I have a 2000 F-250 4x4 with the stock aluminum alloy wheels....they have some UGLY corrosion damage from road salt esp where wheel weights are (were).
there seems to be a plastic like coating on the wheels....Im thinking I would like to strip off the coating and sand the bad spots with progressively finer sandpaper and then buff the wheels with polishing rouge before recoating

anybody do this before?....looking for recommendation for stripper and what to use to re-coat...... and info on how the job went

they are decent wheels...too bad the salt ruins everything here in the rust belt

thanks

 

I was seriously considering this company before I had my polished aluminum wheels clear powder coated.

This like is a kit for the entire job from stripping to polishing to prep to clear. The come very highly rated.

I baught a new set of SVT wheels from ford that did not come coated. The latiet wheels that they are replacing, I might get this kit in the summer and try doing the refinish myself. Then sell them.

http://www.imperialrestoration.com/p...category=13#57

 

the POR 15 stuff came highly recommended to me as well. A friend that has worked in bump and paint for years swears by it.

 

You may want to try glass bead blasting them. It's what we used to use back in the day. After blasting, clear coat and they'll look like new. It's not cheap, but it's fast.

 

the glass beading is going to change the look of the wheel....they are POLISHED wheels....if they were shot...totally corroded..I might try that...but Im trying to fix a pimple on a pretty face ...not take a shotgun to broomhilda....thanks for the input though

 

Getting ready to send for the POR15 refinishing kit $160.00 but its a lot cheaper then sending them in and paying $160.00 per tire(repair plus shipping). Talked to a tec help about there kit and sounds fairly straight forward system to do. They have a very detailed instructions with it,all you need is a electric drill , every thing else comes with the kit.

 

Hey Boxcar, does the clearcoating of the wheels prevent road salt from pitting your wheels?

 

Actually, the glass beads will remove the corrosion with significantly changing the way the wheel looks. That's why you use glass beads versus regular sandblasting material. A little polishing after blasting and then clear. Depending on how much polishing you do, you'll get anything between a satin finish and a shine. I have seen it done to the point where you can't tell they were refinished at all.

 

Yes absolutely, that is whay I am having it done. Powder coating them clear will only require soap and water to keep them clean with a few coats of wax now and then.

The key is getting the polishing compound residue off before you power coat of liquid clear using the por-15 products. If you dont gets them clean, you will have to recoat in about a year. The por-15 has a great metal prep in the kit. The wheel guy who is doing my wheels has aspecific process he uses to get them clean for proper adhesion. And its warrantied.

If I had some used wheels I would have choosen to do them myself. Since the wheels are new and cost me $900 I will pay the $75 per wheel and get htem professionally powder coated with a warranty.

 

I got my wheels back form the powder coater. They came out perfect. The coating is smooth and very glossy. You cant even tell by eye they had been coated. You need to feel them to tell.

 

Boxcar where did you have them done, when you say powdercoated are they polished aluminum with seal coating, how much $$$

 

Use aircraft stripper to get the clear off, use fine sandpaper/steel wool if needed to get any pitted spots out then polish/buff with mothers wheel polish. If you keep up on the maintnance and keep the polish on them you don't have to re-clearcote them. but to make the shine last with little up keep you will have to spray them with clear.

To get them clean without all that work there is a cleaner I think it is called Purple Power, they have it at autozone and other parts stores. Clean your wheels with that stuff it will take off any dirt/brake dust/anything that is on them. Follow the directions though, you don't want it to dry on your wheels. I clean my wheels with that when I wash my truck and they always come out looking like new.

 

i was going to say that too. i used it to strip an intake plenum before polshing it on a past car, and i also stripped the coating on the wheels on my old truck for the same reasons you want to.

the stuff is amazing..

 

I got them done at a company called rim pro. www.rimpro.com Yes my wheels are polished aluminum. They were brand new Ford SVT wheels with no coating on them. All they did was prep (a process all in its self) and powder clear. The prep is the key. Polished aluminum is a bear to get the coating, what ever you are using, to stick. It all has to do with getting all the polishing compound off. Not a easy feat. Rim pro was the only company with experience in doing it and would warranty the work for the life of the wheel. I cost me $300 for all four wheels.