pettybird

I have a 951S, and the finish is failing. I'm going to spend hours and hours polishing them, but I'd like to know how to strip them first. Obviously it's two different processes. I'd assume the flat dishes are the same, and a bunch or your cars over here had those as stock.

Thanks!

Doug

Rob Edwards

Anodized.

Ispeed

Yellow cans of oven cleaner will dissolve the anodizing, it usually takes 4 or 5 tries then you can wet sand and polish.
Lay them flat on the ground and coat with oven cleaner and then scrub. Lots of work, just get them re-anodized and you will thank me later. Then use a ph neutral wheel cleaner.

pettybird

So polish then re anodize rather than use something like ZOOPseal? I know leaving them to the elements is a really bad idea.

And how bright is a polished, anodized wheel?

pcar928fan

Polished will be look just shy of chrome. I kind of like the look... I'd keep a CS wheel stock though, they are rare and a very nice wheel.

dr bob

If you are going to have them re-anodized, let the company that does that do the whole project. They will chem-strip the old stuff, fix imperfections and straighetn them if needed, then give you the new finish you want.

The ownr's manual recommends Vaseline on the anodized surfaces as a protecttant/preservative. I suspact that a thick carnuba would be OK except that the same heat that melts the Vaseline off will also soften and melt any real carnuba that might be in a 'pure' carnuba finish. You may want to look at Rejex, a pretty good jet engine cone and blade coating that has received high marks as a paint finish preservative. You'll still want to reapply it regularly, but it won't stain your pantleg the way Vaseline seems to.

pettybird

I have a source for anodizing stuff near me, so that's not a problem.

I plan on doing the wheels myself partly because of money but mostly because I want to say that I did them. I really enjoy working on my own cars.

I'm not so sure about the Vaseline, though...that's a bit old school for me. Thanks for the tip on the aircraft stuff, though!

dr bob

Your hand stripping and polishing effort will be wasted, so let them do the whole thing. Invest your hard work in something else. They need to do a full chem strip and wash anyway, so why waste your arms and tools and time?

Ispeed

Yup.

Garth S

Do not discount the vasoline technique - it works very well: the trick is to use 'too little'.
Rub a small amount in, and wipe/polish until dry: protects for months if one is careful with detergents and washing.