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OEM 5 Spoke Alloy Wheels

X

XJ91

NAXJA Forum User
Location
G'Nagiwanka
I have a spare set of OEM Alloy's that I was thinking of freshing up.

Has any one used a paint stripper to remove the clear coat then re-coat it? Or Paint them a different colour? (Say Black?) Do you have pic's?
 
I was going to strip the clear coat off of my aftermarket wheels a few months ago, and somebody posted a pic of theirs they did. They looked very good. I never got a chance to try it before going airborne and bending all 4 wheels. :D
 
XJ91 said:
I have a spare set of OEM Alloy's that I was thinking of freshing up. Has any one used a paint stripper to remove the clear coat then re-coat it? Or Paint them a different colour? (Say Black?) Do you have pic's?
Click to expand...

I ran across a guy with a silver Discovery that had his OEM's powder coated dark grey... they looked real good with those blackwall tires. I suggest powder coating if you're going to do it.
 
I have a rather ugly looking set of the older 10-spoke OEM alloys. I took two of them to a car wash and coated them with "Aircraft Stripper" from Auto Zone. Left it on for about a minute, then fired up the spray wand to rinse it all off. The stuff works very well, but I was in a hurry and didn't get 100% coverage, so I will go back, with all 4 wheels this time.

I went to a self-serve car wash because the stuff is acidic, and I wanted to be sure to rinse it all off. I don't have a power washer and I didn't want the acidic solution on my driveway, so the car wash seemed like the next best idea.

There is some pitting and discoloration under where the weights were. I'm buffing that down with crocus cloth and then aluminum polish on number 0000 steel wool. Once I have the wheels cleaned up, I'll try coating with rattle can clear coat.
 
I just installed new rims and tires, got them from ebay. They are awesome looking. They are straight from the 2004 Columbia Edition Wranglers. They are powder coated Eccos. They are dark gray with the edge of the rims are just plain uncoated aluminums. They look great on a black 2000 XJ. I hope to get a picture up and let you guys see it on my Jeep. very nifty!
Just ordered my spare from these guys: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...&rd=1&item=7911269557&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

I bought their full set a few months ago, been happy ever since. A few days ago I spoke to the guy I bought my tires and rims from, said alot of people have asked for them, seems to be pretty popular. They may be collector items. Hmmm, may have to invest in some Mcgards to protect my wheels.
:viking:
 
Good topic! I have been wondering for years what to do about my stock 5 spoke wheels. When I replaced my OEM tires, the shop damaged the clear coat and it has been peeling over the years. It just looks like a lot of work to clean it up and I am not convinced that a spray can can equal what comes from the factory.

I recently recieved a set of 5, 10 spoke wheels like Eagle described. They are 14 years old but look pretty good.

My Limited wheels (gold centers) look good with the exception of where wheel weights were.

OK I am rambling, but I have 13 wheels I could clean up! I am looking for an easy way to do all of it.

When looking at the pitting on the "silver" surface, it looks like silver paint on top of the aluminum then the clear coat. I think every wheel is a two tone color job. Any comments on this observation?

Does anyone have expereince with using the clear coat in the can spray and its durability?
 
I second the aircraft remover, that sh*t removes everything but the metal itself. It works really well on body paint too. I do recommend doing it in area that is well ventilated and not prone to damage (ie a painted garage floor). I dripped some on my concrete driveway and it didn't do much, just made it a little brighter. Oh yeah if you plan on taping a section off to do a certain area use some quality tape. I used some el cheapo dollar store painters tape and the aircraft remover went strait through it, needless to say I didn't have nice clean lines.
 
Eagle said:
I have a rather ugly looking set of the older 10-spoke OEM alloys. I took two of them to a car wash and coated them with "Aircraft Stripper" from Auto Zone. Left it on for about a minute, then fired up the spray wand to rinse it all off. The stuff works very well, but I was in a hurry and didn't get 100% coverage, so I will go back, with all 4 wheels this time.

I went to a self-serve car wash because the stuff is acidic, and I wanted to be sure to rinse it all off. I don't have a power washer and I didn't want the acidic solution on my driveway, so the car wash seemed like the next best idea.

There is some pitting and discoloration under where the weights were. I'm buffing that down with crocus cloth and then aluminum polish on number 0000 steel wool. Once I have the wheels cleaned up, I'll try coating with rattle can clear coat.
Click to expand...

Like my self I have 10 wheels all the same.
I had some "Safest Stripper" sitting around so I gave it a shot this morining. Results were quite impressive, not as potent as aircraft stripper. I will have to touch up some spots a second time. I'm not good at polishing and stuff so I'm going to pick up some Black and clear coat and give that a go this week sometime.

I'll post pic's Tuesday when I get back to work.
 
I've got three sets of wheels to do: 2 sets of 10 spoke and 1 set of 5 spoke. I will use aircraft stripper, then polish the corroded areas until smooth. The plan: POR 15 makes a clearcoat for wheels that they claim is super-tough. Anybody used this? I'm looking for something more robust than normal clearcoat- only want to do this once. What kind of surface treatment works on aluminum to get the POR 15 clearcoat to stick? Phosphoric acid wash?
 
rattle canning it may not yield the best results. im lucky enough to have a friend who converted his garage into a paint booth and he'll paint anything you want for just the price of materials. hang around at the parts store til someone comes in covered in paint then offer them 50 bucks to powder all of your wheels, maybe throw in a pack of cigs too =)
 
skipc said:
This may be a dumb Q, but did you remove the tires or break the bead before using the stripper to keep it off the rubber? If so, how did you do it (can't use irons on aluminum rims)?
Click to expand...

I was lucky enough to get my wheels with tyres removed already.
I do have one with the tyre on but it's a POS and garbage after I strip, I'll have a shop remove it for me.
 
I have the honey-comb style wheels on a '91 xj. They were badly corroded due to weather & salt. I brought them to a shop to have them blasted with glass pearls/beads (whatever the correct English term is). So NOT sand-blasted, as sand is sharp, which will cause excessive erosion.

Subsequently, the wheels were sprayed with a primer and finally sprayed in the original two colors, i.e. bronze and silver. The wheels are as new; it cost me approx $50 a piece, but it was worth it.
 
dogtired said:
I guess you can do it with these from Harbour Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42802

and this too: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46300

But my question is this: if you heat aluminum rims... to say about 480 degrees for curing powder coat paint, won't it lose structural intregrity? :dunno:

:viking:
Click to expand...

Last thing I want to do is spend that kind of cash on these wheels. My local CTC carries a wheel grade rattle can in various colors and clear. My thought was to get the original clear off the wheel, sand the salt corosion, rattle can with black and then clear coat.
 
Here are some results...
The original shape of the wheel, this is the best one all the rest are in worse shape.
ruffshape.JPG


Results of using a wire brush on my angle grinder.
wirewheel.JPG


Also cleaned up the bead area, so my 31's will sit nice and snug.
wirewheelinside.JPG
 
XJ91 said:
Here are some results...
The original shape of the wheel, this is the best one all the rest are in worse shape.
Click to expand...
Looks pretty good! Isn't there a buffing pad for polishing the aluminum till it shines? you know... BLING! :viking:


Oh ya, I almost forgot... you wanted dark BLING! :dunce:

say... does the brake dust hurt the powder coat? Just wondering.
 
dogtired said:
Say... does the brake dust hurt the powder coat? Just wondering.
Click to expand...

So far, I haven't seen brake dust, gasoline, etc. hurt powder coating. I've seen it used on calipers, wheels, intake manifolds, engine blocks ... many restorations are done using this process.

Some guys like it and go hog wild with that look ... too shiny for my taste, even on a top-dollar resto. Looks good on some wheels with a flood coat ... I believe colors are limited though, so if you trying to color match an OEM color---that may be an obstacle.

I believe you can do a powder coat in clear on some components ...


These guys can tell you anything you need to know:

http://www.powdercoatservices.com/index.htm
 
UPDATE to my original Post...

A pic of the wheel with Flat Black Tremclad...
fb-wheel.JPG


A pic with wheel grade clear coat....
cc-wheel.JPG


A pic of my HEEP with them on...
left-cropped.JPG
 
wow! That's really nice! I like it the flat black look actually, but I guess you need to protect it. :cheers:

:viking:
 
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