How to strip finish off stock rims?

[IggDawg]

I'm riding on WRX rims right now, and teh guy I bought my car off of just gave me the set of stock rims. they're riddled with oxidation, and the finish is bubbling and peeling all over the place. I don't mind since he told me they were this way. no big deal. But all the same I'd like to strip off the old finish, smooth out the aluminum surface, and redo the wheels with a nice gunmetal grey or something like that. maybe even gold .

Anyways, how would I go about stripping off the old finish?

[Legacy777]

Are they WRX rims.......are they painted or just a machined aluminum with a clear coat on them?

I forget which board it was....but someone was mentioning about doing something similar.....I'll see if I can find the post.

[boostjunkie]

You could always send them to an alkaline bath. I know there are some places close to me that do that kinda stuff.

[Legacy777]

Here's the post http://pub1.ezboard.com/fultimatesubaru ... 6157.topic

[Aaron's ej22t]

OR, you could just have them sandblasted and then powdercoat them. that is what my friend did on his 72' datsun 510.

[DLC]

Sandblash and Powdercoat is a very nice solution. We did this with the stock wheels on our 84 GSL-SE RX-7 and it worked our really nice.

Expect to pay $20-50 per wheel though, it is a bit expensive but they look fantastic.

Dave

[LegacyT]

Ya u can pick up a sandblaster for like 60 bucks, shove some sand in there and you can do it all yourself

Mark,

[Legacy777]

sandblasters are fun

If and when I get my garage and shop......I'll probably get one.

You still gotta pay to have someone powdercoat the wheels though.

[scoobiedoo22]

If you sandblast, don't use sand, use glass beads (they sell this specifically for sandblasting applications) sand can actually remove more than the paint, and yes the stock WRX rims are painted, not clearcoated, have a small chip in one of mine. john k

[IggDawg]

These are stock leg turbo rims. not the WRX rims. I think these are painted, judging by the way the finish is peeling off. I'm getting big flakes of silver, not clear.

Thanks for the sandblaster. I'll hop down to my local Wal-Mart and see if they have a "baby's first sandblaster" for cheap.

[Legacy777]

I'll hop down to my local Wal-Mart and see if they have a "baby's first sandblaster" for cheap.

lol

[boostjunkie]

I'll hop down to my local Wal-Mart and see if they have a "baby's first sandblaster" for cheap.

Hehe, I think it comes with the book "sandblasting for dummies." loL!