75ohm

Recently picked up a set of 16" late phonies... with good rubber... but the rims need refinished. The PO to the PO refinished these and all the clear coat yellowed and cracked. No big deal -- we can take care of that, right?



When all is said and done, should I have the tires taken off and strip these bad boys down and repaint them myself OR should I take them down to have them powdercoated?

I called Transwheel locally in Tampa and I can take them in and they will turn them around to perfection for $165 a piece, which includes tire removal, soak the rims to remove all finish, prep, coat, mount the tire and static balance. I've had this done before (no cost to me - warranty work) and it's awesome work but good grief the cost.

The local coating place here verbally quoted single color coating for $100/rim without the tire. Still throwing some coin down for that AND I'd have to get the tires removed/mounted again... jeez.

So it comes down to this... how can I strip the clearcoat off these rims WITH the tires still on WITHOUT damaging them so I can shoot these things with some rattle can duplicolor paint? Anyone use Kleanstrip Peeler to remove topcoats? Does that stuff work? I could probably use MEK but I'd be there forever...

I'm tired... and hope you all have opinions. I'm pining away on if I should save, time and just have them done, or be frugal and paint them myself.

Last but not least, there are only 2 centercaps on these rims. My 15" phonies have plastic color crests on them (no holes in them ?), probably transferable... right? Or, should I find two more with the holes in them and just paint them all to match?

Thanks for the floor... rant over... opinions? Anyone have two cheap center caps that I can put on these things to match the two I have -- look to be metal with two holes, solidly painted over?

75ohm.

genikz

Some folks say powder coating hides cracks, though that may only be important to the racers. I have no first hand experience though.

As for paiting (and polishing lip, optional), per Geoff:

"and here's the steps I did and posted in my thread...

tires were off when I did this. aircraft stripper will KILL rubber.

Hokay... to make them look as such, I:
1) applied aircraft remover to strip any and all paint from wheel
2)washed the wheel really really well, applied "paint prep"
3) Applied about 5 coats of Duplicolor "Storm Grey" color to center area... masked off wheel lips
4) began polishing wheel lips using the below method:
a) spray lip with WD-40
b)sand with 320 grit sand paper until all casting marks were gone
c)wipe with paper towel, check how it looks, apply WD-40 again, repeat with the 320 grit
d) once all casting marks gone, wipe with paper towel, apply WD-40 again, sand with 800 grit
e)repeat A-C with the 800 grit
f)repeat A-D with 1500 grit
g)repeat A-D with 2000 grit
h)repeat A-D with steel wool (Note: no need for WD-40 with the steel wool)
i) finish with mother's aluminum polish
5) Mask off polished area
6)spray with paint prep
7)wipe of paint prep, respray storm grey to fix any "I missed with the sandpaper" marks
8)allow to dry in sun for a while
9)spray clear... a couple coats
10)remove masking tape, polish with mother's polish again
11)take pics, Post on Rennlist for your friends to ooo and aaah over...
12)pray for money to buy tires so you can mount the wheels and drool"

schwank

I have a set that Jon (TD) painted. It didn't hold up. I'm going to get them powdercoated black very soon.

Keithr726

Has anyone tried engine paint on their rims?

944CS

I've used aircraft paint stripper available at the local auto parts/hardware store, it works great if you follow the directions. If you are removing the factory filler, remember this is a cast wheel, the surface is rough, you'll either have to sand it all down to make it smooth (will take a LONG time) or use primer/filler again. If you are good, the factory filler typically does not come off with the first application of paint stripper, just the top coat of paint does. I used a duplicolor Silver engine paint for my wheels, I like it because it is a very light silver like the factory silver, and it is not metallic. The lighter the silver is, the better the wheels look in my opinion.

drift a 944

If you prep the wheels properly, painting will do just as good of a job as powdercoat will.

I have a set of rattle-can spray painted phone dials that look perfect after constantly using them and taking them on/off all the time.

xsboost90

ive painted a ton of rims with automotive finish paint. Never had a problem.

Chuck 951

As Chris stated --- use Aircraft Paint Stripper --- remove tires, becareful that stuff burns your skin --ie wear gloves. Rinse a lot - the clear coat on my wheels was as thick as a sheet of paper. I was told that Porsche does not paint there wheels -- they dip them in sealer - clear coat to fill any casting imperfections so they can use Tubeless tires. Follow Chris' steps ---- trust me alot of work. You will be amazed at the finished product.

Chuck 951 - arm still sore from sanding - polishing

xsboost90

my buddy jacked his 944 up- had the tires off all four rims- mounted them one at a time to the rear axel, put it in gear and let out the clutch. THen he grabbed some different grit sandpapers and just held them as the wheel spun. Sounds scarey but the wheels look professional finish and only took an afternoon.

75ohm

Okay, thanks everyone for the responses thus far.

If I can get the clearcoat off I have no issues doing some prep sanding and painting these myself thus my original question stands! If I only need to get the top coat off, has anyone used the Kleanstrip Peeler product?

Also, still need two center caps!

Thanks!

flashgordon

I've polished lips on wheels by running them while the car was in the air also. It works great and saves and lot of time and energy. Paint will hold up fine and look good if the wheels are cleaned and prepped before painting.

75ohm

Alright, here's another variable to consider...

The paint is actually in pretty good shape on the spots where the clearcoat has come off... if I can get the rest off and hit with touch up coat or two of silver I think we'll be okay. Any recommendation on existing paint prep prior to recoat? I don't think I need to take the rims down to raw metal...

Cra$h

yup.

75ohm

Ooooooooh! Nice.