wheel sanding

sphooch

sphooch

Senior Member
Hi Guys , i'm gonna paint 6 wheels that i have and then mount ww tires onto them. I'm finding it not so easy removing the layers of old paint,any help ful hints out there ? I can't really get the spokes good with my cabinet sand blaster that was my 1st step 2nd i used a wire wheel , good but again limited, then a dremel ,it works but sanding wheels are so small and always changing them out. Well tomorrow is another day maybe i'll get some good help here. thanks THE HOOCH
 
Home Depot has a good grade of gel paint remover, brush it on, let sit for 15 to 20 minutes, rinse, repeat if necessary. I have used it a number of times with good results.
 
Oldbluoval said:
Yeah you picked a tough project!
Get someone to sandblast them…fine sand not coarse
Click to expand...

As Bill said I’d find a commercial sandblast guy who can do them. Typically cost is 25-35 per wheel. It is worth it to have them done . I do most all other components except bodies and frames . Wheels are a pain .

I’d use a good urethane 2k primer surfacer and sand. I use a 80 grit first round and reprime then using a 220 and 400 before final paint . A 3rd round prime may be needed. A ni e set of slick wheels looks nice.
PAinting them is not that bad after your get your pattern down . I always start with them vertical painting the back of the king spokes first then short spokes. Outside of wheel inner and outer hub before moving to the front .

Larry Shepard
 
Oldbluoval said:
Yeah you picked a tough project!
Get someone to sandblast them…fine sand not coarse
Click to expand...

As Bill said I’d find a commercial sandblast guy who can do them. Typically cost is 25-35 per wheel. It is worth it to have them done . I do most all other components except bodies and frames . Wheels are a pain .

I’d use a good urethane 2k primer surfacer and sand. I use a 80 grit first round and reprime then using a 220 and 400 before final paint . A 3rd round prime may be needed. A ni e set of slick wheels looks nice.
PAinting them is not that bad after your get your pattern down . I always start with them vertical painting the back of the king spokes first then short spokes. Outside of wheel inner and outer hub before moving to the front .

Larry Shepard
 
19" wheels fit in a galvanized washtub. Mix 2 containers of lye and enough water to fully cover the wheel and in a day or two they will be bare metal. The liquid should be able to do most, but you may have to replenish. Work in a safe manner and put a board over the tub so nothing crawls in.
 
The last couple of sets that I did, I had them professionally blasted and powdercoated. Beautiful job in any color for $125 a wheel last year.
 
Sandblasting is the way to go, anything else is just a shortcut that will make the job harder and not give you good results.
 
For quick and dirty paint job on mounted tires paint the tires with hand dish washing detergent and let it dry for several hours, turn the wheel over and paint the other side of the tire with a good coat of paint. Let that side dry thoroughly while you get your primer and color rattle cans together. Clean up knicks and scratches and prime the metal using the soap as your masking tape. Paint acording to instructions, sanding the primer when dry and hopefully a few days of sitting where it is warm but not in bright sunlight. Them apply the finish coats carefully. The day after painting you cna take your garden hose and wash the paint and soap off your tires. Now it is time to sell the car, while the wheels make it look so good. Not for judged cars.
 
Careful using stripper or any chemical. You have to get it neutralized perfectly or paint won’t bind.
Blasting is almost foolproof….almost.
Powder coating can be problematic as the powder often builds in the countersinks for the lug nuts. It easily snaps and chips there. Powder coating is a common subject on FB
 
Not only is sandblasting the way to go but find someone that can sandblast and powdercoat in the same shop.

Not only will you end up with beautiful rims, they will last due to the powdercoat.

Depending on location, about $75 each rim for both blast and powder.
 
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you all speak of sandblasting, i hope you only use this as a name for the process. Nobody should be using sand anymore due to possible health problems and 'not-so-nice' surfaces. We use glass beads or nutshells in every blast cabin...
 
“you all speak of sandblasting, i hope you only use this as a name for the process. Nobody should be using sand anymore due to possible health problems and 'not-so-nice' surfaces. We use glass beads or nutshells in every blast cabin...”

Not exactly true in USA but close! There are non-silica aggregates used for blasting. Of course the user should use appropriate PPE. Most blasting is done in enclosed structures with filtered exhaust before release in the environment.
It isn’t wise to open blast anything in the environment.
 
Yes sandblasting is a carryover term from the old days. People use all kinds of media these days from glass, to coal slag (my favorite), and walnuts. .
I don't like powdercoating in general, but especially for wheels. I can tell the difference between powdercoat versus single stage urethane paint on wheels. If using powdercoating it makes it more difficult to fill in pits and get a smooth result like originally. The other thing is that once it chips, it is a matter of time until more chips and you get rust. I just find it unnecessary with today's paints of epoxy and single stage urethane.
 
Oldbluoval said:
“you all speak of sandblasting, i hope you only use this as a name for the process. Nobody should be using sand anymore due to possible health problems and 'not-so-nice' surfaces. We use glass beads or nutshells in every blast cabin...”

Not exactly true in USA but close! There are non-silica aggregates used for blasting. Of course the user should use appropriate PPE. Most blasting is done in enclosed structures with filtered exhaust before release in the environment.
It isn’t wise to open blast anything in the environment.
Click to expand...


Which will be glass beads or similar? just a question. i would still use glass beads or, even better, nutshells.
 
DuPont makes a product called starblast. Rather expensive…
Also there are slag products that are not silica
Glass beads are not healthy either
Nothing replaces good PPE and appropriate containment
 
I painted my wheels last year they had two coats of old paint. To speed up the time needed in my medium sized blast cabinet with glass beads I used a gel paint stripper. It removed 75% of the two layers. The glass bead media removed another 20% but with my setup it left paint in the hard to get areas behind the spokes. With emery cloth I was able to get behind the spokes and remove the remaining paint with minimal hand sanding and a final trip into the blast cabinet to etch the remaining surfaces.
Another Barner suggested: applying 1 medium cost of epoxy primer and when it flashed coming back over with the 1k ( I used DuPont) enamel paint. This worked well and should create a lasting bond. My suggestion is to use a smaller frame spray gun such as a touch up gun to get into and apply the color coat evenly around the spokes. Do not rush painting the inside area of the wheel hub and spokes working with light coats at first and building up.
The tip to suspend the wheels on a pipe in between two ladders worked well too.
It would have been easier to pay to have the wheels done commercially, but I enjoy doing the work myself and don’t mind if it takes a bit longer and being a bit more frugle.....
 

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