So I got my 2004 Silver 350z not too long ago and am finally getting around to cleaning up the wheels that it came with. I am running Wci mt10 18 inch wheels right now but I think previous owner spray painted them (possibly multiple times). Upon using some paint remover I found that there is a base orange coat with a clear rubbery coat on top of that (could be faded plastidip clear coat) and then a gold spray paint on top of that. I’m wondering if I am taking the right route with this. I know this is a loaded post and I’m sorry. Here are my questions:
1. Should I remove all paint layers and start over on base aluminum or try to preserve maybe the orange layer?
2. Is it a good idea to take the wheels off the car to repaint or clear coat them once the paint is removed? I don’t have jacks right now but I could buy some jack stands and a jack if need be.
3. How long can the wheels be left unpainted base aluminum before they rust between paint removal and repainting and is there some agent that can temporarily protect them?

I’m just looking for some guidance on how to proceed. Thank you!

Two wheels look pretty good with gold spray paint like this one:


The other two are dull and faded and look like this one:

 

Welcome- the best way to handle this is to look for a local shop that can bead blast those wheels and powdercoat them (gold if you like). 1. Bead blasting is the only way to get all the paint off the aluminum wheels. 2) Yes, you'll need to remove the wheels and tires and have the tires dismounted. But having a full set of jackstands and a strong 2 1/2-ton jack will be a good investment for a 350Z owner. 3. Aluminum won't rust like steel, but paint is only a stopgap for wheel use. Do it right by bead blasting and powdercoating and you'll only have to do it once.

 

Thanks for your response! I understand what you are saying about getting the job done right. My one thing is that I am on a budget and if I were to spend the money refinishing these wheels professionally I would probably rather just get new rims. As of now I have a quart of paint remover I bought for this project already and will probably try that at least and see how it works. From there I may either paint them or clear coat them but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

 

are the fronts the ones that are dull? prob from brake dust. me personally i would ditch them and get something easier to clean

 

Yeah when I got it the driver side front and passenger side rear looked like the dull one. I have no idea why they are like that and I don’t think it’s brake dust because it doesn’t just wash off. When I hose it down it looks pretty nice and shiny and gold. Kinda want to get new ones but I don’t know if I can find any good ones cheap and if I could sell my currents for a good price anyways.

 

Hours and hours of hand sanding each little diamond hole. Have fun!

 

That's one of the problems with using ordinary paint on wheels. The heat generated by the brakes will be transmitted through the wheels and soften the paint. Over time and heat cycles, most paint will become contaminated and look like @$$.
You should at least check to see how much bead blasting your wheels would cost locally. Being on a budget still doesn't make much sense when it'll take hours to do a crappy job stripping the wheels when you could go simply work a few hours more and save up to get them done right. It's just my $0.02, but if you're that strapped for money then a Z many not be the right car for you.

 

Yeah like you said about the heat would make sense if those two were in the rear for a while where a lot of heat would be generated. I understand what you’re saying about getting it beadblasted or sandblasted and I honestly want to but first I want to try with paint remover I originally got for this project. That’s why I am attempting it myself first.

 

let us know how many times you cuss or throw something when you get frustrated with this

 

lol will post pics of the finished product, and what method I used

 

So, never mind the stripping.... how are you going to finish them? The "background" will be easy. Black whatever material (paint, dip) but those highlight surfaces? If colored to match the others (gold), gonna be a really tricky to get just those highlighted areas in contrast. Probably need to shoot the entire wheel gold first then mask and apply the black to the "honeycombs".

First aftermarket wheels for my first Z (many decades ago) were a set of Appliance "basket style" ("BBS copies") that I painted gold to mimic the famed BBS wheels of the day. One day, was going to strip the wheels. I started on one. Gave up after an hour of cursing. Just repainted that one wheel and done.

 

Yeah not sure if the stripping will work but as for the color afterwards I may either powder coat or use wheel paint to get it like a gunmetal or hyper black. We’ll see.

 

What kind of stripper are you using?

The best stripper (albeit with significant health risks if not used properly) is going to have methylene chloride. It's pretty hard to find these days since people have died from not taking proper safety precautions. I recently tried some aircraft stripper on a painted engine block and it has the new formula without any methylene chloride. It caused some of the old paint to peel up, but nowhere near as effective as the old formula.

If you're 100% attached to these wheels and you want to do this yourself, as previously mentioned, remove them, dismount the tires, get them sand/bead blasted, and then paint them whatever you like.

It may be more expensive, but you'll save hundreds of hours of your life and have professional long-lasting results by just taking them to a wheel finishing/powdercoating shop to let them do all the work. A lot of places will take a loose set of wheels with the tires mounted on them and do everything (unmounting tires, blasting, painting/PC) for $100-$200 per wheel.

 

Hi, a quick update on this (I’m the original poster just had to change my account):
Gave up refinishing my current ones myself. Debating whether to get the wci s blasted and powder coated or my other option I am really thinking about is getting a set of 35th anniversary rims and getting those blasted and powder coated (they have bad curb rash). Whichever route I go I will do gunmetal gray I think in color. Thoughts on which would be better? I like how the anniversary wheels look but not sure how I feel about going to a stock set.
Wheels I am looking at:



Here’s my current setup:

 

As the second poster in this thread, maybe the lesson in all of this is not to bother trying to clean painted wheels using paint thinners. No matter what your budget is, you'll spend more on product and your own time trying to strip painted wheels. Better to work a few more hours and have a shop professionally bead blast and powdercoat them.

Back to your latest thread on the possible purchase of a set of OEM rims, those pics show some very beat up alloys. The curb rash is so bad that I question whether those wheels are even straight any longer. I'd look harder and longer before settling on those battered wheels.

Finally, I have to ask what's up the "350Z" vertical writing on the RF of your front bumper? Together with the mismatched wheels, that writing really detracts from the look of your car IMO.

 

Which is better?

Personally, I do not like those current WCI wheels. To echo what DKM said, those OEM wheels look pretty thrashed. Unless you're getting them for an extreme bargain (like $200 or less) and willing to eat that if a wheel tire shop tells you they're toast, I would pass. I see those sets come up all the time in good condition for $500 with tires in my area. Hell, I even have a set sitting around collecting dust.

 

Ok. I was wondering how bad of a sign that curb rash is. The offer was to trade my current wheels for those. My friend brought up the point that if I repainted my wci s I might be able to sell them for more than the 500 to powder coat them and make them look good. Or i may keep them idk. Getting the idea that going with these specific oems is a bad idea.

Regarding the 350z writing on the front bumper, I have since scraped that off and am planning on getting the bumper repainted soon as its overall beat up with the paint.
Thanks for your insights guys.
So should I try selling my current wheels as is or get ‘Em powder coated then sell them or trade. Or just keep them?Any ideas on other good bang for your buck wheels for a z? I’m mainly going for looks.

 

Sell them or trade as-is. You're not going to make your money back that you spend powder coating them.

As far as looks, what look are you going for? It's hard to tell your preference considering the choice of your current wheels ranging all the way to OEM-style.

Browse some of the threads in the wheels & tires sub-forum for inspiration. https://my350z.com/forum/wheels-and-tires-60/

I'm guessing some reps are in your future.

 

I agree it will probably come to reps. I want to get something looking a little more modern style 5-6 spokes. In terms of the oem, I honestly only like the track v1s and the 2006+ wheels with the five spokes. My current mesh wheels I feel would look much better on a vw than a z. So sell my current and then maybe buy some reps or good condition used wheels (no cracks welds bends or major rash). The only offer I’ve gotten for my wheels so far in the condition they are in is $200. Is that a fair price in their current condition?

 

I guess that's ok based on their current condition. No offense, but I'd be happy to get whatever I could for them.

TE37s and RPF1s are probably the most popular choices. I'm sure there are a lot of replicas of those widely available. Just make sure you get proper offsets to avoid having to run spacers.