Yea, that's right. It works. It's tough to get the clear coat off, but does come off and let me tell you... IT SHINES. I will post some pix eventually.

Or use acetone (nail polish remover).

After I get all the clear coat off, I am going to use some white ruge on it. That's the stuff they use to clean jewelery. Makes that **** shine...

Lemme know if you know of any other ways to ge them rimmies shiny.

 

SuperPhly - Do you plan on clear-coating 'em when your done? This is probably gonna be a winter project for me.

 

Really!?! I never thought of paint thinner.

I cant wait to see some pics of the outcome!

Vince

 

Paint thinner didn't work for me, not strong enough. I used some kind of poly stripper - it's a clear gel that you apply and then scrape off. The clear comes off with it. Much quicker.

After that I used progressively finer grades of steel wool to take out the little marks, scratches, etc. Then some Mother's aluminum polish to finish off.

A lot of work, but the end result is nice.

 

Are you guys talking about old rims that have the peeling look? Does the paint thinner trick fix-em up?
I'd love to know how to make mine shine again.

 

SilverRocket, do you happen to know the name of the product you used, or where you got it from? I'm hoping to do the same thing whenever I can find the time.

Any side effects if you happen to get it on bare metal?

I'm kinda weary of paint thinner just because... well it's so damn thin. I would hate to get it on the black and take that off as well.

 

Acetone... use acetone... and scrub like hell

 

I am about to attempt the same thing! I was thinking of doing the rims with the tires on the wheels (it is my daily driver) I was thinking of using paint stripper that comes in a gel, but I was afraid of what it might do to the rubber. Does anyone out there know if I am going to F up my tires???

Also will the acetone be a problem with the tires???

 

Murac acid or something with that name from Menards for $2.50 I think. That stuff works extrodary for cleaning cemment and wheels without harming rubber. I was utterly amazed how bright they were afterwards.
First, I actually sanded off the clear coat with a orbital sander and moved onto wet sanding and finer and finer grit, and then buffed them out into a mirror with a buffer wheel and buffing compound basically.

But brake dust is still on the other parts so acid does the trick. I got the inside of the wheel looking like new even!!

BE ABSOLUTELY SURE TO HAVE GOOGLES AND GLOVES AND EVEN A FACEMASK. DO NOT BREATH THIS IN, VERY HARMFUL, HENCE FACEMASK.

I dulute it with 2parts water for 1part acid for best results and let it soak into the wheels for a while and scrube with a brush that you intend to get ride of, since it will melt from the acid eventually. Wash the wheel thoroughly with water before handling afterwards. Use the acid over the lawn or on a surface outside were no one will see it. THe lawn will die off for a while afterwards, but will be less if you spray water in the area for a while to dilute out the acid to less harmful to the grass.

 

I wouldn't mind doing that... except I will probably go out and find a spare set of rims first and test on those/let them soak while mine are in use...

 

I don't remember exactly what the stuff I used was... some kind of paint stripper gel ... I'm going to visit my parents' house (where I left the stuff a few years back) this weekend so I'll see if they still have it lying around.

This stuff will eat tires and any kind of paint though - you *have* to mask everything very carefully when using it. You'll wreck all the black stuff otherwise. Also you have to use it in a ventilated place for sure.

 

I want to take the black stuff off too... I am going to sand that rough stuff down and paint it either white or black.... white would like nice since my cars white... i saw a guy with red there once, looked really nice.