Hello Guys,

What do you recommend to remove the faded and chipped clear-coat from my wheels and then polish them?

Thank you

graemlins/clonk.gif DOH, I didn't get in under the wire on duplicate post. graemlins/clonk.gif

Fetcher,
A friend of mine used jelly type paint remover and it worked fairley well on his truck rims.

Then I got into this same conversation at work and that guy ended up useing asetone. He said it worked great but evaporated really quick and had to go back and buy 2 more containers of it.

If you're going to polish them anyway, why not wetsand the clearcoat off with 1500-2000 grit sandpaper? 2000 grit will leave a nice finish, ready for polishing.

As silly as this sounds, try Easy-Off oven cleaner!

Bet it takes it right off!!

Or even brake fluid!! When I removed my stock M/C the stuff dripped all over my S/F and later, it dried out and all my paint and gunk on my S/F was gone!!! pdq67

Thank you for all the helpful hints. I'll let you know what I tried and what works.

Next question....

Once I get them cleaned and polished, is it necessary to put a clear coat finish on them? Or can the Aluminum stay uncoated?

Thank you

Theses are aluminum rims do not use oven cleaner on aluminum. (spray some on some aluminum foil and watch how it eats it.)

Sanding power coated <clear or color> will take next to forever.
Take to your local media blaster and have them balsed with sodium bicarbonate<baking soda>,dry ice works well but could warp wheel, or walnut shells, so it won't damage the wheel too bad. Then sand,starting with 400 and work up to 2000 or better before polishing.

What kind of rims are you trying to do this to?

I went through a lot of time and money trying to polish up a set of 1988 Iroc rims once and never got them the way I wanted them.

I have Iroc rims also, dont know what year(came with my 92). I cant seem to clean them up either. I've tried next to every cleaner that says good for aluminum or mag rims, but nothing seems to work. I guess sanding is my only other option? someone wanna walk me through tools I'll need?

Get some paint stripper, comes in a blue can with the name "Peeler" on it.

Still not hands-free, but it does work.

Busch industries sells a clearcoat remover made specifically for aluminum wheels. You can find this at most speed shops and chain stores.

OK, didn't know about the corrosive effect of Easy-off Oven Cleaner on Aluminum, thanks!!

The stuff that WAS the stripper is Methylene Chloride!!! But you can't hardly get the stuff anymore b/c of Gov. air pollution reg's!!!

It's a VOC, HAP and is BAD stuff, so Big Brother say's!!!

Look on the can or bottle for methylene chloride content and it will be the stuff.

And Berrymans Carb. Cleaner in the gallon bucket has it as well as Cresol in it AND it will cut most anything!!! But not the water on top of the bucket to keep the fumes under control... pdq67

Well Guys, it was easier than I thought. The clear coat was really old. I took each wheel and scraped the coating off with the sharp edges of some broken plexiglas that I had laying around. I cut strips about 1/4" wide and used the end. When I needed a new sharp edge, I just broke off a short section. It took about an hour for each wheel. Afterward I polished the wheel with a buffing pad and aluminum polish. They're not perfect, but look much better.

Thank you for all the suggestions.

Thank you