Hey guys, I've searched a few times and couldn't find an exact answer to my question. I got some Volk GT F's and the coating on the lips are starting to wear away. I can see where it's bare metal and where the coat starts again. Was wondering if there's an easy way to strip the coating completely?

I got quoted around $400 for stripping and repolishing the set and the guy said he would have to "grind" the polish off and I'm like wtf? I don't have the money to get them repolished at the moment and was wondering if I just put Wheel Wax on them if that would protect the non-coated areas?

 

post photos

 

There is an Anodized coating on the aluminum lip of your Volks. The coating can be completely removed with a good bit of patience, time and some wet sanding. This a good thread that basically shows the process done to Volk GT-7 wheels a while back.

https://my350z.com/forum/repairing-a...h-on-lips.html

 

I used the oven cleaner and ultra fine steel wool to strip my GT-7 lips. I polished to a mirror shine with a die grinder and buffing compounds. Lastly I went over it with mothers aluminum polish. I broke a bolt putting mine back together though. Wheel looks great I just don't feel good driving it until I can get some replacement bolts. I would also like to find the Volk Racing decals.

 

Unbolt the faces, no need to remove tires it's a seamless 2 piece wheel, aircraft paint remover will take it off in 2 minutes. Rinse and get some microfiber towels then use some Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish. Rub the pink stuff on and wipe it off with a bit of elbow grease. It will leave a mirror like finish, better than the original.

 

aircraft paint remover takes off anodizing? cool, i didnt know that.

 

Its still best to remove the tires when removing the center of a wheel. We had to fix a customers GT-C's once because they didn't remove the tires when they were painting their centers, then when he went to put the centers back in they didn't line up perfectly. The tire will still put a lot of force on a wheel with out center support and "egg it" making it out of round like a bent wheel, not all pressure will be equal on a tire when mounted. Also when you remove the centers it's best to mark the centers and barrels LF/RF/LR/RR and put them back exactly as they were, 2 piece wheels once put together at the factory are then "tweaked" to ensure they roll the best and mixing the fronts or rears can change how they roll once put back together.

 

You are correct. I used to own GTCs and did it this way w/o issues. OP seems to be on a budget which is why I suggested this route.

 

Thanks a lot guys. Sorry I forgot to mention they do not have tires on them so even better. Is aircraft paint remover safe for the wheels? Where can I find that usually? Also where can I get the volk racing sticker that's on the lip since I gotta strip the coating so the sticker on there now has to come off. Anyone know the torque spec for the bolts?

 

Torque specs should be within 25-35 lb/ft. Work Wheels suggests 22 but I find that to be too light for re-bolting wheels.

Aircraft paint remover (NOT JASCOT- stuff is useless) can be found at Home Depot, Autozone, Pepboys. Blue can with an airplane on it.

Volk decal can be sourced from Mackin Industries if you want authentic or have a vinyl shop cut it for you.

 

I was torquing to 25 lb/ft when I snapped the bolt on my GT-7...

Mine had quite a bit of oxidation that made it a lot more work. The coating was pretty easy to get off. Here is a before and after;

 

That's looks a lot better after you stripped it Jeep. Did you use aircraft paint remover to remove the coating? Since you snapped a bolt at 25 lbs do you suggest 22 lbs then?

 

I used oven cleaner to strip mine. It worked fine. Paint stripper sounds like it may be easier. I am going to try that on the next one. I am really unsure about torque. I have searched a lot for torque values and have found a few places with conflicting information. I have seen the 25 - 35 posted in other places also but it proved to be too much for me. The original bolts are unobtainable. I'm not even sure the GT F uses the same size bolts. Mine are M7-1 bolts and torque charts show torque on that to be 17-19 lb/ft.

Chris

 

Alright, thanks a lot Chris. I'll just put them at 22 lbs and hope that's enough.