I can't really find any close ups of them right now....

 

Albert,

Im basically in the same boat as you were, but a bit worse in fading/clouding etc. I get the bit about the polishing, but had more question about the removal of the center piece.

- Did you remove the center piece with the tire still mounted and inflated?
- What was he removal order of the rim lugs?
- What was the torque spec when putting them back in? Lock Tight applied?

Thank ALOT in advance!

-Sull

 

how many beers were consumed during the 20 hours?

 

Im curious of this too. What did you torque them to?

 

OK So its either this or i'm powdercoating the damn lip. Hmm must decide..

 

actually, ive done this on my konigs...yes i know, cheap wheel..but its on my toyo pickup. but i used aircraft stripper, took about 5 min a wheel, then just used compound and polished them, then used my alum polish on them... this pic is just after i stripped them, didnt polish yet, i did so to paint them...



DSC01173.jpg?t=1176247229

 

Here's my pics from the same project I did to my Sportmax. Before and after. Basically take your time and apply gel-based paint remover (Zip Strip Industrial Strength) with a toothbrush. Whipe off with wet rag/bucket of soap. Reapply as necessary. DO NOT GET ON THE PAINTED PART OF THE WHEEL... After its removed to your liking, take the Mothers Aluminum polish to it. Simple! Took me about 1 hour per wheel taking my time (10 mins between application of the stripper - 2-3 apps per wheel).

BEFORE:






Zip Strip In Action:


After with the products used:




After:










Can't tell the difference from the fronts w/ clearcoat still on unless you look VERY closely. I didn't strip the fronts b/c they aren't peeling yet. If anything, the stripped wheels are 1 shade shinier than the clearcoated wheel. I think it turned out pretty darn good for $20 and a few hours. I thought about ditching the wheels prior (they were cheap anyway), but they look pretty good on the car and I didn't feel like wasting money.

Just for note, the car has 95k miles on, I've had it since 15k. The wheels have about 35k on before they peeled like they did...

 

Sorry Sull for the lat response. I was ghosting from this forum for a long while so I didn't see the PM or threads.

I'll answer the questions tho.

1. I had just aquired the GT-7's w/o tires mounted, makes the job a lot easier as well.
2. I didn't have a order or pattern to remove the bolts on the center, I did make sure to note the exact placement before removing it to not disturb any balance of the rim.
3. Torque spec is 45-50 pounds/ft per my email to rays eng. with loc-tite applied


Silkk, that's some great polishing you got going on. The more options the better. The way I did mine was alil overkill but I am **** when it comes to perfection.

 

farenheit - Hey man, nothing wrong with being ****. I might have removed the polished lip as well if they were truly 2 or 3 piece wheels, but they are not. Further, these are 1/3 or 1/4 the cost of Volks, so no problem with doing it while together and even on the car. Just got to be careful.

 

I agree. It's more personal preference than anything... I have OCD when it comes to shiet being clean. I just wish I knew an easier way before I did mine cuz the results came out pretty much the same.

 

Damn, you guys are insane.

I don't know what I'd do without my clearcoat on the volks.

Speaking of that, I'd better zaino my wheels this weekend so the clear doesn't get fuct up ...

 

very nice

 

Mine aren't Volk so its a little easier to sleep at night. Either way, they are still going strong and glossy as new without the clear now for several rainshowers, etc.

I'm going to polish them every other month or so with the Mothers Aluminum Polish and they should stay just as clean as a wheel with clearcoat...

 

that's the propper way to do it....

 

+1

 

Guys. . . . its my understanding that volks are actually 'Anodised', NOT clearcoated. It can still be stripped using the same methods as above, but im almost positive that you are infact stripping the anodising not in fact, the clear coat.

 

+1. the anodized layer is only a few atoms thick and is essentially oxidized bare aluminum, but just dyed with color of preference. regardless, it protects such as clearcoat paint.

a question regarding wheel finishers/wax:

well i polished my wheels after some car wash stripped the anodized layer. after the anodization stripped i notice a lot of road debris/gunk gets attached to the lip very easily now. does wheel finisher/wax help prevent that?

 

Stipped the clear and polished my old Volks before I sold them.

My methood-
I used Oven cleaner to strip the clear coat off, I tried many strippers, includeing the all mighty aircraft stipper and nada. A friend mentioned oven cleaner and it worked great.
Spray, let sit for about 5min and wipe. Wipes down to the bare metal.

Wet sand, 400-grit, 600, 800, 1000,1500,2000
Even though you can get away with a decent shine going no further then 1000 grit, if you take it pass that to 1500, then 2000 you'll end up with a much smoother surface to polish on with less hair line scratches.

Polish with Mother's billet polish and a high power drill and a Home Depot firm polishing wheel.

Do about 3 to 4 coats and your lips will look like chrome.

 

Wow!!! Those look great. I just can't stand how hard it is to get the lip clean with just soap and water.

 

It is a pain in the @$$ to clen....water spots.... but when all polished up, it looks real good.

Because of the maintence with cleaning I made sure my next set had a chrome lip.