I have a set of 7&8X15" fuchs with the original anodized finish. Even though they are just AX wheels, I'm considering dressing them up a bit.

I plan to paint the centers the same as the car's body color, with the rims being highly polished.

Can I remove the anodized finish on the rims by literally polishing it of with a power tool, or do I have to take it to a shop to have the anodized finish chemically removed before I start my polishing?

Any polishing techniques or tips appreciated also.


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There is an article at Pelican parts that is pretty good which I used some what.
I also found that "easy off" oven cleaner will help get the anodizing off. I satin blacked the centers and polished the areas that formally had the anodized finish.

 

there are plenty of threads for refinishing fuchs...i did it myself, and it is a LOT of work. Here was my saga:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=342680

unless you have a lot of time to burn, I would just paint my centers, and leave the rims alone

 

Thanks gunlover for bringing me to my senses.

I read your story and it reminded me of the time that I stripped the center paint off of 8 fuchs. I used BIX spray on stripper w/rubber gloves. What a smell! What a mess! The wheels that had heavily oxidized centers were relatively easy, but the ones with glossy paint were a pain and took many hours to do. To make matters worse, it was in the middle of winter. I had to do the stripping right next to an open door with a fan blowing because of the fumes. Not to mention lugging them outside (temps in the low teens) and washing them with fresh water.

What was I thinking? Guess I inhaled too much of that stripper...

These look plenty good for AX like they are. Don't they? Tell me they do... please.


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They look good enough to me! I think the satin anodized finish is a better look than black, IMO.

 

Those look great for track wheels. If you really really must rehab them, I'd mask off the non-colored portions with masking tape (spokes and rim), then paint them with a can of Rustoleum Satin-finish black, or similar non-gloss shaker-can of paint.

Then, remove the masking tape and shine up the "spoke and rim" sections with a good wax or wheel polish. I did that to my center-black Fuchs wheels on the '83-SC (both street and track versions) ... and I still get complements on how nice the wheels look.

My 2-cents.

 

blackpearl - That sounds pretty cool. So as I understand it, you end up with a wheel that is black on black, with part of it glossy, and part of it satin? Do you have any pics?

Actually, my favorite look for a fuch has always been shiny paddles/spokes with a black background. But in the last year or so, I have become more fond of painted centers. My new SA has silver metallic centers (that matches the body color) against highly polished rims. It's a catchy look with the highly polished rims setting off the silver centers that are close in color to the rims.

Anyway, I didn't think the combo would work if the rims were a satin anodized finish instead of the highly polished treatment.

But after seeing a similar treatment recently, I think it might work really well. I had a rattle can mix of my paint code mixed up and I might test one wheel to see how it looks.

Even though it's a grey car, not silver, here is the combo I saw recently. What do you guys think?

edit: BlackPearl - I just re-read your post. Now I understand your description. Basically, keeping the look they presently have, but just upgrading it. Thanks.

 

Dude, I think they look great the way they are...i love paint/polished spokes...if you want to mask and refresh the paint, fine, but I really like them they way they are!

 

The wheels in post #4 are the ones you're considering refinishing? They look pretty good to me already!
I changed a red-centered set to blue but all I did was clean, degrease, scuff the red part, clean again, mask off, and had them shot by a friend who does dent/scratch/paint repair. They're just track wheels so I think they look good enough.

 

Chris - Nice ROW.

Yeah, those wheels in post #4 are the ones I'm referring to. Below is a pic of my old car with those wheels. They look plenty good for AX/track, but I just thought I might dress them up a bit for the new car.

Anyway, I'm going to just leave the anodized finish as is and paint the centers like your car (except mine will be silver).


Fuchs are pretty amazing when you think about it. A high performance wheel in a timeless design that's been around 40 years. Can be finished in a myriad of looks. If Porsche has won 28,000 races over the years, at least a third of those races were probably on fuchs.


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