Restoring factory wheel finish

[KidVermicious]

I'm a rocking a set of the three spoke 16" rims on my '85. The guy I bought them from rattlecanned them black, and I'm kinda done with that look. I'd like to have them looking stock and I'm thinking about getting them sandblasted, but I'm pretty sure that's going to leave them pretty dull. Would a clearcoat perk them up at all, or should I skip the sandblasting and just repaint them an OEM-looking silverish color?

 

[4Running Daily]

I'm a rocking a set of the three spoke 16" rims on my '85. The guy I bought them from rattlecanned them black, and I'm kinda done with that look. I'd like to have them looking stock and I'm thinking about getting them sandblasted, but I'm pretty sure that's going to leave them pretty dull. Would a clearcoat perk them up at all, or should I skip the sandblasting and just repaint them an OEM-looking silverish color?

Really depends on what beads/sand the sand blaster uses.

What I would suggest though would be sand blast and paint.

 

[dhalsey]

This is the result of paint stripers and then a combo of increasingly smaller girt sand paper on the bare aluminium. Then tape off the bare aluminium and repaint the grey. After the grey clear coat everything.

 

[white_n_slow]

I would just sand them down, prime, paint silver, clear coat.

 

[BrianSD_42]

You only really need to sand blast if you are going to powder coat them, assuming you don't have access to a sand blaster.

When I had my wheels powder coated they charged me $80/wheel out the door including the sand blasting.

If you are doing it at home and there is no rust corrosion you can just rough up the paint with 3M scratch pad and some soapy water, rinse off with the hose, let dry very thoroughly then prime, then paint. I'd suggest automotive spray paint sold at places like Napa auto.

 

[mmml4]

This is the result of paint stripers and then a combo of increasingly smaller girt sand paper on the bare aluminium. Then tape off the bare aluminium and repaint the grey. After the grey clear coat everything.

That looks damn good, can you give some more details like what kind of stripper and the like. That is my favorite style wheel and I have a set I would like to freshen up but I want to do a quality job.

 

[paddlenbike]

If the paint is rough on them now, you'll have to take them down to perhaps bare metal. If the paint job is okay, just sand them until they are smooth (leaving them a little roughed up though so paint will stick) and add your coats.

I recently did my Sequoia wheels and after 3 coats of paint, the finish was not as smooth as I liked. I was very pleased with the results after sanding the 3rd coat down and giving it one final coat before clear coating. The finish is smooth and glossy like a factory wheel.

 

[KidVermicious]

If the paint is rough on them now, you'll have to take them down to perhaps bare metal. If the paint job is okay, just sand them until they are smooth (leaving them a little roughed up though so paint will stick) and add your coats.

I recently did my Sequoia wheels and after 3 coats of paint, the finish was not as smooth as I liked. I was very pleased with the results after sanding the 3rd coat down and giving it one final coat before clear coating. The finish is smooth and glossy like a factory wheel.

Those look sweet. Does that style wheel have the textured finish inside the spokes? Did you mask that off and use less paint there, or was the texture still visible after four coats?

 

[TheDurk]

I cleaned mine up with red ScotchBrite instead of sanding (except on the curb rashes). The coats should be thin so the texture will still show up fine. I did my split-three's two years ago in graphite and they still look great. Since I had to go bare metal in spots, I did:

2xAcid etch primer...3x Fillable primer...4xGraphiteWheelCoat...2xClearCoat. All Duplicolor.

One tip. If you have to touch up after mounting, wait ten days or more from when you painted. Any sooner and it makes a mess.

 

[the great him]

dont sand blast those! media blast aluminum, sand blasting will pit and eat up aluminum. the face of those spokes are machine finished and if you sand blast that you will never get it back. even media blasting will affect that, but short of taking them to a professional shop to have them completely acid dipped and redcoated you wont get that again. a scotch bright bad would be your next best bet.

 

[paddlenbike]

Those look sweet. Does that style wheel have the textured finish inside the spokes? Did you mask that off and use less paint there, or was the texture still visible after four coats?

These wheels did not have a textured finish inside. I would still paint those the same way, you'll just loose the textured inset.