Ford Ranger Alcoa Rims

[mdn14]

So I bought some factory ford ranger fx4 alcoa rims from a guy off craigslist for a pretty sweet deal (imo). The only thing about them is that he primed them with a self etching primer and then painted over it with a can of rustoleum . I would like to get them back to their original finish but dont know how to! I was thinking maybe sand blasting but I heard that it can warp the wheel. I also thought about using chemical but I also heard that some kinds can damage the wheel as well.

Can somebody point me in a general direction!

 

[gw33gp]

Those wheels as supplied form Ford have a smooth machined surface with a clear coat. Sand blasting them should not warp the wheel because the metal is too thick but it will leave a rough surface. I think using a stripper that is safe for aluminum would be the best way to go. You will probably still have to polish the wheels to get them looking good before applying a clear coat but it should be much easier than polishing after sand blasting.

 

[AgPete139]

You get get them bead blasted, OR, you can soda blast them yourself.

If you have an air compressor, this is easily achievable and you only spend $7 of baking soda.

But, try minor chemicals first. Let us know how it goes...

 

[mdn14]

I think I'm gonna try some of the chemicals first. But if the light stuff doesn't work then I'll have to figure out how to soda blast them, but idk if my air compressor is large enough. And I'll definitely post some pics with the finished result!

 

[racsan]

at least they used silver and didnt do them in flat black! i couldnt tell they were painted in the picture.

 

[mdn14]

Yeah, they are. They look pretty good painted silver but I really want that nice and shiny aluminum look. I still haven't gotten around to doing anything to them yet. Can anyone suggest a paint remover that won't hurt the wheels? And that won't take off the alcoa symbol, if the wheels have it.

 

[gw33gp]

The Alcoa symbol fades away anyway. It would be a wasted effort trying to save it if it is there.

 

[mdn14]

Awh. That makes me a sad panda.

 

[mdn14]

Well. Here's what I did. I went to a local auto parts store and picked up some Tal_Strip II. I applied it in a rather heavy coat the first time as you can see by the second picture. The first picture shows what the wheel looked like before I started. The third picture shows the spray taking effect. You should be able to see the blistering. The fourth pic shows what the rim looked like after the first coat and after I was done scraping (which scratched my rims in certain places ). And the fifth picture shows what the rim looks like after the third layer of the Tal strip and scrubbing it off with a sorta rough sponge. Those dark spots that are left DO NOT want to come off.

I was wondering what I could use to get those off, or if the dude I bought the rims from put some sorta plaster on his wheels where they were beat up at.

Any ideas?

 

[Larry's shee]

My guess is that is where the wax or clear coat came off and it tarnished. Might be able to use Mothers or Simichrome alum polish, or felt bob and rouge, or if it's real rough start at the begining of the polishing process.

 

[Mike Tonon]

I know this is an old thread, but how did it go? Mine are getting kind of junky looking after 12 years of abuse. I’d like them to be more of a silver or frosted look, as I already have a lot of chrome on my truck and also, when they’re very shiny, they show every little imperfection. I’m looking to paint inside the holes, black, to hide/prevent corrosion and then clearcoat the entire rim. And can I grind down the front edge of the rim, so the tire shops use sticky weights inside, instead? That always drove me nuts! Those are not cheap rims and look cheap with wheel weights on the front and look even cheaper when they corrode! What the hell kind of engineering makes a rim like that to recieve hammer on wheel weights on the front?!