Another aluminum rim refinishing question

Darvetis

Darvetis

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I realize this type of question has been asked before (already searched the forum) but my particular question/ circumstances may be slightly different than what has been addressed... Anyways, here is what I'm trying to accomplish:

I want to improve the look of my machined aluminum rims. The corrosion (white rust) is popping up everywhere, driving me nuts. I really want to keep this project as simple as possible.

Pretty positive the wheels have a clearcoat on them.

I do not want to remove the tires from rims for the project. I only care about cleaning up the part of rim which can be seen, I don't care about what is lurking beneath the tire.

I was planning on removing the wheel, and applying some type of stripper, in order to remove the clearcoat. I would mask off/ cover the tire with plastic to protect.

I was then going to try Flitz Aluminum Pre Clean, in order to remove the remaining corrosion.

Not sure yet if I should just polish up the rims, or paint them. I suppose it depends on how deep the corrosion went into the rims. If the machining grooves have disappeared in spots due to corrosion, I might just spray them with paint/ primer/ clear, and call it good.

However if all the grooves are intact, perhaps its just easier to polish and clear.

Any thoughts or advice is appreciated. As previously mentioned, I want to keep this as simple as possible, and not remove the tires from rims. I can update with more info once I have removed the clear and corrosion.
 
Darvetis said:
As previously mentioned, I want to keep this as simple as possible, and not remove the tires from rims. I can update with more info once I have removed the clear and corrosion.
Click to expand...

Not all al. alloy wheels will polish out mirror bright.
Info on stripper in comment section. Paint stripper from HD may not work due to plasticisers in the wheel coating.
Youtube videos. One of many...

Refinishing beat-up alloy wheels - YouTube
 
Thanks for posting VT, I never even considered checking out youtube...
 
Busch Enterprises out of North Carolina makes a product called "Clear Coat Remover" made just for rims.

Brush it on; let dwell, then rinse off.

It's the right tool for the job. It doesn't require the removal or covering of the tire.

Afterwards, polish. Make sure you remove the polish residue (alcohol, naptha) before reclearing, since many metal polishes will leave a polymer coating behind that will prevent the clear from adhering.

Good luck.
 
Great tip Forrest. I will file that away in the brain tool box.


Sent via telepathy.
 
Thanks for the tips! I will read up on the Busch Enterprises product, sounds like it would be easier to work with than Jasco...

Upon further examination, it appears that the corrosion is deep enough in some areas of rims, that the machined grooving on surface is compromised.

Even after stripping and cleaning and polishing, the pits and marks left from the corrosion will be evident. I'm now thinking it might be better to prime and paint.

So here is a new question. Is there a spray primer which will fill in both the machined grooves and small pits created by corrosion?

Then I could eventually spray both paint and clear over that and call it good. I wouldn't mind powdercoating the wheels, but don't want to invest that much money in this project.
 
I ended up going in a completely different direction with this project. Decided it wasn't worth the energy, time or $ trying to fix a set of rims I didn't like the looks of in the first place.

Found a set of Enkei machined aluminum rims on Craigslist.

The wheels had scratches in clear coat, and marks in the aluminum. Additionally, the clear coat was failing in a few areas. I easily stripped the clear, and am now trying to decide how to proceed.

Here are pics of the wheel that has most problems:

IMG_00032.jpg


IMG_00133.jpg


Since these will be going on my daily driven '97 Rav4, I'm not looking to either spend a lot of $ or end up with show quality results. I don't care about the gouges in wheel actually, I'm more concerned about the light scratch marks. I'd like to remove those, and then apply a protective clear coat.

Any advice for removing these light marks appreciated. Trying to keep this as simple as possible. Would #0000 steel wool be OK to use, or could that make more scratches?
 
The quad ought alone is not abrasive enough - excepting the most minor of defects.

If you were in my area forum friend, I would fix the defects for free just to show you how simple it really is.
 
Thanks anyways VT! Just came back from a wheel refinishing place, they said in order to fix they would have to remachine and then clear coat. $135 per wheel. That is not going to happen...
 
Why not just bling them out and keep them maintained.
On a highly finished wheel, most blemishes fade into the bling...most people won't even see the imperfections.
Keep all APC's away from the finish.
On a DD, once blinged you can upkeep bi-weekly with NEVRDULL...maybe half hr to 45 minutes per wheel.


 
Appreciate your 2 cents VT :xyxthumbs:


Bi-weekly maintenance !:eek:! Not sure I'm up for that!

I was looking elsewhere on the forum, and somebody suggested using 845 on bare aluminum wheels. Wouldn't I get a few months of protection with that? I'm assuming I wouldn't have to polish wheels as often then...
 
845 is an excellent choice.
One of the AG team has polished wheels. Maybe he'll chime in.

I just realized that I'm not the perfect candidate for giving advice. When I had polished wheels regularly, I was putting a minimum of 3K miles on them per week, so bi-weeekly was where I was comfortable without letting the bling ebb.

As far as customer wheels, I only have two with polished wheels. Last Friday one decided to go otc wheel brightener route - what a splotchy mess.

The other is in SC, gets wheels treated twice yearly with occassional ND inbetween. Depending on weather, I will be using greaseless and the dewalt for the bling and 845 for protection. Will post pics after 11/19 when I return.
 
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I'm open to polishing the raw alloy and coating with 845 (though I still would prefer a clear coat). I still have time to weigh the pros and cons of my options.

Wheel restoration shop suggested re-machining before clear coat due to some corrosion on aluminum. If corrosion isn't removed, the clear coat will eventually fail.



Wondering if I could just use a PowerBall or DynaCone (or anything that I can attach to drill) and remove corrosion that way. I don't want to mess up the machining grooves anymore than they already are however.

Additionally, I ordered some Flitz aluminum preclean last night, couldn't resist the free shipping/ no minimum promotion. Maybe that will remove the corrosion...
 
Your corrosion issue is minor.
Easily handled by the quad ought ss , and,or the foam/polish.

I would not waste my money on remachining.
Seems to me that you have over 99% machining grooves. A few small bare spots shouldn't lead to catostrophic failure.

I would suggest that you pm oldmodman and get his input.
 
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