Wheel stripping and repainting (snowflake mags)

[Ozzydog]

Greetings wiser ones than me.
I'm having some wheels cleaned up as part of a long term project. The Aqua blaster guy says he can do a reasonable job, but there is still a lot of the original paint that is very sticky indeed. The close up picture illustrates the dilemma! My question is can I strip the wheels of their paint first, and if so what could I use that won't damage the alloy? Jeepers they're starting to look pretty eh? Thanks in advance, Andy

[Groover]

I had mine soda blasted. Very safe on aluminum. The blasting did make it lightly rough to the touch, which is good for paint to stick, but if you want to restore the original polished lip, it will take a little extra elbow grease to polish that.

I left the inside (tire sealing side) alone. I also run tubeless now, so I'd say to also leave that alone if that is the direction you plan on going (tubeless)

[Ozzydog]

Thanks Groover, this whole Soda Blasting thing is new to me, but at the Kustom Kommune  community workshop in Melbourne where I I'll be doing some restorative work they have a Soda Blaster that Im keen to learn on.
Thanks for replying
Andy

[jvb]

The original wheels were powder coated with the outside of the rims polished.
Clearing up the suggestion they were painted.
Back to normal programming.

[Groover]

If you want to protect the lip during the soda blast, you can use some sort of foil tape and don't aim right on it if you can avoid it. At least it will protect some of it (the edges will probably lift).

Some good foil tapes would be something used for shielding heat or electronics.

Regular duct of masking tape doesn't hold up very well to the blasting pressure, buy more layers would (layer foil tape on top of, masking, duct tape) then cut them all at once.

That's my plan for next time. The time spent in masking the lip would be far less than polishing it.. unless, you can put the wheel on a lathe or something similar to polish.

[Ozzydog]

Thanks guys, I picked the wheels back up today and I'll start working on them this weekend
A

[Fnq1000]

Hi Andy
I'm hanging on for the next exciting update........how did you go? All finished?

Very interested in the steps you ultimately took and maybe a couple of finished photos please.

Cheers
Jason

[canuck750]

Paint stripper is safe and easy. Sofa blast will not harm the wheel.