How to fix / repolish your wheels

[gsracer]

After a while all clear coated / anodized polished lips will begin to corrode underneath and show up like a white cancer that you cant get rid of without repolishing. Normally you would take the wheels apart to do this and or take them to a shop but heres an easy way you can make them look like new with out spending to much $$$.

Here you can see the cancerous spots


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/gsracer/IMG_7026.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/gsracer/IMG_7028.jpg



You will need to strip off the clear coat to do this, use some aircraft stripper, but dont spray it on, spray it into a cup and dab it on with a brush, dont get it on your car or the painted centers or youll be a very unhappy person.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/gsracer/IMG_7033.jpg


Here you see it doing its job, lifted the clear quite easily.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/gsracer/IMG_7035.jpg


After you wash it off the wheel already looks better without the clear


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/gsracer/IMG_7036.jpg



Now you dont want to go crazy sanding start with at the most 1000 grit, then step to 1500, 2000. This saves lots of time polishing, and unless your wheels have really bad corrosion you should be able to get most off with 1500.

Here is them at 1500

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/gsracer/IMG_7038.jpg


Then at 2000.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/gsracer/IMG_7040.jpg


Next you want to polish, i used the mothers power cone thing with some regular aluminum polish, just spend about 5 minuted polishing till all the polish turns really black then buff it out, you might have to do some areas by hand if they are hard to reach

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/gsracer/IMG_7042.jpg


After youve removed the residue with a towel, rinse and repeat as needed. My wheels where pretty bad with the corrosion and this entire process took me no lie about 20-25 minuted most of which was brushing on the stripper to lift the clear.

Heres the finished product, enjoy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v344/gsracer/IMG_7043.jpg

[shifts13]

damn looks good!
great job!

[slideways2004]

looks good. but i would tape up the centers for added protection. I remeber one time during the sanding part, i sneezed and sanded the center of my wheels. that shit sucked!!

[gsracer]

yea you could do that for sure but i have hands like a surgeon... ha

[bardabe]

*skeet*

msglngth

[CrimsonRockett]

Definitely saving this.

My VS-XX Definitely need to be re-polished.

[sidewayz240]

Damn, i definatly need to get me on of those polishing balls. I've got three of my wheels done, all by hand polishing. not fun.

[5t341tH]

gotta re-clear them? looks nice

[carlos_mx1976]

thank you very much! that good work and good advice!

[Ninjabread]

Wow, sweet! Didn't think you could do it that simply.

Now let's say you didnt want to take the clear off, can you still use that polish?

[gsracer]

no, you cant do anything with the clear on, as long as the polished surface is good below the clear coat your fine as soon as the clear coat starts to get hazy or there starts to corrosion below you have to remove it.

[MisawaJason]

damn that turned out pretty good man

[Mister.E]

that looks really good man. i may have to try this on some of my wheels

[flip3d]

looks great but it doesnt have the work logo on em anymore :(

well, maybe thats a good thing. might make them less likely to steal.

[roorr0]

^damn he's right..the vinyl came off...whatcha going to do about that?

also how long would it stay clean?



can't wait to try this when it gets warmer

[Flicktitty]

looks pretty damn good

+1

[r6_240sx]

no, you cant do anything with the clear on, as long as the polished surface is good below the clear coat your fine as soon as the clear coat starts to get hazy or there starts to corrosion below you have to remove it.You can't use regular urethane clearcoat because they don't have any rush/corrosion inhibitors and is very porous. Which is why corrosion occurred on your wheels.

IIRC, you can get it clear powdercoated which is a lot better. Only problem is, when chipping occurs, the wheels have been exposed and you might run into problems again.

They also have this clear etch you can use and then you can topcoat that with urethane clear. I can't remember exactly what it's called. I'll post up again when I find out.

[aoiken3]

you have just cured cancer. you should be on global television!! looks great man

[lflkajfj12123]

looks brand new damn

[Slammed180]

So once you've finished buffing and removing any residue, what do you clearcoat with?
Any products to suggest?

[Anto]

Use synthetic sealant or car wax to seal the lips.

Check out Klasse Sealant Glaze for a synthetic sealant.

[TheXFlames]

awww but the vinyl is offf...

still sweet looking rims..
thanx for the advice

[Flicktitty]

awww but the vinyl is offf...

still sweet looking rims..
thanx for the advice


you can get vinyl made...:coold:

[gsracer]

Im not gonna clear coat them, it takes 5 minutes per wheel to repolish them, and as long as you use a good polish you should only have to repolish a few times a year. And in my opinion it looks way better than clear coated.

[r6_240sx]

Use synthetic sealant or car wax to seal the lips.

Check out Klasse Sealant Glaze for a synthetic sealant.+1, BUT NO ON CAR WAX. Stick to Synthetic sealant/wax. Car wax attracts brake dust like no otha on the wheels.

Im not gonna clear coat them, it takes 5 minutes per wheel to repolish them, and as long as you use a good polish you should only have to repolish a few times a year. And in my opinion it looks way better than clear coated.Wait, are work wheels lips anodized then clear coated from factory? If so that's weird. They probably just did that for the vinyl.

If it's in the anodized state, then I agree don't clear coat them. They'll be fine the way they are. Just keep the polishing to a minimum, and slap a layer of synthetic sealant over it.

For those wondering what clear coat to use, it's called Glisten PC by POR-15. Quality stuff.
GLISTEN PC-POR-15 Inc. (http://www.por15.com/GLISTEN-PC/productinfo/GPCGG/)

That or just get it clear powdercoated...

[gsracer]

i cant tell you for sure but to me it was clearcoat, very very thin layer. The stripper lifted 90 percent of it almost instantly on contact, i would think anodize is a little more difficult then that.

[Matej]

A few years ago I used Aircraft Stripper on the stock wheels and it made them look chrome. It was awesome.

[r6_240sx]

i cant tell you for sure but to me it was clearcoat, very very thin layer. The stripper lifted 90 percent of it almost instantly on contact, i would think anodize is a little more difficult then that.Yeah, paint stripper won't do sh*t on the anodized layer.

You would think Work Wheels would use the correct type of clear, but I guess not.

[ErocKs13]

thank you so much for this write up! i have two sets of wheels with lip cancer haha

[upSLIDEdown]

Also fyi for anyone else doing this. You can also buy aircraft stripper in a metal jug, and pour a little into a can and brush it on. The stuff in the jug seems to be stronger than what's in the aerosol can, from my experience with them. Also, read the directions. It has an anti-drying agent in it, so only brush it one direction. Going back and forth fucks up the anti-drying agent. You want it to stay wet.

Wear nitrile gloves also. This shit BURNS if you get in on your skin.

[INeedNewTires]

Looks great man, i thought you were going to take the wheel apart... I'm in a similar situation with my Volks, only instead of white cancerous cells, they are forming a rainbow effagect...

Also mine have a wierd crevise that is tough to get into. pics explain, but these are the Seamless Forged, which i'm not too familiar with but with the wheel off there is no gap between the lip and the inner barrell. Could i just remove the face of them without messing them up, polish, refinish, and then re-install the bolts holding on the face and torque down good, without any adverse effect?

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee309/ineednewtires/S14a%20Pics/2007-12-19017.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee309/ineednewtires/S14a%20Pics/2007-12-19016.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee309/ineednewtires/S14a%20Pics/DSCF0091.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee309/ineednewtires/S14a%20Pics/DSCN2985.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee309/ineednewtires/S14a%20Pics/DSCN2978.jpg

[4sfed180]

this process wont work for anodized products. anodizing is a chemical process and not mechanical like painting and powder coating. if the part is anodized it will stand up to just about anything. the different fun colors that attract everyone to buying thing are achieved through adding color dyes. if you actually take the wheels apart, prep them, and have them anodized you wont ever have to worry about the hazing. well okay after a VERY LONG time it will but you will probably will be sick of the wheels and sell them before that happens.

this is a good writeup though. props.

to the OP:

to save some questions post the info on the stripper you used, ie brand or model number off the can.

cheers :)

[upSLIDEdown]

I'm not sure on the brand, but the stuff I've used it in a gallon metal can. Also sold in aerosol cans, like the OP used. You can get it at Advance Auto Parts. It's called Aircraft Stripper.



As for anodizing. You're right, it's much tougher. The only thing that will remove anodizing is Easy Off Oven Cleaner. I know. Bike frames are anodized, and that's what a friend of mine uses to strip them before polishing them. He's very good at what he does.

[scoobyjoe]

Wow this is dope I can do this to my hoshinos, good stuff:)

[Witness]

yea you could do that for sure but i have hands like a surgeon... ha

You ever seen surgery? they miss alot!! and go at it like there hacking wood.

Anyway dope write up ill definitely have to try it one day.

[upSLIDEdown]

People wanting to do this, keep in mind now you will have bare polished aluminum, so you'll have to keep it polished with Mother's, or whatever you choose to use. If you don't they'll oxidize pretty badly.


There are sealants out there (mentioned before in this thread) that supposedly work, but I've never used any of them. I'm told ZOOPseal works really well, but it's not cheap, that's for sure.

[scoobyjoe]

I polish mine by hand it's a bitch but worth it.

[r6_240sx]

Looks great man, i thought you were going to take the wheel apart... I'm in a similar situation with my Volks, only instead of white cancerous cells, they are forming a rainbow effagect...

Also mine have a wierd crevise that is tough to get into. pics explain, but these are the Seamless Forged, which i'm not too familiar with but with the wheel off there is no gap between the lip and the inner barrell. Could i just remove the face of them without messing them up, polish, refinish, and then re-install the bolts holding on the face and torque down good, without any adverse effect?I'm confused on WTH you just said.

Seamless Forged is the way the wheel are shaped, not finished. Find out the finish on your wheels are. I would assume they are clearcoated, you probably sprayed a solvent that is too strong and/or the wheel was still hot when you cleaned them causing this problem. If you research this, it is common with Volks.to the OP:

to save some questions post the info on the stripper you used, ie brand or model number off the can.

cheers :)It's Mar-Hyde Tal-Strip Aircraft Coating Remover.

You can get it just about anywhere. (Wal-Mart, paint jobber, auto shop, home/construction shop)

You can get the mother's polishing ball at any place that has detail products.

[zorak]

saved this!

just picked up some ssr meshies that will thank you for this!

[wangan_cruiser]

turned out pretty good. im wonderin, cant you just use paint thinner to remove the clear coat?

[INeedNewTires]

I'm confused on WTH you just said.

Seamless Forged is the way the wheel are shaped, not finished.

the Seamless part is where the inner barrel meets the outter barrel, on these particular wheels there is no gap, no silicone to seal the barrels together, they are "seamless" or fused together somehow. I was just wondering if i could remove the bolts and pull off the face without screwing up the inner/outter barrels. anyway pics here explain more about the crevise and rainbow effect. I'm planning on stripping them sometime soon, good writeup!

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee309/ineednewtires/car%20parts/2007-12-19016.jpg

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee309/ineednewtires/car%20parts/DSCN2978.jpg

turned out pretty good. im wonderin, cant you just use paint thinner to remove the clear coat?


not strong enough, no

[xplicit240]

bookmarked. +1 for you gsracer. this is exactly what i have been looking for.

[iwishiwas-all*]

ha def done this b4
I will say though two things I think you should have done, being the perfectionist that you are.
by just removing the way you did, you missed by the rivits, that will show unfortunately.
What I did with my Dori2's was removed all the bolts and separated them apart, then the lips could be tended to properly. New hardware if the old ones are crud ( mine were so i found the same stuff at the hardware store.)
Remembering to mark which center section came to which rim and its EXACT location, everything should go back together primo primo, in some cases may require pressing the centers into the rims, a job I paid a rim shop 60 bucks to do all four, and torque all hardware properly.

Rims balanced beautifully and what you get is this:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y75/Gabedm/100_3472.jpg
(Lonnnnnggg since sold)
I will say that aircraft remover is some shitty stuff, a dab would have killed your center sections and then its a trip to the powder coater.

Either way your rims came out primo.

[2iv0 sx]

Anyone recommend a good polish?

[AznDrftr.]

Mothers Polish is good.