Re-finishing wheels

[StreetThisVR4]

Hey guys,

I got a great deal on some new tires for my stock 91 wagon wheels and I'm going to strip and re-paint the rims while the tires are off.

What do you guys recommend to strip off the stock finish, and what kind of paint should I put on them? If any of you have done this before, please share some insight.

Thanks alot,
-Alan

 

[kcpaz]

If it were me, I would get them sandblasted and powdercoated. If your wheels are anything like my old stockers, the paint is flaking off, and the aluminum is corroding under the old paint. Anything else is just a temporary fix. Of course for the price of that, you could buy a set of aftermarket wheels.

 

[lunchbox]

I stripped a set of wheels with some Zip Strip (paint on jelly like paint stripper) and a pressure washer with the 0 degree tip. I then dunked them in some muriatic acid to remove any corrosion. Much smoother than sandblasting, and cheap since I had everything to do it.

 

[PJGross]

Can you add in the finishing steps?

Do you need a special primer for aluminum?
And what type of paint for topcoat?

What would hold up to salty winters best?

Also, would anyone finish the inboard rim area same as the outside, different, clear, or just leave raw aluminum?

-PJ

 

I refinished my 91's first by having them blasted down to bare metal. (about $15 ea locally) I then polished the lips by wet sanding 220, 320, 400, 600 grit around the lip, then buffing them. After that, I carefully lined the polished region with 3M fine line masking tape (blue plastic pin stripe stuff)and used a self-etching primer made by Mar-hyde which I got from the local autoparts store, and followed with 2 coats of Rustoleum satin black spraypaint. After letting them dry for a day, I unmasked them.
Had them on my car for over a year, paint is holding up just great.

 

[lunchbox]

That Colt is too cute!

I stripped and painted the whole wheel inside and out with the same stuff. No primer, laid it on bare metal. Duplicolor wheel paint. Probably gave it 5 coats.

 

[G]

DAYUMMM !

 

Holy sh*t!

 

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif

 

[Polish]

Are those just polished or chromed? If polished, how much time did that take? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

Gotta be chrome, my raider wheels didn't shine like that new.

 

[G]

pickled, baked, then chromed.

 

[spoulson]

Please explain how you masked off the lip. It sounds too difficult to get a perfect circular mask using just pinstripe or masking tape. I'd like to hear.

Quote:
I refinished my 91's

 

[lunchbox]

He is just that meticulous. Probably took 5 tries each wheel, but it IS perfect.

 

G, this thread is worthless without pics of them on the car!

 

very nice spit shine!!! and hell yea lets see them bad boys on the whip.

 

[mistaVR4]

Holy bling G!! Definitely need to see these on the car man /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[TWEAKD4]

I have a question for you guys that have chromed, or powdercoated your wheels. What did you do with the center cap? Obviously it wouldn't look the same because being made of plastic it wouldn't do so well in the same process as the wheel. I assume that you run without it.

 

[s_firestone]

The center cap is a part I'd like to see someone with machining equipment cut an aluminum replacement or cover for.

 

Quote:
Please explain how you masked off the lip.


I swear, it wasnt 'that' bad to do freehand. Took about 15-20min per wheel to mask completly.
If you look at the unmasking picture, you can see the blue 3M fine-line masking tape to cut the edge. The machined lip creates a nice guideline to work with, and you get the hang of it pretty quickly. Go a few inches at a time, look at it, and if you're not happy with it, peel it up and re-stick it. The fine-line does a great job of not allowing the paint to bleed underneath the tape, and is pretty much required for masking off that area.