# Anyone stripped the paint off their wheels here?



## glankford (Mar 23, 2004)

I have a 1999 540i/6 and the paint on the wheels looks a little shabby. It was re-done before I bought the car, and the job is sub-par by my standards. The paint is rough and difficult to clean. I was thinking about stripping all the paint off, polishing the aluminum underneath, and then clearcoating. Has anyone done this and if so, what is the best way to polish aluminum before clearcoating? 

I may tackle this over the winter (while I have my blizzaks w/other wheels), so I figured now would be a good time to start preparing 

Thanks,
Garrick


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

Just a note. If you plan on taking it down to bare metal I wouldn't do it far in advance. Depending on the composition of the alloy, it may oxidize quite a bit, and you'll have to re-polish everything before you start work everal months down the road.


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## Speedfreak (Apr 19, 2004)

I was thinking of having mine stripped and polished and clear coated. I have a little rash on two. I was also wondering if anyone had done this.
Pat


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## norcal 528i (Dec 2, 2003)

I have!  If you have alloy wheels that are just clear coated it is way too easy. They make a product called 'aircraft stripper' or similar that they sell at any auto parts store. It basically will take _anything_ off of metal. Get the spray can stuff not the bulk stuff you put on with a brush. For whatever reason I have had much better results with the spray. Maybe it is hard to get an even coat with the brush-on method? Dunno. Anyway spray the stuff on you wheel. Naturally with the wheel off the car and far enough away from anything you don't want the overspray hitting. Use rubber gloves. Don't worry about the tires, the stripper won't hurt them. Also if you have any part of the wheel that is not metal (like a center cap) you will want to protect that from the spray somehow or it will turn into goo. So spray the stuff on the wheel, walk away for fifteen minutes, come back, and the clear coat or paint should be visibly bubbled off the rim like a massive 2nd degree burn. Hit it with a hose and watch the clear coat slip right off the rim. This is basically it. Once you are done hit the rims with some mothers polish or similar. Zoop seal after the polish might not be a bad idea. I stripped the rims on my impala a few years ago and they still look FANTASTIC! Literally better than they ever did brand spankin new. I didn't even clear coat mine because they look great polished and they have stood the test of time extremely well. If you clear coat after you polish naturally they will be easier to take care of but they won't look quite as good.


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## Malachi (Sep 30, 2003)

norcal 528i said:


> I have!


Nice post :thumbup:


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## glankford (Mar 23, 2004)

Thanks for all the good info! I have used that aircraft stipper before and the stuff is really cool. I have a few spray cans left over from a previous project, so I will take a stab at it with my spare and see how it goes.


THANKS!
-Garrick


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## glankford (Mar 23, 2004)

OK so I stripped a wheel just to see how it goes. I have style 32 17" wheels. I have gotten all the paint off, but it appears that these were powder coated with some sort of gray primer stuff and the aircraft stripper doesn't even put a dent in it. I have never had aircraft stripper not work on paint, so I can only assume it is powder coat. 

Anyone run into this? Sanding all that off is NOT a desirable option, since I have 5 wheels and each wheel has lots of spokes.

Comments, suggestions?

I can post a pic if anyone wants to see it.

-Garrick


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## Salvator (Oct 14, 2003)

Could they be blasted with walnut shells? I took a bunch of my old VW engine tin to a stripping company that used walnut shells to strip the paint off, and it worked really well, got into all the nooks and crannies, and wasn't THAT expensive... :dunno:


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## TheMatrixz (Aug 11, 2003)

The OEM style 32 are painted with "Hyper Silver" paint, unless they were re-finished and powder coated. The original paint and clearcoat are known to fail. Rimpro can refinish and paint them, but at $160 a pop, I don't know if it worth it.

One 2 of my wheels, the gray prime is shown in a few places, I've got to do something about it, just don't know what yet.



glankford said:


> OK so I stripped a wheel just to see how it goes. I have style 32 17" wheels. I have gotten all the paint off, but it appears that these were powder coated with some sort of gray primer stuff and the aircraft stripper doesn't even put a dent in it. I have never had aircraft stripper not work on paint, so I can only assume it is powder coat.
> 
> Anyone run into this? Sanding all that off is NOT a desirable option, since I have 5 wheels and each wheel has lots of spokes.
> 
> ...


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## glankford (Mar 23, 2004)

I plan on taking one by a powder coating place today and see what they say about stripping that primer stuff. I would like to chemically strip the primer stuff off instead of sanding. Also I found a gloss clear powder coat I can put on after I get them all polished.

-Garrick


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## O.S. (Jun 22, 2004)

What clear powder coat did you find?
I am thinking of doing something to my wheels too


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## glankford (Mar 23, 2004)

I saw it in an Eastwood catalog that I get from time to time. It is a magazine for collector car restoration tools and material. They are also on the internet at www.eastwoodco.com

I want to do some more research before buying a bunch of powder coat stuff, but that is my initial plan.

-Garrick


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