Anyone ever strip wheels?

[Jon K]

I am refinishing my rondells. They are being VERY stubborn as far as stripping them goes. Has anyone ever stripped wheels? Recommend me a GOOD (proven) stripper!

[Jeff N.]

I hear that 'aircraft stripper' available at autobody supply shops is the stuff. Couldn't say if it works on wheels or not. If they are powdercoated, I might guess not. If painted, likely it will work. Might ask at the supply shop.

[MPD47]

Aircraft stripper blows. Everyone recommends it, yet 9/10 times people have never tried it for what they are recommending it for. Jon, I have used this really expensive, really toxic stripper for wheels before. It'll cut through anything without damaging the metal, but it isnt cheap at $40+ per gallon. If you want me to find out what it is I can. A large rubber bin with this stuff diluted with water, let each wheel soak for an hour or so, then spray with a pressure washer (or wipe the paint off with a rag, but I prefer clean surfaces). Then of course you need to dry, clean, and sand out any imperfections in the wheels, etc, etc.

[MPD47]

Oh and DO NOT get it on your skin, of course ;)

[jeffnj525it]

Jon, When i redid a set of style 5's about a year ago I stubled upon Peel Away 3 at Home depot. I had bought this stuff to strip the paint off of my kitchen cabinets and had some left, so i tried it on the wheels. Amazing stuff. You spread it over the wheels and let it sit for like 6 hours, then you can wipe all the paint right off, the paint actually peels right off, without damaging the aluminum(i polished the lips). You can even use it indoors, it does not give off fumes and says it safe for indoor use. Its a little pricey, like $14/qt, but well worth it

[Tiger]

Did anyone try it on Chromed wheels? I am getting a set of rare MB wheels that has peeling chrome.

[Jon K]

I don't know what is under my wheels - maybe its an etching primer or somethig, I am not sure.

http://blowneuroz.com/mygallery/Refinishing/close2.jpg

see the white **** under there?

[winfred]

the white **** is probably epoxy primer, most of my paint stripping projects involve some sort of spray stripper like aircraft stripper or bulldog, but i can't remember trying it on wheels, the only thing that AS hasn't done for me is touch that crusty **** under the paint on dohc bmw valve covers, that ****'s insidious

[E34N]

Did anyone try it on Chromed wheels? I am getting a set of rare MB wheels that has peeling chrome.

You can not use any paint stripper on chrome. Chrome is chemically bonded onto the metal.

You have to take it to a chrome place that will dechrome it. It can take up to 2 weeks to dechrome since they put it into a chemical acid that is diluted so it won't damage the actual wheel itself.

[clevertd]

I've got the same primer on my style 32s, just been taking a dremel sander to them after stripping as much as I could off with sanding + aircraft stripper.

[Tiger]

Ahh... okay... I am going to let a wheel repair shop handle this for me as I want them polished as it originally was.

[Jon K]

I've got the same primer on my style 32s, just been taking a dremel sander to them after stripping as much as I could off with sanding + aircraft stripper.


Yeah I am thinking doing that, but the back of the wheel has been exceptionally difficult to strip.

[Ross]

Sandblast and powdercoat

[stargazer_61]

I used a product called "Peeler" on my style 5's. Let it sit for 1-5 minutes then hit it with compressed air or high pressure water. Lifts clear & paint but not primer, according to the label. I was hesitant to use anything stronger on the alloy, such as the aforementioned aircraft strippers. It worked great and the style 5's shine now. It's available at auto body supply shops for about $9/can.

[Jon K]

So what'd you do about the primer. I went to a wheel repair place today, he said the primer underneath powdercoat or paint is horrible to get off.

[stargazer_61]

I only did the barrel of the wheel, not the centers, so I didn't have any example of whether or not their claim was correct. That being said, the peeler had no problem whatsoever with the powder coated clear coat that is supposed to be on Style 5 wheels. As long as you don't let it dry, it lifts right up. I used a power washer to get it off, let the goop dry off and swept it up with a broom.

I was also doing some body work & stripped the paint & primer from my front grill. I picked up a can of auto paint stripper at Advance Auto, but can't remember the name. It specifically did not have "aircraft" as part of the name. That stuff went all the way down to the metal with no problem. Clear, paint & primer came off in a goop with a bondo spreader. Cleaned with lacquer thinner and it was like brand new.

I went with the peeler because of the forged alloy barrels. The fellow at the body supply thought anything harsher might be too much. If your wheels are cast perhaps they can take the heat of the stronger chemicals of the paint stripper.

Hope this helps you, Jon.

John

[Jon K]

I used air craft remover with great success on the lips that were only clear coated. The painted/powder/whatever centers are proving to be MUCH more difficult.

[stargazer_61]

Jon,

Great news on the lips. Thinking about it now, aircraft would likely be safe on aluminum alloy, wouldn't it? The stuff I used on my front grill is "Tal-Strip Heavy Duty Paint Remover". Picked it up at Advance. Wicked smell but works great. It worked for me in about 15 minutes, but says it to leave it on up to 30.

[Barney Paull-Edwards]

Any chemical stripping agent has drawbacks that may not be obvious until you discover primer/paint reacts,pot luck. Sandblasting is a real gamble as it is all too easy to damage the wheel. The only safe way to remove all paint is with soda blasting. A fair while back I used Walnut shells in a blaster,its what they cleaned jets with by throwing it into the intake(!) before the era of health and safety, dont laugh, it works, just got to eat a LOT of walnuts!

[attack eagle]

Aircraft stripper blows. Everyone recommends it, yet 9/10 times people have never tried it for what they are recommending it for. Jon, I have used this really expensive, really toxic stripper for wheels before. It'll cut through anything without damaging the metal, but it isnt cheap at $40+ per gallon. If you want me to find out what it is I can. A large rubber bin with this stuff diluted with water, let each wheel soak for an hour or so, then spray with a pressure washer (or wipe the paint off with a rag, but I prefer clean surfaces). Then of course you need to dry, clean, and sand out any imperfections in the wheels, etc, etc.
I've used it to take the super thick OEM clear coat off my cousin's CJ7 factory chrome wheels. IT works, but you need something to act as a scraper, and to get into tight areas that is hard enough to work yet softer than the metal and is rounded... I used wooden clothes pins. Then coated them again and pressure washed em. Worked fine for me. YMMV

[Denton]

One trick with aircraft remover is to spray it on and leave it sitting with a plastic bag wrapping the wheels, keeping the stripper from escaping.

More effective.

With that said, I gave up and sent my M Systems to a pro.

[Tiger]

Who is the pro you hired to fix your wheels? I need to find one.