joecutlass Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 The previous owner of my gp must have painted the x laces in a" metallic gray" im looking to see whats the easiest way of taking the old paint off, and repainting them, or at least finishing them to look halfway decent. Can i use a stripper? It seems to have been sprayed witgh a rattle can without any primer or prep to the rim at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 i hear about the guys using aircraft stripper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecutlass Posted May 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 I can pick that up and a hardware store? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 I believe parts stores have them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twenty Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Paint stripper on x-laces, especially ones that have been painted over top of the original coating, is a royal pain. Be prepared to spend a lot of time at it. Ask me how I know. I'd look into media blasting them, see if anyone in your area offers that service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 i'd probaby do both if you have access. I've done aircraft and glassbead. the glassbead wasnt really intended to take the paint off, just the clear, but it was still very difficult to get the paint off. If the lips were sanblasted, they'd likely be that much harder to get nice and polished...though you do need to sand past the machining on the lips if you are looking to polish, so that might be a non issue. When I stripped a set, there was paint still on there, but i think a blaster would knock whatever remained quickly. Expect to pay like $30 for a gallon of stripper. You wont use all of it, but the sprays suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55trucker Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 When I refinished my wheels I just used regular *gel* stripper on the wheel lip. The wheels were gray so they were painted by GM. If you have the gold wheels the centers are powdercoated and it will not come off (the finish will just rough up). I sandblasted the centers (taped up the lips before doing so) and afterwards went to work repainting the wheels. Took some time & patience. If I ever do another set this time I will powdercoat the centers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 After having my cross laces done, I would not of taken any different path than the one I did. My guy media blasted them, I don't know what he used, but it made quick business of all the clear and paint, as well as the rest of crap on the rim. He did them inside and out. Then he took a file to the bead to get rid of the small amount of curb rash that was on them (then re blasted the filed area to give the powder something to grip) After that they were powder coated solid Mercedes Black Personally I am happy with this, but I know a lot of people want the polished lip... from there you should be able to find a shop that can machine the lip for you. Just off the top pf my head I know of 2 shops local that specialize in machining car rims, and that's without looking at my contact list of machine shops that could also do the work. MOST machine shops should have a lathe large enough to mount a rim to and machine your lip for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Steve, that looks great! I bet there was a lot of work involved to get them to look that good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55trucker Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Steve, that looks great! I bet there was a lot of work involved to get them to look that good. oooooohhh Yeah.....because my car is white I wanted the small amount of *polished lip* to highlight the look, but I also wanted the wheels the same color. The paint took a lot of time seeing as I did not use a rattle can. Instead I used Por15 Whitecote, it is much harder than regular paint and holds up better, But it was time consuming (but what else did I have to do during the winter). I had to reduce the paint and apply all the coats with a small artists brush. They finished up well, but as I said, next time.....hmmmm....powdercoated. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecutlass Posted May 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 My apprenticeship school has a glassbead blast booth. Im gonna pick up full size spare rim and tire and do these one at a time. Everything is basically there for me to finish them. Ill do them one at a time. I should be able to powder coat them there too. If the oven still works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 Like I said glassbead hardly took the paint off my silver ones. I also had gold ones that I used the chemical stripper on. It worked pretty good, just needed a little cleanup with a blaster, even a glassbeader would probably work for that portion of the job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhildebrand Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Im doing the same right now. I started using the aircraft stripper like 2 weeks ago, i just dont have time now.. I got allmost all of the clear and powder coat, (the factory uses powdercoat) off the rims, but the bead blaster wouldnt remove any remaining powder coat, so i get to spend more time with stripper and a scraper inside the little xs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go4DaMo Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 (TAKES NOTES) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecutlass Posted June 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 So today i was talking to a few bridge painters and abrasive blasters that i work with, they said that the best media for the x laces are walnut shells. Now im in contact with an old cooworker to see if i can get my hands on some walnut media. Walnut will not mar up or nick up the metal. Plastic beads will leave small "dents" in the metal and glass will not do anything to the original powdercoating. If i cant get any of this walnut media for free, ill end up getting it cheap at least. Apparently, a big bag of walnut shells is only ten pounds. Updates will come as the progress continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3.1cutlass Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 Im doing the same right now. I started using the aircraft stripper like 2 weeks ago, i just dont have time now.. I got allmost all of the clear and powder coat, (the factory uses powdercoat) off the rims, but the bead blaster wouldnt remove any remaining powder coat, so i get to spend more time with stripper and a scraper inside the little xs The gold is powder, any other colors are painted and can be used with aircraft stripper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go4DaMo Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 walnut shells? that's a new one on me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecutlass Posted June 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 Yes, walnut shells. Itsbasically walnut shells ground into a grit. My ex coworker does not have any at his shop. I found a 50lb bag for around $40. Ill get two bags to play it safe and donate the reas to my apprenticeship school. Since ill be using the equipment anyways. Im picking up some 18x8 rims from a friend of mine soon. Going to run those while i take my time refinishing the xlaces. Full in detail photos will be available. Im sure the instructors might try making a video of the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go4DaMo Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 wanna sell me the 18s after the project? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecutlass Posted June 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 so, i picked up the new 18's this week. They look phenomenal on the car. And they are white. Ill post up some pictures as soon as i get them cleaned up. The rubber is a little rough because the guy i bought them from used them in auto x. They willm be fine to run for this year, but that now. Means that i need to get these x laces done sooner for winter. I really like the white look. So these will be powdercoated white as well. Idk about selling these 18's. When the time comes, if im gonna sell them, they will go up on this forum first before seeing craigslist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go4DaMo Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 good deal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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