Stripping, refinishing aluminum wheels.
 

I got a set of aluminum wheels from a 97 grand Cherokee, but the clear coat is in terrible shape and needs stripped off to refinish.

It seems that there is some very light pitting under the clear in spots but I think it won't be a problem.

I'm gonna get some aircraft stripper and get as mich of the clear and paint off as possible then....???????????

I don't know if I should attempt to lightly sand and polish the wheels or have them powder coated a very close metallic color and paint the inside of the holes black, then clear over everything.

Has anyone had the pleasure of going through this and if so, any advice?

citristrip. It's not as deadly as aircraft stripper and it works awesome. Depending on the surface finish you are going for, sanding them will cause them to cease to be shiny. If you are painting them it won't matter.

I stripped, sanded, painted and clear coated mine.

Scuff the clear coat lightly with 240 or higher sandpaper. This will let the stripper cut into the clear easier.
Plan on several applications of stripper to get all the clear and paint off.
Lightly sand, scrub, or polish the wheels to get the finish on the aluminum you want.
If the tires are off, clean up the bead as well.
Paint the wheels if you want/need and let dry completely (a couple of days).
Tape off the wheels and paint the inserts. Carefully remove the tape.
Clearcoat.

Enjoy the new look!

I've been thinking about doing mine a matte black and leaving the little bubble cap things silver, I was gonna clean em using a brush cup on a drill and then prime and paint em, does that sound right?

Attachment 73098

Definitely leave the center caps silver i made the mistake of painting them. I simply scuffed primed n painted mine gloss black.

Sweet, how much did it run you?

If you get citristrip, you should only need 1 application. Citristrip is a gel and it sticks there. Come back an hour later and wipe it and the paint off.

I tried a spray can of Citri-Strip today and I liked the results much better than the aircraft remover.
It smelled better, and seemed to work just as well.

I got one wheel almost completely stripped and need to break out the sand paper for the stuff that won't come off.

I need to paint my wheels where do you buy citristrip at?

If all the stuff did not come off, then you need more than 1 application or you need to sand. Sanding is ok if you plan to paint or sand all of the wheel to match the finish. If you want to retain the original surface finish, hit it with stripper again and let it soak.

Here are my 10 holes after I did mine. I did it the hard way though. Lol. I wish I had thought about stripper. I used a wire wheel on an electric drill on the flat parts and in the holes I used a wire brush. It took forever but I think it turned out nice. Then I put a semi_gloss clear coat on. I wasn't going for polished, just uniform.

You can get it at walmart. I like the gel because it will stay where ever you put it.

ok thanks

Got mine at Ace hardware, and it's also at Lowes, and most likely home depot.

It's $5 less at walmart though. :P