Removing spray can paint from wheels

[E_Honda]

I just got some stock euro wheels which were sprayed matt black, i'm assuming with a spray can. You can see where the balancing weights were its not painted.

What would be the best thing to remove the paint and bring it back to standard finish without destroying the alloy wheel itself?

[xxb4xx]

Use good old, Kitten cutting compound, VERY lightly, until it takes all the paint off,

depending on how thick the coat is..

The stuff will set you back about $12 from Supercheap auto..

if it's a thick coat, go hell for leather on it.. but if you're planning on cutting back all paint from all the wheels, you will be there for a while,

Paint stripper is the best, but may stuff up the alloys...

[E_Honda]

Use good old, Kitten cutting compound, VERY lightly, until it takes all the paint off,

depending on how thick the coat is..

The stuff will set you back about $12 from Supercheap auto..

if it's a thick coat, go hell for leather on it.. but if you're planning on cutting back all paint from all the wheels, you will be there for a while,

Paint stripper is the best, but may stuff up the alloys...

Cutting compound hey, didn't think that would be strong enough but might try it.

yeah i think anything containing acids like paint stripper will kill the alloy.

[tiksie]

Good luck getting it back to alloy if it's been painted on!

Might aswell spray it alloy :p

Don't waste your time/money on trying to get the black off back to alloy finish.

[JDM-EGG]

go to mag man in sydney, his got someshit that stips of paint in a dip .. well thats what he told me?! LOL :)

[xxb4xx]

Magman is good.. he'll rub it back using some really fine sandpaper and probably a mild solution of paint stripper.. but he can always paint the rim whatever colour he likes..

But yeah, $12 isn't a bad investement to try.. it will work, but don't expect to do it all in 2 hours.. alot of elbow grease will be needed, if it's a thick coat

[Type R Positive]

I just got some stock euro wheels which were sprayed matt black, i'm assuming with a spray can. You can see where the balancing weights were its not painted.

What would be the best thing to remove the paint and bring it back to standard finish without destroying the alloy wheel itself?
If they painted it black properly, then good luck stripping it off again.
Sounds like you have to sand them back, then repaint.

[JDM-EGG]

im planning to sand back down my spray can job .. hopefully i can get my old polish lip back ! i highly doubt it .. wat a waste :(

[integral90]

I reckon you should just get them resprayed, could look really nice!

Maybe a brighter silver, almost into a white with a silver pearl. Would look hot in my opinion, especially on a black car.

[E_Honda]

just got the wheels, doesn't look like they sprayed too thick of a coat on there cause where the wheel balancing weights were its all alloy and where it merges into the black it doesn't look to thick.

[hughba]

Turps is good at getting some paints off, but it's probably more suited to getting off overspray rather than stripping back.

[E_Honda]

I reckon you should just get them resprayed, could look really nice!

Maybe a brighter silver, almost into a white with a silver pearl. Would look hot in my opinion, especially on a black car.

lol a respray, how much will that cost?

[xxb4xx]

dude there is so many powdercoaters that will charge 50 a rim for any colour you want

[jdmEG5]

paint stripper?

[E_Honda]

dude there is so many powdercoaters that will charge 50 a rim for any colour you want

Yeah, not worth it then. I've put the wheels on the car and they don't look too bad in black. Tossing up whether to keep them as is or try to put in the hard yakka and remove the paint.

[E_Honda]

paint stripper?

paint stripper i'm worried will kill the alloy as well as remove the paint, cause it has acids in it

[XP02ED]

try nail polish removed, it wont damage your alloy shine afte ra good wash assuming it was primed

[E_Honda]

try nail polish removed, it wont damage your alloy shine afte ra good wash assuming it was primed

thats worth a try also. I'm gonna try one or a few of these methods tonight, i'll let you guys know what works, if anything

[HunterZero]

Here are some things to try...

1. Nitro methanol. You can get this from hobby stores as model car fuel. Make sure it's 20% to 30% nitro.
2. Brake fluid, but this stuff may need to soak a while before it does anything
3. Caustic Soda, eg oven cleaner. This stuff is NASTY, will definitely attack the finish underneath.
4. The 'dipping stuff' that was referred to I think is Castrol Super Clean. This stuff takes paint off quite well, you could try and get your hands on some of it (not literally, it's not nice to skin!).
5. 3M Safest Stripper.
6. Acetone (nail varnish remover)

I think that the standard wheels are painted and clear coated, so the above methods may attack the original finish. However, the rattle can spray should be easier to remove than paint/clear coat underneath, which has probably been treated with hardeners. So go slow with one of the above methods and you should have success.

Another option is to have them professionally refinished. They'll likely sand or bead blast them, then refinish.

- HZ

[E_Honda]

One of my mates actually had a tin of Acetone which will be the first thing i try when i get a chance, i was actually able to scratch some paint off with my finger nail so its obviously been sprayed with cheap paint. I can probably rub most of it off without chemicals. What do you guys recommend to use to rub/scratch it off which won't scratch the alloy underneath?

[XP02ED]

nailpolish remover will do the trick

[E_Honda]

nailpolish remover will do the trick

What i meant was, what should i use to rub it off? such as a rag, steel wool etc??

Steel wool will scratch the alloy but just to give you an example of what i mean

[XP02ED]

cotton bud :D

or a piece of towel/old clothes

[E_Honda]

lol i think i'll be there till christmas with a cotton bud

I was just wondering if there was some sort of cloth/rag thing you can buy with more of a rough surface to help scrape the paint off along with the acetone, but not that rough that it scratches the alloy

[HunterZero]

lol i think i'll be there till christmas with a cotton bud

I was just wondering if there was some sort of cloth/rag thing you can buy with more of a rough surface to help scrape the paint off along with the acetone, but not that rough that it scratches the alloy

Not really.

Was them first with a sponge to remove the really loose stuff. Then scratch as much off as you can with your fingernails or a plastic scraper, then use a cotton rag or paper towel to apply the acetone (test on a small area first). Go slow and try to only get the acetone on the paint you want to remove. Agitate with a toothbrush. Some areas may require sanding the paint a little bit to knock the top off it to allow the acetone to penetrate better.

Are the rims actually naked metal underneath, or are they painted rims? If they're factory wheels they're probably painted, and you can just use some cleaner polish afterwards.

- HZ

[E_Honda]

Will try those steps, hopefully just using the plastic scraper will take most of it off.

they are factory wheels so should have painted coat before alloy.

thanks

[HunterZero]

No prob. You might try some turpentine too, if it's enamel paint it should come right off.

- HZ

[E_Honda]

i tried paint stripper and acetone and looks like nothing will work, the heat from the previous owner and now me driving on them seems to have baked on the paint even harder. Mag man in syd quoted $25 each wheel to bring them back to bare metal, then $100 or so to spray each wheel. hmmmmm some how i think i'm screwed

[E_Honda]

i think i might have access to a compressor so i might get a wheel place to take all the paint off back to metal for all wheels then i'll spray them myself

[Accord Basic]

Is the wheel got prime layer? I think it might be hard to get back to original if got prime layer. I would repray the wheel or sell it get other set without painted. what size of your wheels? 16" or 17"?

[E_Honda]

Is the wheel got prime layer? I think it might be hard to get back to original if got prime layer. I would repray the wheel or sell it get other set without painted. what size of your wheels? 16" or 17"?

it seems to be painted silver under the black which is how the stock wheels are from what i've been told. Not sure if they have prime layer.

THey are 16".

[E_Honda]

its hard to find sellers of these stock wheels thats why when i found some i snapped them up even though they were painted black

[Accord Basic]

if 16" is easy, buy other set just for about 100 - 200 dollars or swipe with someone who like the black colour. it is safe your time to do the job and no ppl can say you can get back to original. if you sand it down. it will not shiny. either you need to repaint or stay with black. in my opinion, it is waste time to sanding the paint off.

[E_Honda]

easier said than done mate :)

Like i was saying i might just re-spray them myself with the compressor i have

[EK1.6LCIV]

panel shop would get you some nice paint stripper :D

[E_Honda]

i tried paint stripper from panel shop and it did nothing, maybe its gotta soak for ages but either way risk of killin the silver paint underneath

seems like sand blasting them is easiest option then respray