Speaking of cookie cutters, is there any reason why i can't sandblast my wheels and paint them nice before putting on the new tires?

Right now, they have what seems like a thick, factory clear coating on them that is flaking off in several spots.

Can this safely be removed without compromising the wheel?
Andy

Dont use sand. It removes aluminum.

Use glass bead or walnut shells.

Rich

Are they aluminum or magnesium? IIRC I remember hearing that magnesium castings have porosity issues. They also corrode like crazy if unprotected. I had an idiot at a tire shop gouge up one of my phone dials and then blend it smooth. He cut through all the paint into the metal. They ended up buying me a new rim. Might want to ask around and see if I heard correct if they are magnesium.

If you do it will put a texture on the wheel that you will have to polish. Unless of course you want to paint the whole thing including the lip. I bead blasted my early fuchs. I wanted the lips satin so I had to sand and polish them. The good news is that the rougher surface is great for holding paint.

Aluminum semi truck wheels are spread with some kind of acid !left for just a minute and then hosed off with clean water and then polished to a hi shine ...look up Alcoa wheels and ask them ...mite get you going in the right direction

i've seen paint sriper and then pressure washed work real good with factory wheels

mike

I used this Talstrip 2 Aircraft Paint Remover on my Cookie Cutters(bought it at the hardware store). After a couple applications and scraping, the clear coat came right off. Then I sanded and polished the lips and painted the centers(metallic and clear). I have tested using water and lye(Drain Clog Remover) and it does work well, but you have to be VERY careful because it eats aluminum too and its also not that easy to have a large tub of water and lye laying around the house/garage.

Talstrip 2
http://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-Coating-Rem...y/dp/B000GTILZ6

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The Porsche "cooke-cutters" are forged....sand blasting will ruin the wheels... Be a little patient and use paint stripper...It will remove the clear coat, and paint ... getting the wheels down to the bare aluminum it might take several applications...and you will need to use a stiff scrub brush...NOT... a metal one. The great part is it will/may remove ALL the road crud on the backside of the wheels, which will help you get them properly balanced. all this is going to take some elbo grease, and stiff fiber brushes, But you will have a terriffic set of wheels when done.

Don't know about cookies, did my dials with glass bead. TOOK FOREVER to get them down enough to paint. Had to use a scotch brite wheel on the air grinder to smooth them out some before paint. Think I would try the paint remover next time. My dials are aluminum, but i think the factory must have powder coated them.

Cookies Cutter are Not Forged, they are Cast Aluminum. I have used oven cleaner in the past to remove anodizing, not sure how it works on Clear-Coat

T.C.

The guy in Redwood City (*) does a great job Andy, removing everything, on cookie cutters. He also does a great job power coating them if you want to take that approach.

The other way I've tried, given that I have 6 sets, is to wet sand them with 220 then prime and paint them again. This came out just as good as starting from scratch. i.e., after bead blasting.

Krylon primer/paint (rc) worked the best for me. You can now get it at Walmart.

Rustoleum also works great, but tough to get on without runs.

(*) http://accuratepowdercoatingusa.com/

Completely forgot about them ...


They did my trailing arms a few years back.
Andy

Yo to that TC! If they were forged, they wouldn't have so many air leaks. Yep, they're cast.

Oven cleaner works just fine on anodizing, though the bare metal oxidizes fairly quickly. Should be ready quickly to refinish.

I, personally, love cookie cutters. And, they're becoming sorta rare. I'll send mine out west to have them re-anodized in the original (to my Porsche) pale green shade.
Pat

I stand corrected... if you are correct. If they are CAST this is even more of a reason to use paint stripper as this will be necessary to get into the porisoty of the wheels to strip off the paint and clear coat. ...and some one said that they had a problem with their wheels leaking (air)...there is aproduct that can be applied to clean bare aluminum wheels to eliminate that problem....(inside of wheel/ tire mounting) I am talking about a paint of some sort..not tire sealer/fix a flat......the product I do not recall....