[surkin]

Hi, this is my first post. I went to the salvage yard today, and picked up some aluminum escort gt rims and some tires all for about 300 dallors, they were covered in dirt and i thought that was just dirt. Well, we got home washed em off. The tires looked fine but the rims had like... a crappy rusty like, the top layer of alum was eatting threw or something, i tried everything i could to try to get rid of it, washed em alot, and its really deep. I was wondering if someone had any suggestions and if i had to sand, or something like that could you please explain it to me.

Thank you

 

[bpletch1]

If the clear is gone and the alu is etched, you´re in for a lot more than you bargained. Best bet for the long run would be to try to return the rims/tires for your money..
barring that...
1) refinish yourself--entails getting rid of the nastiness via sanding/polishing/bead or sandblasting
2) pay someone else to do it (and then have painted or powdercoated and then cleared again (I know of a few places that do it for $60/rim)

good luck

 

[Juggernaut]

how can you tell if the clear coat is still there? my rims were in rough shape since i bought the car. not horrible, just a few spots on each rim gettin kinda eaten away looking. it´s still all aluminum colored, not rust or anything

 

[92gt5spd]

Clear coat doesnt come off all at once...u might have a spot where its starting to peel off and its eating the aluminum there. Now try having a brake line leak ruin ur rim finish by eating away the top layer of the inside of the rim....(not clear coat).

 

[surkin]

I wanna try sandblasting by myself if its possible, we have the tools i just need alittle instructions. I´d like to paint em white, if u could tell me what i would have to do before i can paint them white, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bpletch1]

get the tires off there, blast them, paint them, clear them, wait a few days and have the tires remounted

 

[Beaverboy]

If you can.. glass-bead alloy mag and aluminum wheels. Sand is too harsh and can cause microscopic stress cracks all over the wheels.

 

[surkin]

Hi, me again. What would happen if i just sand the parts were the wheels have been oxidized? would it look the same as the parts with the clearcoat still on em or not?

thank you

 

[bpletch1]

no, it wouldnb´t look the same. The escort rims were either silver painted w/ clear or machined w/ clear. The silver obviously wouldn´t look the same, and the machhined rims have very tiny grooves in the surface from the machining process. You might be able to get them close, but not the same. You could, however, sand/polish/clear the whole face of the rim for uniformity.

 

[surkin]

Hi, me again, I just got done sanding/polishing and it doesnt reflect as much as the other 3 wheels i have. i dont care that the silver is alittle darker but i want the rims to be alittle more shiney, the polish helped. do you think i should wax or something? it freakin took me 2and a half hours just to get the clear coat off and the rest only took me like 15-20min, it was exhausting. but if u have any suggestions to getting them more shiney please respond, thank you

 

[Beaverboy]

What grit sandpaper are you using?

 

[bpletch1]

for the highest shine, don´t use sandpaper. get a cloth polishing wheel attachment for a drill and use buffing compound

 

[surkin]

I did what you suggested and i got a great shine, thanks to all that helped. But, some friends were telling me how cool the wheels would look white, if you have any idea how to paint em white now i could use the information. I been searching it up on the web and i cant find anything. I know id have to sand em down so now im half way done, how can i get em white and shiney is the next step. If you could reply it would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[bpletch1]

sand, primer, paint, clearcoat...

after you clear coat, MAKE SURE YOU GIVE THEM A FEW WEEKS TO SET UP/CURE/DRY COMPLETELY!!!

I can´t tell you how many times customer´s have brought in freshly painted rims to have tires mounted only to leave a little more than disappointed when the paint on the lip get scraped off a little from the machine.

the most durable combo is powdercoat and clearcoat.

 

[surkin]

Whats a good paint for rims?

 

[bpletch1]

if you´re gonna clearcoat, the more important thing is the process.
pick a color/finish you like and go for it!!

 

[fastford90]

hey i just need to know what year gt these wheels are off of cuz i have done some but not "newer ones"

 

[Foxy]

:-( Bloke over the road from me did his alloys white:-

a) looked like cheap plastic;
b) chipped to bits by stones;
c) bloke didn´t like ´em;
c) made a dog´s breakfast of removing paint;
d) cost him loads to have them done professionally.

Beware! :-W

 

[EXPIOWA]

I would stay away from trendy colors otherwise you will be repainting them again later. I would go with a grey or light silver mabey even black if you think it would look good on the car.

I have had really good luck with Dupli-color on body pannels. My friends have used Krylon Rust Tough Enamel on rims with good results. It looks good and its durable. They did not even prime first. He said the primer is in the paint so its a one pass job. Two years and they still look good. I hope this helps.

 

[surkin]

Hey thaks for all the help guys, i got em done finally. Heres a link to it.My car