polishing wheels

[gtrefever]

Ok so i just bought 745i wheels for my g35 sedan, they are kinda beat with rash so i figured id just go ahead and polish them up. So i put paint stripper on, and that took off like 1 coat but theres still alot of paint on em. Should i keep hitting it with paint stripper till it gets down to the metal to where i can actually start polishing?:o

[00bmw323]

cant polish till there is no more paint and down to the bare metal.

[gtrefever]

so keep hitting it with paint stripper?

[patrick_irwin]

so keep hitting it with paint stripper?

try aircraft paint remover. it will get it right down to the bare metal. the start the sanding process. its a long tedious job, but the end result is amazing.

[gtrefever]

i tried looking for that at home depot but couldnt find it!

[woody89]

The paint stripper in the purple can usually sold at Home Depot or Lowes works just as good as aircraft stripper. I used some just yesterday on my wheels.

[gtrefever]

this is the one i used that only took off a layer

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xgc/R-100144685/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

[woody89]

Yeah I've used that a lot for things like spray paint and such. However I got the purple can, which is about $1.50 more and a lot stronger. Same brand and such.

[Tuck&Poke]

you just need a stripper thats safe on aluminum. Keep hitting it, and once you get down to primer its gonna get a bit harder. Once its down to bare metal start sanding.

[Lux]

TAL-Stripper. Get the gel not the spray.

[Bluefire]

**** to thread jack, but I have a clear coat on my wheels and I would like to polish my lips also. Would I just use the paint stripper on the lips and then go from there? Thanks in advance.

[patrick_irwin]

**** to thread jack, but I have a clear coat on my wheels and I would like to polish my lips also. Would I just use the paint stripper on the lips and then go from there? Thanks in advance.

aircraft paint remover fast and simple.

[gtrefever]

so i bought more of the stuff i used before but in the gel form, and it aint working for sh!t. haha it says good for metal,wood, and such but its not even taking off the primer. guess ill have to try that aircraft stripper. ANNOYED

[woody89]

Did they not have the purple can?

[gtrefever]

no, ah well ima just go to autozone and buy air craft stripper. if that doesnt work then omg iono what to do. anyone in san diego wanna help me with this.

[1badg35]

use some aircraft stripper and a coarse steel wool pad. should make it easy. just wear a glove as the stripper burns the skin

[gtrefever]

so just got done hoping that the gel stuff would work but still major fail haha. ill be buying some aircraft stripper tomorrow.

[Lux]

Wow, that Tal-Stripper or most any stripper in gel form is superior to all my experiences.

I put that on paint, let it sit, maybe scrubbed a bit with a green scotch bright, and then rinsed it off with a hose and it was clean as a whistle bare metal.

You can smear it on thick and put it in a garbage bag. Something about the way it heats up that way. People have said you could use saran wrap also. Never tried that.

[gtrefever]

i dont know what im doing wrong haha

[woody89]

Make sure you gob that stuff on, at least I always do when I use it.

[gtrefever]

i am! so i tried the gel stuff on my friends wheels im painting for him and his paint came off. are bmw wheels powdercoated is that why its so hard? i got somewhere today though i just used a scrapper and scraped off some paint haha and got down to some primer.

[SeeClass]

You should invest in a soda blaster...It makes it wayyyy easier. You need to use a lot of paint stripper and let it heat up in the sun. Watch your hands because it burns like a bitch...

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_trkparms=65%253A1%257C66%253A4%257C39%253A 1&_nkw=soda+blaster&_sticky=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_sop=15&_sc=1

[andyp]

can you get nitromors over here?? that stuff shifts paint etc, left over night on wheels wrapped in a bin bag normally does it

[gtrefever]

bought some aircraft paint remover and still no results!

[smokedvr6]

how long are you leaving the aircraft remover on the wheels for? are you really globbing it on? i used the aircraft remover from autozone on my porsche wheels and it sat for a while but the clearcoat/paint finally came off.

also, how bad is the rash? how are you planning to fix it? if you are going to fill it at all with anything that isnt metal (body filler, polyester filler) you wont be able to polish the wheels.

post up a pic, youll probably get more help that way.

[gtrefever]

only 1 wheel has rash that ill sand down not to worried about that. i just put a crap load of the stripper and left it in my garage like 2 hours ago did go back to check on it. but hopefully it does something. If not i have no other option to let rotiform polish them for me haha.

[xmysacredoathx]

If the wheel is powder coated, you will have one heck of a time removing it with store bought stripper. Your best bet is to let a powder coating and or stripping company strip your wheel with industrial stripper. DO NOT let them sand blast your wheel, if you want to have them polished (or polish them yourself).

[gtrefever]

thats what i want to know, are stock 745i wheels powdercoated from the factory?

[xmysacredoathx]

thats what i want to know, are stock 745i wheels powdercoated from the factory?

I am not certain. My guess is yes. But, if they aren't powder coated, they are painted with a very durable paint and primer under coat. However, some companies will powder coat the wheel with a powder primer and paint on top of it. Like someone mentioned before, the primer is going to be really difficult to remove. You will eventually remove it with the aircraft stripper, but it will take a few cans of it and a lot of time. Take a step back and ask yourself how much your time is worth, and then calculate how much the materials cost and how much a company will charge you.

[gtrefever]

ive spent about 50 on paint stripper already. like 10% of how much it would cost for a company to polish it. i think ill just get to polished by someone its taking to much of my time to actually do it.

[xmysacredoathx]

Polishing is dirty, time and labor intensive. Hence why it's so pricey to get done.

I think if you take it to a stripping company and have them strip it, you'll be better off. That will eliminate most of your work right there. When you get them back, you will have nice, bare metal wheels to start polishing. A polishing company will charge you for stripping. So, either way, you're paying for it.

I hope this helps out.