear brake calipers for some time.

Now I can't wait to get the rest finished up so I can get them on the car. They all have new rubber on them and the car needs new tires and this is what I can afford at the moment

 

I had no idea they could look so damn good. What primer? Got a pic of it on your car? Thanks for sharing.

 

I used a self etching primer I found at Auto Zone in the VHT line. No pictures yet, I need to finish the other wheels first before mounting them on the car - maybe this weekend, I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off for Veteran's Day so maybe I can get them done along with some other things

 

Id love to see these on the car. You also just reminded me of VHT nightshade. I need to get some when I have the cash... What is self ectching, do I need to get that exact kind?

Self etching primer
Caliper paint
Blue painters masking tape
Exacto knife
Aircraft stipper
100 Grit wet/dry sandpaper

That a complete check list? Im deff doing this. You have inspired me

 

Probably not a complete list, you'll find things you may need as you go. You might want a couple of different sized brushes to apply the stripper with, something to pour it into, some rubber/latex gloves (the stuff burns your skin). I used a wire brush also to brush the paint off the wheel before I cleaned and sanded it. You can also use various grit sandpaper, 100 is what I used. Any good primer will probably work, but the self etching stuff sticks itself better to bare metal. Also any good enamel paint is good, I chose caliper paint because it's resistant to brake fluid, VHT also makes a wheel paint.

 

Thanks for the info. I will do as you did because it came out so well

 

I finished them up today and put them on the car. They don't look half bad for just winter wheels. Since I need new tires anyhow, they'll stay until I can find new wheels & tires in 17" or re-chrome the ones I had on and put new rubber on them.

Here's how they looked on the 89 shortly after I bought it, now with its new brakes, they won't fit it any more.



What they look like now on the 92...

 

Nicely done

To the untraind eye, they may even pass as after market

 

im doin this to my car in a few weeks when the weather is nicer. its horrible weather to paint in. to cold. paint will look better in warmer weather. great job!!

 

hey Al, did you do anything special to get the aluminum to shine, or just sandpaper?

Also, it's been a while since you posted this. How are they holding up?

 

After the clear coat came off, the aluminum was in good shape, so I left it that way and masked it off to paint the black part.

I have since sold the wheels and tires and they are now on an S10, but they held up great through the unseasonably nasty winter we had last year.

 

Did you use a clear coat over the caliper paint? looks good!

 

Would caliper paint stick to plastic? I have the 92 RS rims with the plastic center cap.

 

What's up with everyone bringing up all these old threads? It's 3 years old. geez

 

No, the wheels turned out well enough that I didn't think a clear coat was necessary.

I don't see why not.

It's called using the search feature In this case, I think it was brought up because I referenced it in another recent thread about black RS wheels...

 

the old ones are the best ones! "Search"