Stripping stock wheels.
They are aluminum but you'll have to take the wheels off your car. You could leave the tires on but make sure to tape them off and put some thick paperbags or newspaper over the tires. You'll have to be careful though.
Yea Im gonna take them off of the car, thats forsure. I just need to know how to strip them, and get them ready for paint, whilst on a tire. I know I cant blast them b/c they are aluminum..... Are my wheels the same as the ones used on the CETA's, only not black? How would I go about masking off a polished lip? Would I go about polishing the lip? Is that something I could do after I painted the wheels?
In your case I would not strip the entire wheel. I would buy some aircraft paint stripper in a spray can and just spray around the lip. Mask off the tires and face of the wheels. Just wait for the aircraft stripper to work then take all the paint off with a scraper. Then use sandpaper 'til you get the results that you want on the lip of the wheels. Prep the surface of the wheels with some scotchbrite pads just to get the paint to scuff so the primer could stick. Tape off the lip and paint the wheels.
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Originally Posted by Sgt. Spuds
Are my wheels the same as the ones used on the CETA's, only not black?
You're never going to be able to get Aircraft Remover to strip just the paint on the lip of the wheel and leave a perfectly straight line that divides the painted section from the polished section. Also, once you start sanding even if you had the hands of a surgeon there will eventually come a time when you'll "cross the line" and scratch the painted part. Just make it easier on yourself by stripping the whole wheel, polish the section that you're wanting done, and then mask the polished part off and repaint the unpolished part of the wheel.
Only thing I'd change about your polishing procedure is the grit lineup:
120
220
320
400 wet
600 wet
1000 wet
1500 wet
2000 wet
Only thing I'd change about your polishing procedure is the grit lineup:
120
220
320
400 wet
600 wet
1000 wet
1500 wet
2000 wet
Then what polish should I use? I may just go ahead and fully polish my wheels, do the whole thing, then see if I want to paint the rest black. Can you clear over polished wheels so you don't have to keep polishing them?
Originally Posted by Sgt. Spuds
Then what polish should I use? I may just go ahead and fully polish my wheels, do the whole thing, then see if I want to paint the rest black. Can you clear over polished wheels so you don't have to keep polishing them?
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/facer.htm
The black compound will take out the remaining sanding scratches almost instantly, and the white will make it bling. You can order them from the same site I posted a link for the buffs...
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffing.htm
...or you can get them at just about any hardware store. The stuff I've gotten from Lowe's in the past comes in little 5" tubes and is made by a company called Mibro. Just be sure to use only one type of compound on each buff. You can get rid of excess compound residue by spraying the wheels down with brake cleaner, letting it soak for a few minutes, then hosing it off. It helps if you do this in between switching from the black compound to the white as well.
The wheels can be clearcoated, but forget about off the shelf rattle can paint. Not only will it make the finish on the wheels ALOT duller, most of those paints aren't formulated to meet OEM paint standards, which means you can expect them to start flaking and peeling in a relatively short period of time. If you wanted to go that route, I'd either have them clear powder coated professionally (better), or get some Zoopseal (best).