Refinishing aluminum wheels

I need to get my 18" OZ Novas cleaned up a little. I have some clear pealing and flakeing on the lip of 2 of them. What do I have done... sanded, polished, and recleared? Anyone had this done before? How much does it cost roughly? I've gotten some pretty vauge answers from a few people I have called about this.

Should I just paint them black and be done with it?

Maybe... Flat Black.
Mike

Those wheels are not worth fixing,sell them to me.Or you could check out Eastwood.com and look at the wheel
refinishing kits.If you pay someone else it runs 80 to 100 bucks a rim.Or you could just sell them to me!
Let Me Know
Jim Gordon

Strip off the clear with Aircraft Paint Remover and then just wax the bare wheels from time to time. Have done that on numerous cars.

Mike stay out of this!!!!!!I want these wheels....
Jim Gordon

Oh..ummm...gee.... You know now that I think about it those wheels look pretty crappy and by the sound of it are beyond help there....

Check out this thread: https://gmlongroof.4umer.com/wheel-tire-section-f20/how-to-polish-aluminum-wheels-t421.htm

Those are MY wheels boyz......... get in line!!!!!!!!!!!

THEY CANNOT BE FIXED MIKE!! YOU MUST SELL er GIVE THEM TO ME!!!!!





I have used aircraft striper on an Impala wheel. Hard to get it all off but it will come off. I was thinking about clear powder coat. Or having my paint guys spray them with clear.

Tim

I got a quote of $70 per wheel to powder coat and that includes stripping the clear from them. I understand that there is a clear powder. Just a possible option for ya if you don't want to do it yourself.

200OZ wrote:

I need to get my 18" OZ Novas cleaned up a little. I have some clear pealing and flakeing on the lip of 2 of them. What do I have done... sanded, polished, and recleared? Anyone had this done before? How much does it cost roughly? I've gotten some pretty vauge answers from a few people I have called about this.

Should I just paint them black and be done with it?

Maybe... Flat Black.
Mike

Hi Mike,

Let's see if we can get you on the right track.

If one is going to change the look of the wheel (paint, plate, polish, etc.) then they can get away with more aggressive/less delicate techiques, but if you want to clean up a few bad spots on the machined surface things get more difficult. You'll have to decide if you can do a spot repair or have to refinish and entire area. Usually damage is confined to outer edge and the weight area, but I'll end up stripping the entire lip surface to ensure that the final finish will be even.

I've never refinished OZ's, so I can't speak for their clearcoat adhesion, but factory wheel finishes are pretty resistant to all but the strongest paint strippers. Permatex gasket remover in the spray can is the best I have found, unfortunately it is also more expensive at like $7.00 a can. The trick is to use a strong stripper to avoid having to scrape or scrub the wheel surface. Really you don't want to touch it with anything more than a soft rag. You can scratch the factory bare aluminum with nothing more than dirty hands, so go carefully to keep the repair work to a minimum.

If only the clear was bad, you may be able to recoat right away, but usually the surface under the damaged clearcoat is stained and/or corroded and needs work. In instances where a curb hit is involved, the wheel may need initial work with files and sandpaper to remove the raised metal and blend the surface back in. If the hit was bad enough, I have had to bring wheels to my local welder and have him lay down some material to enable a proper fix. Anything more than that - bends and cracks - goes straight to the wheel shop as they have the proper equipment to save them and will ensure the wheel will be still safe to use after repair. Corrosion & brake pad wear products are best removed with a phosphoric acid based etching mag wheel cleaner. You will be staining the raw aluminum with this, just be prepared to rework any areas that you applying the solution to before the clear may be applied.

Once the area is clean, use a brown Scotchbrite pad and WD-40 to bring back the aluminum. It is imperative that you follow the existing pattern to prevent sanding marks. Wrapping the pad over the outside rim surface provides a good guide to follow the manufacturing tool path. The resulting texture is close to that of the original machined surface. A green pad is somewhat less aggresive and can be used if the wheels are in good shape, or as a final polish after the initial cut with the brown Scotchbrite. I also have a white pad that I use dry to final clean with, if this is your first attempt, try the least aggressive media first and step up as needed. Fine sandpaper doesn't give the same finish, that is why I don't recommend it. I don't hit the wheel with any kind of metal polish as it changes the color and then the repaired wheel won't look like the rest.

Look for your clearcoat at an automotive paint store - a local place has U-Pol spray cans in stock. It is about $12 a can but it is definitely a better value. I won't use anything less on a wheel now. It doesn't yellow and adheres well to the bare aluminum. It has a high solids content and needs to be laid down heavier than you're probably used to in order to get it to wet out and achieve a good gloss. As an aside, the tinted taillights we cleared with it rubbed out beautifully and look as good as any that have been done professionally.

This online store shows it, but I don't think I've had to pay that much for it in the past.

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/u-pol-clear-1-high-gloss-clear-coat-up0796-p-15130.aspx

That should be enough to get you started. If you want to see photos of wheel refinishing in-process - jump in here and poke around:

http://www.wheel-whores.com/forum/


- J

Jay,

Great information!!! We need to Sticky this!!!

Tim

Sticky-ing, this one and Roberts.

This is what I've used: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_x_7120486-P_x_x?cm_mmc=CSE-_-Google-_-VALUE3-_-VALUE4&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=7120486

Stuff is nasty and will burn your skin, so be careful. Pour some in a coffee can and use a soft bristle brush to paint it on. Let it bubble up a few minutes, and then use a hose and spray it off. May take two coats to get all the old clear off, and on rough bare areas you may want to use a toothebrush. On the smooth areas the clear comes right off.

After getting the clear off use the hose and make sure all that stuff comes off, then you can use some Mother's polish if needed, or if not, some good wax.

I've done this on my Impala wheels, my Citation mags, the factory mags I put on my 89 Custom Cruiser, and even the wheels on the old POS Aerostar we had, and the 96 Suburban. As long as you keep them waxed now and then they stay looking good, but then again my cars are not subject to much rain and no salt, so up north you may have to clear-coat the wheels to keep them nice.

The wheels on my 79 Corvette never had clear on them, and part of a normal detail was using Mothers polish and then wax. GM didn't use it back then, which is what gave me the idea to try stripping the yellowed wheels on my X-11 years ago. I was shocked how great they looked once the yellowed clear was removed, and never considered re-clearing them.