Help. Are my wheels fried?

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AYoh

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Had my cousin wash my car, unfortunately he used my corrosive wheel cleaner instead of the gentle stuff. I am afraid my finish is toast... Aluminum wheels...

I have tried hand rubbing polish but with little luck. Should I get the orbital out with a polishing pad and try again?

Or am I stuck with sanding down to bare and saying bye bye to my finish?

TOkKJqH.jpg
 
Most likely you need to sand out the spotting. Try 1500 wet sanding in one direction then polish with compound in a opposite direction . I always test a small spot to see my result and to estimate time.
 
detailsbydennis said:
Most likely you need to sand out the spotting. Try 1500 wet sanding in one direction then polish with compound in a opposite direction . I always test a small spot to see my result and to estimate time.
Click to expand...

Is 1500 soft enough to not remove the clearcoat? I'm assuming the wheel cleaner has already done its part there... just wanted to check, though
 
Worst Case it's about $250 to have them all powder coated.
 
Hahha if the cousin wasn't a freshman in college, I would hunt his uncle down.

I refuse to have them powder coated. Would much rather strip them to bare than do that.
 
AYoh said:
Would much rather strip them to bare than do that.
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I suppose, but from a performance and quality standpoint I've never had issues. Local shop did these for a friend and let's just say he's very finicky about his wheels.

afterwheel.jpg
 
I have heard that powder coating wheels makes the alloy more brittle. A buddy of mine had some wheels powder coated and they broke instead of bending.
 
detailsbydennis said:
I have heard that powder coating wheels makes the alloy more brittle. A buddy of mine had some wheels powder coated and they broke instead of bending.
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It's all in the process. IMO whoever did his wheels didn't do them correctly the key is to insure the time/temp cycle is kept low and short enough otherwise it will affect the heat-treatment of the forgings.

Metallic powder coats are able to keep the cure temps down to an acceptable level, so these days it isn't a problem. They just have to be done properly. I had my OZ Racing wheels done without issue and I even ran them in winters.
 
pdqgp said:
It's all in the process. IMO whoever did his wheels didn't do them correctly the key is to insure the time/temp cycle is kept low and short enough otherwise it will affect the heat-treatment of the forgings.

Metallic powder coats are able to keep the cure temps down to an acceptable level, so these days it isn't a problem. They just have to be done properly. I had my OZ Racing wheels done without issue and I even ran them in winters.
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Columbus area, yes.

Stopped by the wheel shop again and Powder coat will be roughly $600 for all 4.

Full strip and high gloss polish $1,000.

If I went powder I would do a light gunmetal or the other option of a high gloss silver paint. Is hyperblack or hypersilver a paint by stroke of luck?

Web search found me this on the hyper silver.
Refinish Network :: Topic: Has anyone ever painted "hyper silver" (wheels)? (1/1)
 
If you have lots and lots of time and elbow grease you can polish them up on your own. If there weren't already polished under the clear coat it would take a large amount of effort. However, it shouldn't be too hard to remove the clear chemically and just polish them up afterwards. It will require a lot of maintenance to keep them shiny afterwards.
 
hogie said:
If you have lots and lots of time and elbow grease you can polish them up on your own. If there weren't already polished under the clear coat it would take a large amount of effort. However, it shouldn't be too hard to remove the clear chemically and just polish them up afterwards. It will require a lot of maintenance to keep them shiny afterwards.
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I may get them stripped to the bones and consider this. Stripping is only $50 per wheel or something like that. Get the orbital out and go to town!
 
AYoh said:
Columbus area, yes.

Stopped by the wheel shop again and Powder coat will be roughly $600 for all 4.

Full strip and high gloss polish $1,000.

If I went powder I would do a light gunmetal or the other option of a high gloss silver paint. Is hyperblack or hypersilver a paint by stroke of luck?

Web search found me this on the hyper silver.
Refinish Network :: Topic: Has anyone ever painted "hyper silver" (wheels)? (1/1)
Click to expand...


Small world! Dang! I'll PM You some options later. i have a message out to a friend that does great work.

Are you on Columbus Racing by chance?
 
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