Fixing peeling clear coat on wheels

[SuperSportJoey]

I have a client that I’m doing an exterior detail on that asked me if I could repair clear coat peel on one of her wheels.

The wheels are 16 inch (salad shooter style) silver metallic painted on a 96 Camaro.

What approach would you you guys take on repairing it? I was thinking wet sanding starting at 1500, 2000, 3000, and then re clearing them.

Thoughts?


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[Calendyr]

1500 is not corse enough to remove clear. This is what I use to remove scratches. Eventually you would get through the clear but it will take a long time. I am not sure what the best grit would be to start but I am thinking probably around 600. Also you will very likelly have to re-paint, not just re-clear.

[WristyManchego]

1500 will burn through clearcoat easily, especially if machine damp sanding.

The process you’re mentioning is more for clear finishing then base finish ready for clear.

A clearcoat will fill 600 sand marks, some brands will fill more.

The difficulty you’ll face depending on the extent of clear failure, is how to manage material removal. Sure you can cut down the clear however you’ll also risk sanding through the base and into the primer in sections unless you’re skilled.

If the damage is to the majority of the wheel face, you’d be better off stripping everything and starting fresh. If there are just a few areas, you can spot sand with 600 and blend with 800 before scuffing and clearing the whole wheel.

[Mike Phillips]

Sanding on a flat panel is so much different than sanding on wheel spokes and all the other angled planes that make-up a wheel.

When I read threads like this I think about one of my sections in Renny Doyle's book where Renny asked me,

Mike if you had to do it all over again, what would you change?


The learned skill of turning detailing work down by Mike Phillips



I teach this skill in all my detailing classes. Good info to learn from someone else instead of learning on your own.

Also - for complicated projects like this it really helps to include a picture. If you don't know how to put a picture on so forum with a computer then get TapaTalk - makes it so easy anyone can do it.


Keep us updated on what you do but my guess is for what the customer is willing to pay to have the wheel repaired and the time, labor and materials it will require you to do the job and meet their expectations for a "job well done" are not going to match and you'll lose money.

Maybe look into getting a matching wheel from a salvage yard or eBay.

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