Restored my wheels

[Gary_Chiu]

I recently picked up some wheels locally from rez earlier this week and decided to restore them to their original condition. I used aircraft paint stripper, a ton of elbow grease, and finished it up with Mothers polish and power ball. I still have more work to do to finish cleaning the back of the wheel. After that I'll send the wheels to the painter to get them clear coated. Here are some before and after pics:


Before




During






After

 

[3rdstrikedsm]

Very nice, Did I see you at the car wash hosing them down? I saw someone washing a set of wheels but really paid no attention to who it was.

They look super nice, I am really surprised someone did not jump on that deal sooner.

 

[pachood_1953]

Did you use spray stripper?
The pour liquid in the can works wwwwway better FYI..

Anyways, the wheels look awesome. What did you use to polish them?

 

[rez]

Wow Gary the wheels look great man. That's cool you decided to go with the original finish and really keep them period correct. That must have taken a lot of powerballin'. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Gary_Chiu]

Quoting 3rdstrikedsm:
Very nice, Did I see you at the car wash hosing them down? I saw someone washing a set of wheels but really paid no attention to who it was.

They look super nice, I am really surprised someone did not jump on that deal sooner.



Wasn't me because I washed them in my driveway. Although I will be taking them to the car wash soon to blast the dirt off the rear face.

Quoting pachood_1953:
Did you use spray stripper?
The pour liquid in the can works wwwwway better FYI..

Anyways, the wheels look awesome. What did you use to polish them?



Yeah I used the spray can version. I will use the liquid version next time around. These wheels had 2 color coats to remove. Surprisingly the bare metal underneath was still in very good shape. All I used to bring the shine back was use some Mothers mag/alum wheel polish and their power ball.

Quoting rez:
Wow Gary the wheels look great man. That's cool you decided to go with the original finish and really keep them period correct. That must have taken a lot of powerballin'.



Thanks Scott!

 

I just picked up a jug of the canned aircraft stripper. I plan on doing my 2g rims sometime this week. Any tips on how to go about it? Did you just let the stripper do all the work or did you do any scrubbing as well? Also from what I heard this stuff is tough to the touch so did you just apply it while in the driveway and wash it away?

You did a sick job with em'. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worthy.gif

 

[prove_it]

very nice work. I like the rim design too.

 

[pachood_1953]

Quoting bruce988jl:
I just picked up a jug of the canned aircraft stripper. I plan on doing my 2g rims sometime this week. Any tips on how to go about it? Did you just let the stripper do all the work or did you do any scrubbing as well? Also from what I heard this stuff is tough to the touch so did you just apply it while in the driveway and wash it away?

You did a sick job with em'. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worthy.gif



Scuff the paint really well with a red scotch brite so the stripper can really bite...Use duct tape anywhere you dont want it to eat

Pour it on like crazy..the thicker the better. Do not smear it around, try to get it in the place you want it with one swipe of your paint brush..

Just let it sit..We'v left wheels sit for a whole work day and its fine in the end.
if you need to, reapply it.

We strip hoods that are full of rock chips all the time..


water reverses it if you get it on yourself..scrape the paint/stripper into a bag, then rinse it with water

 

[spoulson]

Wow. Those wheels look great! I think you just gave me inspiration to refinish my wagon wheels.

 

[G]

They look good without the center caps. Look like work emotions.

 

[Gary_Chiu]

Quoting bruce988jl:
I just picked up a jug of the canned aircraft stripper. I plan on doing my 2g rims sometime this week. Any tips on how to go about it? Did you just let the stripper do all the work or did you do any scrubbing as well? Also from what I heard this stuff is tough to the touch so did you just apply it while in the driveway and wash it away?

You did a sick job with em'. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/worthy.gif



Pachood basically covered all of it. I let the stripper do most of the work. I let the solution sit on the wheel for at least 10 mins. and then I wiped it off with a towel. I found working in small sections kept the job easier. I focused on one spoke at a time.

The solution is pretty rough on the hands. I wore surgical gloves thru the whole process and I had to take a break a couple of times to wash my hands. The solution made my hands kinda red. I'd use thicker dishwasher gloves next time around.

 

[pachood_1953]

^^

One of my first experiences with stripper was the worst.

I was doing a valve cover, and thought it was a good idea to use a wire brush, while wearing shorts.

It burned all the way through my flesh

 

[spoulson]

Once you've polished the aluminum to a shine, what should you do to prevent oxidation? Is a can of clearcoat enough? I'm not sure that'd hold up to the weather and brake dust.

 

YEEEEAH 1439 with them back in 04.

Good to see them back to the glory days. I'm sure you got a great deal.

 

[hosmer]

sweet...they look like SP1's w/out the center caps on

 

[mitsuturbo]

They look awesome. I love how the center caps kind of smooth it all out. I'd love to have a set of those wheels, they look super clean.

 

[deez]

Very, very nice. Makes me want to polish mine, but then again I have enough projects

 

[muaythaimike]

very nice job man!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif

 

[BadVr4]

Quoting crankwalk:
YEEEEAH 1439 with them back in 04.

Good to see them back to the glory days. I'm sure you got a great deal.


is that scott brewer's old car?

 

[GIjoe]

Quoting G:
They look good without the center caps. Look like work emotions.



they remind me of the stock EVO III wheels.