How to Remove Clearcoat From Aluminum Rims
- 1). Remove the wheels from the vehicle. To do this, lift it with a floor jack and lower it securely onto jack stands one side or one end at a time. After removing the wheels, loosen the lug nuts.
- 2). Wash the wheels with degreaser and a water hose. Dry the wheels thoroughly with rags. If you are stripping wheels that still have tires on them, mask off the tires so that paint stripper does not get on them. You can also use playing cards to mask the wheels by sliding a row of cards between the edge of the wheel and the tire. Alternatively, you can have the tires removed by a tire shop.
- 3). Spray paint stripper on the areas of the wheels where you will be removing the clearcoat. If there are any areas that you don't want stripped, such as painted areas, etc, mask off these areas before you spray.
- 4). Allow the stripper to soak into the clearcoat for several minutes or until the clearcoat starts to bubble. Wipe the clearcoat off with a towel. Remove stubborn areas with by rubbing with fine steel wool. Reapply the stripper until all the clearcoat is removed.
- 5). Rinse the wheels off with a hose. Dry them thoroughly with a clean, dry terry-cloth towel. Once the clearcoat has been stripped off alloy wheels, there's nothing protecting the bare aluminum finish, so it's recommended that you spray new clearcoat on them or apply a coat of metal polish to areas of the wheel that have been polished before.
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