How to remove paint off rim!?

[dreaMervaj]

So I just picked up a set of wheels but the guy spray painted them purple. They are originally Bronze. Is there any way I can remove the purple paint to get the original color?

I know a lot of people use Aircraft paint remover to strip paint off rims but that would strip the rim to bare aluminum and that's not what I want.

Could I use a fine grit sand paper and sand them to the Bronze?

Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated!

[jdmjap808]

320 grit or higher..

[klits562]

320 grit or higher..

I would just rerepaint them.

[codyace]

So I just picked up a set of wheels but the guy spray painted them purple. They are originally Bronze. Is there any way I can remove the purple paint to get the original color?

I know a lot of people use Aircraft paint remover to strip paint off rims but that would strip the rim to bare aluminum and that's not what I want.

Could I use a fine grit sand paper and sand them to the Bronze?

Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated!

There is not anythign you can do that will not either ruin or remove the original finish as well.

I'd personally suggest stripping them, and then getting them powdercoated.

[dreaMervaj]

Dammit. So I guess I'm just gonna have to take them to a shop and have them strip em' and powercoat them eh? Blah. Money money. Ha ha.

[XxCAPTAINxX]

if the wheels are originaly powdercoated just take some lacter thinner put it on a rag and scrub away. it will remove spray paint but not powdercoat. if that fails acid dip and powdercoat.

[CTblack240]

low grid sandpaper. Go with lighter and lighter grids and make flat as possible then use a primer then u can spray them.

[codyace]

Dammit. So I guess I'm just gonna have to take them to a shop and have them strip em' and powercoat them eh? Blah. Money money. Ha ha.

Unfortuatnly yes. Good deals always cost the same in the end :D

if the wheels are originaly powdercoated just take some lacter thinner put it on a rag and scrub away. it will remove spray paint but not powdercoat. if that fails acid dip and powdercoat.

Laquer Thinner will eat powdercoat to a degree. It makes it kinda gooey/wierd feeliong and fades it.

(on a side note, permetex gasket remover eats powdercoat clean off. very handy in some cases)

[Matej]

Bare aluminum looks better than bronze. ;)

[dreaMervaj]

Bare aluminum looks better than bronze. ;)

If I decide to use the Aircraft Paint remover, it should take it to the bare aluminum right? But wouldn't it rust if it was just bare aluminum?

I'm trying to save some mula here.

[CaptainVlad]

Aluminum doesn't rust...

[dreaMervaj]

Aluminum doesn't rust...

Okay, not rust, oxides!?

How would I protect the rim from oxidizing if I use Aircraft Paint remover and left it in it's aluminum state? Clear coat of some sort?

[j20accord00]

yup clear coat..if you want them bronze again then just paint them yourself..strip them and repaint them. if you dont want to spend even more money, powder coating them would be expensive.

[dreaMervaj]

yup clear coat..if you want them bronze again then just paint them yourself..strip them and repaint them. if you dont want to spend even more money, powder coating them would be expensive.

I've strip paint from a rim before but I've never attempted to repaint/respray them.

After using the paint remover, would I need to wetsand it? If so, what grit should I start and end with?

If someone who has strip paint off a rim and repainted it could give me some advices on the steps I would attempt to do it myself because like I said, I'm trying to save some mula.

[dreaMervaj]

O' and I feel like a total noob; so helpless. Damn.

[dreaMervaj]

Could anyone who has done this give me some advice? =\

[ManoNegra]

Paint stripper works but it's a pain in the ass
if you're patient then go for it
Jasco works pretty well
make sure to cover any bare skin, trust me on this

anodizing can look good but it's tricky to get it right
sending them out to polish or powder coat would be my suggestion

[slider2828]

Just to make sure.... hahaah UNMOUNT the wheels before you start using paint stripper...

[dreaMervaj]

Paint stripper works but it's a pain in the ass
if you're patient then go for it
Jasco works pretty well
make sure to cover any bare skin, trust me on this

anodizing can look good but it's tricky to get it right
sending them out to polish or powder coat would be my suggestion

I wish I had the extra $$ at the moment to get these wheels powder coated. :blah:

[dreaMervaj]

Just to make sure.... hahaah UNMOUNT the wheels before you start using paint stripper...

Tires are off the rims so no worries here.

I might just go ahead and try to strip/sand and paint one of the wheels today.

[CTblack240]

use prep spray on the wheels after sanding and before priming the wheels

[dreaMervaj]

Okay so I use paint stripper and I realized it was painted red/pink before the purple was painted so there's three coats of paints.

So the paint stripper did it's job in this 50 degrees weather but it's not as clean as I thought it would be. I've been trying to clean them up but not sure what or where to start. Sand it down to make it smooth and for primer? I've only got a 400 grit sandpaper at the moment and that doesn't seem to be stripping the paint off; should I go lower?

Anyone with a suggestion? I'm pretty much stuck and frustrated ATM.

[chiboy002]

you can use another coat of paint stripper. If you used the spray on, it sucks and you'll need more coats. If you used the gel kinda, 1 more coat for 15-25 minutes should do it. Don't use 400 grit just yet, to remove it use a scotch bright pad or #000 steel wool.

Also, to strip paint, a 200grit block, preferably the foam ones so you can wet it, should do the trick. 400 grains get clogged up too easily, same goes for anything higher. You'll have to look into wetting it once you get to 400.

Lastly, try and go up higher, it'll make the final outcome better. For primer, go to like 600 and then go to like 800/1000 if you wanna finish up the primer surface for paint. Use a gray primer, its more neutral. Keep the can at least 8 inches from the rims, and spray extremely light coats with 15 minute intervals, evenly amongst the entire face. Usually it'll take you 15 minutes to get from finishing up 1 rim, to spraying the light coats on the other 3 rims. So line them up in order and just keep rotating.

Final wet sand with 1500 grit wont hurt either, and you'll need like 3-4 cans of paint if you want a nice thick coat.


Good Luck,
sorry for long post

[fckillerbee]

get the wheel sandblasted. and then paint it. what wheels are these? are they really worth this time?

[blueshark123]

sandblast the end.....