Another aluminum rim refinishing question

[Darvetis]

I realize this type of question has been asked before (already searched the forum) but my particular question/ circumstances may be slightly different than what has been addressed... Anyways, here is what I'm trying to accomplish:

I want to improve the look of my machined aluminum rims. The corrosion (white rust) is popping up everywhere, driving me nuts. I really want to keep this project as simple as possible.

Pretty positive the wheels have a clearcoat on them.

I do not want to remove the tires from rims for the project. I only care about cleaning up the part of rim which can be seen, I don't care about what is lurking beneath the tire.

I was planning on removing the wheel, and applying some type of stripper, in order to remove the clearcoat. I would mask off/ cover the tire with plastic to protect.

I was then going to try Flitz Aluminum Pre Clean, in order to remove the remaining corrosion.

Not sure yet if I should just polish up the rims, or paint them. I suppose it depends on how deep the corrosion went into the rims. If the machining grooves have disappeared in spots due to corrosion, I might just spray them with paint/ primer/ clear, and call it good.

However if all the grooves are intact, perhaps its just easier to polish and clear.

Any thoughts or advice is appreciated. As previously mentioned, I want to keep this as simple as possible, and not remove the tires from rims. I can update with more info once I have removed the clear and corrosion.

[Vegas Transplant]

Originally Posted by Darvetis

As previously mentioned, I want to keep this as simple as possible, and not remove the tires from rims. I can update with more info once I have removed the clear and corrosion.

Not all al. alloy wheels will polish out mirror bright.
Info on stripper in comment section. Paint stripper from HD may not work due to plasticisers in the wheel coating.
Youtube videos. One of many...

Refinishing beat-up alloy wheels - YouTube

[Darvetis]

Thanks for posting VT, I never even considered checking out youtube...

[Vegas Transplant]

[forrest@mothers]

Busch Enterprises out of North Carolina makes a product called "Clear Coat Remover" made just for rims.

Brush it on; let dwell, then rinse off.

It's the right tool for the job. It doesn't require the removal or covering of the tire.

Afterwards, polish. Make sure you remove the polish residue (alcohol, naptha) before reclearing, since many metal polishes will leave a polymer coating behind that will prevent the clear from adhering.

Good luck.

[Ed@TheArtofShine]

Great tip Forrest. I will file that away in the brain tool box.


Sent via telepathy.

[Darvetis]

Thanks for the tips! I will read up on the Busch Enterprises product, sounds like it would be easier to work with than Jasco...

Upon further examination, it appears that the corrosion is deep enough in some areas of rims, that the machined grooving on surface is compromised.

Even after stripping and cleaning and polishing, the pits and marks left from the corrosion will be evident. I'm now thinking it might be better to prime and paint.

So here is a new question. Is there a spray primer which will fill in both the machined grooves and small pits created by corrosion?

Then I could eventually spray both paint and clear over that and call it good. I wouldn't mind powdercoating the wheels, but don't want to invest that much money in this project.

[Vegas Transplant]

See watermark.

wheel cas 1.jpg


wheel cas.jpg


Found on another forum: sanded, polished, painted, cleared by a poster named 84Supra.

[Darvetis]

I ended up going in a completely different direction with this project. Decided it wasn't worth the energy, time or $ trying to fix a set of rims I didn't like the looks of in the first place.

Found a set of Enkei machined aluminum rims on Craigslist.

The wheels had scratches in clear coat, and marks in the aluminum. Additionally, the clear coat was failing in a few areas. I easily stripped the clear, and am now trying to decide how to proceed.

Here are pics of the wheel that has most problems:





Since these will be going on my daily driven '97 Rav4, I'm not looking to either spend a lot of $ or end up with show quality results. I don't care about the gouges in wheel actually, I'm more concerned about the light scratch marks. I'd like to remove those, and then apply a protective clear coat.

Any advice for removing these light marks appreciated. Trying to keep this as simple as possible. Would #0000 steel wool be OK to use, or could that make more scratches?

[Vegas Transplant]

The quad ought alone is not abrasive enough - excepting the most minor of defects.

If you were in my area forum friend, I would fix the defects for free just to show you how simple it really is.