Help removing paint from rims

[RyderzUnlimited]

air-craft stripper is what I uses also. It stings like a bitch
if you get it on your skin. As for the shine on your wheels...
It's gone anyway since you had to sand the rim to paint over it. Right ?
If you didn't sand the rims, maybe there is a way to remove the paint.
It should flake right off with the right water pressure, and not damage
anything else.

If you did sand the rims before you painted. Then Jaber is right,
sand to bare ass metal, and be ready to spend a good amount of
time polishing them bad boys. The only reason why I hate polishing
so much is because you have to keep up with it all the time. It's just
as bad as having aftermarket rims that need cleaning on the daily.

I have Honda Fit wheels on my civic, and I don't clean them as much
as my aftermarket wheels on my accord. The paint on the fit wheels are
so much more of a quality finish.

[fatboy1185]

Brake cleaner won't do a damn thing. Brake fluid (or any hydraulic fluid) will strip the paint.

However, there are products out there that will do it better. Look for "aircraft stripper".

NAPA brake cleaner cleaned my power coated wheels. The paint bubbled and could be rubbed off with rag.

[JDMDriver]

If you prepared the surface properly before painting them white (and have only painted them within the last year or two) they have adhered to the surface quite strongly and scraping or pressure washing them will not work.

You can sand them back by hand to try and remove only the white layer but to me that will be way too long, too hard, risk of sanding the actual metal finish and the final product will still need to be repainted.

Using a paint stripper to me is the most efficient and safest way (to the wheels not your health) to remove the white paint you sprayed on (as no danger of scratching the metal finish). However it will not only remove the layer of paint you want but the rest of the paint underneath which you want to retain.

Paint stripping is essentially acidic (It bubbles as it eats the paint) and from experience releases a heck of alot of fumes so be warned and avoid accidentally inhaling that (or too much of it).

[JDMDriver]

I have used paint stripper to remove exactly what you have done (though it was someone else that painted it and i wanted to restore it back to oem).

From experience using a paint stripper will remove all the paint but will not damage the alloy. As it will expose the machined alloy it will still exhibit some shine.

However as all the clear coat have been removed it will not be as shiny. You will only need to do some minor polishing and prepare the factory metal surface for a new coat of clear to bring the finish back up.

Note:

It will be a messy job and I suggest safety comes first (acid resistant gloves and gas mask may not be a bad idea).

The used paint stripper will stink, stain and kill any grass or living thing it aheres to. I suggest minimising what goes to the ground by placing most of the used paint stripper on news papers and then placing them in the bin (trashcan) - by working on top of old news papers.

Any remaining paint stripper (when hosed or pressure washed off) will be minimal but will keep releasing toxic fumes for a day or two (at least).

Remember health comes first (these fumes can kill your brain cells and affect your reproductive abilities).

[batever]

Brake fluid will work and is less dangerous. Try it on one wheel first and see how it goes. You might have to leave it on for a day or so.

I'm not surprised that brake cleaner would work, it's essentially aeresolized toluene and other petroleum distillates that have a low boiling (evaporation) temperature around room temperature or even below. I've used it to clean my paint brushes when I didn't have mineral spirits available. If anything it's much more aggressive (and if anything more toxic!) than mineral spirits, but the good think about it is it just evaporates and that takes care of that part of the toxic waste disposal problem.

I also use it to clean my bicycle chain before relubing. Much better than anything in the bike shop!

The problem with using it to remove cured paint is that it evaporates so fast the toluene doensn't get a long chance to eat away at the paint. Whereas brake fluid and chemical pains stripper will stay on the surface for the chemical reactions to remove the paint to take place.

If brake fluid doesn't work, up the ante to paint stripper.

Once the paint is off, I would think about polishing those wheels well to get them shiny, then reapply a clear coat gloss to them to protect the shine by keeping water, road salt, and oxygen away from the alloy surface.

[JDMDriver]

If you did sand the rims before you painted. Then Jaber is right,
sand to bare ass metal, and be ready to spend a good amount of
time polishing them bad boys

I dont recommend this as sanding will damage the machined finish we have (not a smooth finish).

There are tiny grooves on the finish (hence machined finish). If damaged the whole wheel (and the 3 others) will need alot of work to be sanded to the same consistency (usually loosing the machined oem look).

Better to just paint strip them and reapply the clear coat.

[matthew1er]

Ok guys.. first off the rims havent been preped or sanded before the white paint was painted on .

oh and about the paint remover being dangerious and stings and bad fumes ect.. i alwready know that haha used it many times.

BUT! will it harm my tires ???

[matthew1er]

Once the paint is off, I would think about polishing those wheels well to get them shiny, then reapply a clear coat gloss to them to protect the shine by keeping water, road salt, and oxygen away from the alloy surface.

smart! what type of clear coat should i use on alloys? because i notice my clear coat coming off also.

[matthew1er]

Update

Not finished.



By By Clear-Coat.


thats all i did for today. ran out of paint remover