Paint stripping wheels

[MasterOfReality]

Hey all,

Have a set of wheels I'd like restored. They have been painted a few times and pretty thick as well. Wheel shop played around with sandblasting and they reckon it will be a massive job. They recommended chemical paint stripping. Issue is the shops they use don't do this anymore.

Will a big can of Polystripper do the job haha? Or else anybody know places in Brisbane that will do this?

 

[vc commodore]

Hey all,

Have a set of wheels I'd like restored. They have been painted a few times and pretty thick as well. Wheel shop played around with sandblasting and they reckon it will be a massive job. They recommended chemical paint stripping. Issue is the shops they use don't do this anymore.

Will a big can of Polystripper do the job haha? Or else anybody know places in Brisbane that will do this?

@losh1971 would be a good one to ask....He has done a couple of sets from memory

 

[losh1971]

Selleys or Septone mate, you will need at least a litre can per two rims, but likely 1 can per rim to get it pretty much all off. There might be a few spots that will be left behind, they will be like 3mmx3mm and the sandblaster will clean the rest up. Best use a Karcher or similar to blast the between batches of stripper. It will take three - four goes with the stripper to get them ready for the sandblaster. I do my own sandblasting too, as well as fixing the scratches and painting the wheels in 2k.


https://www.selleys.com.au/products/painting/paint-removal/selleys-kwik-strip/

 

[MasterOfReality]

Selleys or Septone mate, you will need at least a litre can per two rims, but likely 1 can per rim to get it pretty much all off. There might be a few spots that will be left behind, they will be like 3mmx3mm and the sandblaster will clean the rest up. Best use a Karcher or similar to blast the between batches of stripper. It will take three - four goes with the stripper to get them ready for the sandblaster. I do my own sandblasting too, as well as fixing the scratches and painting the wheels in 2k.


https://www.selleys.com.au/products/painting/paint-removal/selleys-kwik-strip/

Excellent mate, thanks for that.

Does the paint stripper removed the decades of baked on brake dust from the inside of the wheels as well, or am I better off trying to wash them with some diluted pool acid first?

 

[losh1971]

Paint stripper both sides mate. You will likely find depending on what rims they are the insides will be painted also.

What I do is stripper the wheels both sides, 4" and a wire wheel to get them pretty well done. Then sandblast. Sandblasting is expensive and takes a lot of time, even when you do it yourself. Garnet costs quite a bit and the garnet wears out the tips pretty quick. That's why they charge a lot. Sandblasting at home is not my favourite job, as it gets into everything hahaha.

 

[MasterOfReality]

Thats along the lines of what the wheel shop was telling me, they had a quick go and got nowhere. He reckons it can be done but will cost a fortune due to time and materials. He wasn't keen on any other media blasting due to potential damage.

Edit - VP GTS wheels, so worth restoring as they are 30P offset. The insides are terrible, I hit it with a 2,200psi karcher and it didn't shift anything haha.

 

[losh1971]

Here is the latest two I've been working on. I had a couple of spots of paint left and just tried Accent brand stripper and it really didn't work anywhere near as good as Selleys Kwik Strip. Just means I will have to spend a bit of extra time on the sandblaster. Above is stripped and wire wheeled, and bit of time on the finishing sander.

Next step will be sandblasting and and epoxy aluminium putty on the remaining gutter rash, before I etch and paint.

 

[MasterOfReality]

Looks good. If the wheel shop can't someone to do it looks like I'll be picking them up and stripping them myself. They can clean up the rest!

 

[losh1971]

I'd strip them yourself. I'm already in at 2.5hrs, maybe 3hrs just getting them to this stage.

 

[NORTI]

Edit - VP GTS wheels, so worth restoring as they are 30P offset. The insides are terrible, I hit it with a 2,200psi karcher and it didn't shift anything haha.

they arent painted black by any chance are they?