remoing the clearcoat on rims?

[gen2lover]

Removing the clearcoat on a Gen 2 with stock rims. I bumped into another guy with an 02 red rt-10. He had the clearcoat taken off his stock rims and they SHINE like crazy.

I would like mine to look as good as his.

Anyone have pics or know how to do it? I cannot believe how much cleaner/shinier they are without that clearcoat on them.

 

[RTTTTed]

Remove tires and stems.

Soak rims in Caustic bath.

I removed clear coat with Laquer thinner, but it took a long long time. Ok for 1 rim, but too much work for more than that. I was told that apint remover will also work, but I haven't tried that.

Polished aluminium corrodes so keep rubbin'. My VR1s are clear coated as well and although scratched slightly, it's too much work to polish the rims all the time.

Ted

 

[dave6666]

Soak rims in Caustic bath.

Do WHAT?

After 27 years in chemical engineering and maintenance you DO NOT want to get caustic anywhere near your aluminum parts as it will DISSOLVE them. I mean GONE! Or with short term contact cause severe pitting.

Use paint stripper and a solvent like acetone for removing residue.

 

[agentf1]

After 27 years in chemical engineering and maintenance you DO NOT want to get caustic anywhere near your aluminum parts as it will DISSOLVE them. I mean GONE! Or with short term contact cause severe pitting.

Use paint stripper and a solvent like acetone for removing residue.

You can also use 000 or 0000 steel wool and Mothers Billet Polish to polish them once the CC is removed. I never tried it but my guess is the steel wool could be used to help aid in the removal of the CC also.

Once they are stripped you will want to polish them atleast 4 times a year (pending on storage) to keep them nice.

 

[sdaddy]

Previous owner of my 96 had painted the "Sneaky Pete" emblems on the wheel center caps painted blue to match the car. I took the car to a guy that does aluminum polishing and to strip and polish just the center caps using wet sanding and polishing he said it took him 4 hours per cap. He said never to bring him any again. He said he could have dip stripped the clear coat, but it would have eaten the metal nonaluminum spring clips on the back of the center caps/

Bare polished aluminum has to be kept polished to prevent corrosion. Now that he center caps have been stripped and polished, I intend to have them clear coated.

 

[gen2lover]

pics before and/or after? gen 2 stock rims? expensive to do? I would rather just get a pro to do it because I will screw it up.

 

[RTTTTed]

I had my Daytona wheels stripped and polished by a 'pro'. He's the one that said Caustic dip/soak (Dave says no no). Then he polished them and only did the surface, none of the dips. Then he lost my center caps. That cost me $60 a wheel (you get what you pay for?). Tire guys told me that normal polishing cost is $100. $150 to chrome plate.

Ted

 

[dave6666]

They define "D" down at the bottom...

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[VicTxV10]

I used to work at an Alcoa Aluminum plant and I can tell you caustic will eat aluminum up.

 

[chimazo]

An easy way to save on labor in removing clearcoat is using a spray product made by Mar-hyde called "Tal Strip 2" Aircraft Coating Remover. They sell it at some of the chain auto stores. Not to be used on painted surfaces, obviously, but you just spray the rim, wait a few minutes while it bubbles, and then use something like a Bondo spreader to scrape it off, then rinse. MUCH easier than sanding, and an easy way to get a satin finish, or simply re-polish by hand or buffer.

 

[fastmd]

An easy way to save on labor in removing clearcoat is using a spray product made by Mar-hyde called "Tal Strip 2" Aircraft Coating Remover. They sell it at some of the chain auto stores. Not to be used on painted surfaces, obviously, but you just spray the rim, wait a few minutes while it bubbles, and then use something like a Bondo spreader to scrape it off, then rinse. MUCH easier than sanding, and an easy way to get a satin finish, or simply re-polish by hand or buffer.

I have also used aircraft stripper to remove clear and paint from rims, it is a major pain in the asp. RTTard is probably confused with the caustic bath.