Has anyone ever tried or thought about blasting their polished aluminum rims and then putting a clearcoat on them? My main motive in this operation would be for no more polishing. Eastwood has some clearcoat I wouldn't mind trying, and I think that a coating would adhere better to a 'roughened' up surface than a polished surface. And also if I blast them, it will get in all the nooks and crannys a lot easier and faster than just by polishing. But I'm not sure if abrasive blasting or soda blasting would give the metal a better looking texture. Anyone ever soda blast aluminum? And there's also different types of conventional blast media too.

I would think this combo would hold up for several years, and in the event it starts to fail, just fire up the blaster and redo it. It would sure beat polishing several times a year.

 

I dnt know if all wheels are this way but mine are clear coated and as far as I know it's factory. If you blast them it will remove the polish all together and you will end up with a dull silver rim with a clear coat. This summer I'm having mine acid dipped to remove the paint and still keep the polish, then clear up the few spots that need it and have them powder coated clear.

 

You might want to look at Glisten PC by -POR-15 Inc. . Talk to the reps and do a google search for each product and get other peoples opinions/results of these products.

 

I too have heard good things about the por 15 products.

 

most of the time you will find that reworking your current wheels is more expensive then buying new ones......

 

My wheels are bare aluminum, definitely not coated. I would imagine that if you blast the wheel with the right media, it would give it a nice looking texture and finish. From what I can tell several auto manufacturers put some type of textured finish on their OEM aluminum rims and then coat them, and they seem to hold up fine. I don't really care if the wheel shines like a mirror, this is a truck, not a trailered show car. Actually when my wheels are all polished up I think it looks way to fancy for the "look" of the truck.

My two main objectives with the idea of blasting was 1) to give the coating a better "bite" onto the metal, and 2) to not have to go through all the work of doing a detailed polishing job. I couldn't bring myself to coat over something that isn't perfectly polished in all the little corners and crevices.

Also, powder coating might be a good idea, but at this time I have no intentions of breaking down the tires/wheels and then paying somebody $60 a piece to coat them.

 

I talked to a guy I know that has an auto customizing shop, he said the soda blasting would be very gentle on the aluminum compared to other types of media.

 

I'm sure that the soda would do a great job cleaning, I just wonder what type of blast media would give the best looking texture. I know on steel and stainless different medias such as sand or beads or soda will leave a different finish on the metal. It'd be nice to see sample pics of aluminum parts blasted with different materials. Anyone have any pictures?

 

I just took aircraft stripper to mine, then took my industrial buffer to them. Gave them to the local paint shop to have them coated back up again. Total cost 165 bucks for all four. Find me a new set of dually wheels for that price and I will buy em.

Dont be afraid of these guys, they are just aluminum. DONT USE A MEDIA BLASTER TO REMOVE PITTING, it will just add to your problem. Get yourself some fine sandpaper and a buffer, thats all you need. Its VERY messy, but VERY easy. LOL

 

ya can refurb alcoas for much much less than buyin a new set of alcoas

jasco green strip works very well for removing the clearcoat. i removed my clearcoat and repolished using my buffer and using the aloca wheel sealer i seem to only have to repolish a couple times a year when im using that.

How to polish aluminum wheels

this is the polishing tech that i used ended up with mirror polish i dont even think they looked this good new.

oh yeah clip on wheel wieghts are horrible!

 

My nephew in Meadville Pa will run them on a machine and make them look like new. He dowes all sizes.