Wheel Lacquer Removal

[V33DUB 0]

Hi guys,

 

My new (second hand) wheels arrived today and the lacquer is coming off (which I knew about). The wheels other than that are in pretty sound condition. I'm not looking to get them perfectly finished but would like to remove this peeling lacquer and re-lacquer if possible. My question is how? I have searched and found posts about refurbing but, as I said, I don't wanna go back to the start and mirror polish or spray them, just remove the lacquer and reapply. Nitromourse? Wet and Dry? Can you buy lacquer in a can?

 

Any help appreciated.

[waynos 0]

what finish is the wheel under the laquer? painted, diamond cut, polished? if its painted you wont get a way with paint stripper as it will probably eat its way through the paint too.polished or diamond cut you could probably get away with it but make sure they are properly rinsed off afterwards. As for re applying the laquer you can but it in a spray can. It will adhere well to paint but not so good on a polished surface so the very first chip you get will allow moisture to get under the laquer leading to corrosion. Hope this helps. ( i have a thread i made ages ago where i relaquered the lips on my wheels so do a search and you might find it)

[fla 9]

if you can just chip the lacquer away, rub the endge down with some wet & dry and then use some clear nail polish on it. I'm sure your missus will have some, unless you're a bit funny :camp: Seriously though, you could do a lot worse. Post some pics up and we'll have a look.

I stripped my tt comps down to the metal, took ages but then i sprayed the inserts and polished the arms and lip. No lacquer.

[PROVR6 0]

I used wet and dry on my lips as the lacquer was peeling. If they are diamond cut use fine paper as you will still retain the diamond cut. I use metal polish on mine and didn't bother relacquering them as it bubbles way to easy.

[V33DUB 0]

Cheers guys, not sure whether they are diamond cut or not as I've no idea what that is :oops:

 

Was thinking I may polish the dish/rim part? Dunno how this will stand up against the elements though?

 

Here is the pic:

[mimjed 0]

weren't they on ebay a while back? on a big old passat i seem to think? 3 inch on the dish wasnt it?

[V33DUB 0]

They were on ebay yeah but not on a passat... weren't on any car... got em from Germany. Dish looks bigger than it is on them photos.. still pretty dished... a lot like ATS cups they are

[mimjed 0]

i could be very wrong then! they should clean up well.

 

id speak to a refurb place if they are all in similar condition i cant see them charging much more than £50 to make them spangle again.

 

i know a few people who run with no lacquer at all, just give them a rub down when they start going off, if your tight on cash and dont mind a bit of elbow grease now and then you can join them.

[fla 9]

i could be very wrong then! they should clean up well.

 

id speak to a refurb place if they are all in similar condition i cant see them charging much more than £50 to make them spangle again.

 

i know a few people who run with no lacquer at all, just give them a rub down when they start going off, if your tight on cash and dont mind a bit of elbow grease now and then you can join them.

 

like me, for example! TT comps have a large alloy area but i use Alu Belgom which is really superb at keeping the shine and keeping corrosion at bay, even during the winter. Its about £15 per bottle, but last absolutly ages.

[V33DUB 0]

i could be very wrong then! they should clean up well.

 

id speak to a refurb place if they are all in similar condition i cant see them charging much more than £50 to make them spangle again.

 

i know a few people who run with no lacquer at all, just give them a rub down when they start going off, if your tight on cash and dont mind a bit of elbow grease now and then you can join them.

 

like me, for example! TT comps have a large alloy area but i use Alu Belgom which is really superb at keeping the shine and keeping corrosion at bay, even during the winter. Its about £15 per bottle, but last absolutly ages.

So if I was to use this, would you recommend wet and dry, nitromourse or both to prepare the surface first? Cheers for the heads up on the Alu Belgom :wink:

[fla 9]

tbh, i had to strip my rims down completely as when i got them, the lacquer had lifted in loads of places and there was a lot of corrosion on them. I really should ahve taken some pics but it was a slow process. basically, i stripped them down with Nitromors, then used a plastic scraper to remove the paint. applied some more Nitromors and removed the remainder. This in itself took bloody ages. Then, where there was obvious pitting and corrosion i attacked these with 240grit then moved up to 600 grit and then began using the polishing mops which i got from The Polishing Shop. There were three - one which was rough with a black polish one softer with a gren polish and the final softest with a blue polish. This brought back te mirror finish. Subsequent to that polished them with Belgom to give it a good lustre. Its a very slow process, be under no illusions that it will be done overnight, but the results are worth it. I cut a few corners and now wish i hadnt as this detracts from the finish, which really could/should be better. And as i mentioned earlier, Belgom does prevent corrosion in the winter. Lacquer takes of some of the shine as you need a 'key' on the rim for it to stick. HTH

[V33DUB 0]

Cheers for all the advice guys!

 

I have removed the lacquer and wet & dryed them with 600grit to remove all the blemishes underneath the failed lacquer. They now look like brushed alloy. Cheers for the heads up on the polishing shop fla I now have my heart set on polishing the lip and dish. As the spokes curve in polishing the dish will be impossible I'd have thought with a mop so will the Standard Polishing Kit on this page: http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/acata ... _Kits.html with the felts be the right way to go? Will I need to further wet & dry with finer grades before starting the polishing process or will the 600grit finish be ok?

 

Thanks once again

[fla 9]

some people recommend going further with wet &^ dry up to 2400 grit. I think you'd have no fingerprints by then! 600 should be fine, then use teh sisal mop with the grey polish bar, the close stiched one with the green polish bar and then finish off with the loose stitched one with the blue polish bar. When you start with teh green you'll suddenyl see all the areas missed by the wet & dry, and you may want to go back and do them either by hand or with the sisal mop. HTH.