I am finishing my '73 2.0 resto. The car just came back from paint. The Fuchs are 30 years old and dull. What is the easiest way to make them shine without taking off the anodizing? I want them to shine, but fear that a complete strip/polish will make maintenance a nightmare. This car is a driver, not a creampuff.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated guys. Thanks in advance.

Scott

all you can do is try and polish up the surface of the anodization, it will not have a nice luster like bare aluminum....

there is good chance the anodization is breaking down, if so, your only real option is to strip it, either professionally or I heard some oven cleaners will work, but I'd research to make sure.....

you can test the wheels to ensure that they are anodized, take an ohm meter and see if you have continuity between two spots of the wheel, anodizing will not allow continuity....if set on "audible", if you have a good anodize coating, you will not get a "beep"

ou can use diluted hydrochloric acid to remove the anodization (i think)
after that it's all elbow grease and polishing compound.
there's an article on PP's site that explain everthing in detail. fuchs
in fact there are at least 3 articles about it.

And now for a small hijack
Does anone know if wheels can be anodized after paint has been applied to them?

Aaaahh...first post!

Welcome to the club Scott!

If you've got more time than money, go with Hydra's recommendation. If around $50 a wheel (IIRC) isn't too much there's a guy in Anaheim [Al Reed] that will make them look better than new. Here's a pic of Seanery's Fuchs done by the aforementioned wheel polishing professional.

I was able to sand my FUCHS to remove all the anodized coating. LOTS of work but the wheels were pretty screwed up. Sanding got rid of all the nicks, dings and scratches. Polished them up and they look pretty good for a set of track wheels. My street wheels are silver painted Mahles.

I also have a set of 4-bolt FUCHS that were in okay condition, but looked their age. You won't be able to do much to get the original anodized finish to look a lot better. You basically need to remove the anodization which is a slow labor of love process, and start over with a new finish. Removing the old finish and polishing/refinishing can be done at home with lots of time, or you can, as I just did, put your wheels in a box and send them to Al Reed and let him work his magic. He can refinish anyway you want; full polish, polish & paint, polish and powder coat, or even the original anodized finish (which is expensive at $120/wheel - although that is half the price of other quotes I got).

My wheels are on the UPS truck and I still haven't decided how I'm going to have him finish my wheels. Decisions, decisions....

Try a search. We've discussed many times.

There are "basically" two "safe" methods for removing anodizing.

1. Acid Dip - This has to be done by someone who knows what they're doing. You watch each wheel once the bubbles change color, the anodizing is off. If I recall, the bubbles turn "yellow" and that means the acid is now etching the bare aluminum. Yank them and wash them.

2. De-Anodize - This is the best method. Take them to your local anodizing shop and ask them if they can deanodize them for you. It takes a few minutes. The shop that I used to anodize my wheels did it for free (they knew they were getting my anodizing business).

Yeah, yeah, yeah... there's people that have used oven cleaners and brut force to sand the anodized layer of but, little secret, those guys are all crazy, whacko, nuts, gonners. (you know who you are, Joe)



Seriously now... I'm as much of a do-it-yourselfer (more so) than the other guy but some things it just pays to have someone else do. If you asked those people if they'd do it again I'd have a $20 that says the answer would be "no way". Drop by a plater shop with your 4 wheels in the trunk. Pull one out and ask them how much to dip for a few seconds in their acid tank. They'll probably charge you $10.00. Then you can polish them to your hearts content.

-or-

As mentioned above, save that $10.00 and apply it to your Al Reed bill. After refinishing over 20 some wheels, that's what I'd do.

No painting before anodizing. Anodizing actually etches the surface to create a protective barrier. Paint won't stand up to that and actually get's in the way of that.

If you are planning on having your wheels reanodized then make sure you polish them or have your polisher polish them to a mirror shine. The anodizing will dull and you will then end up with a factory finish.

as an aside, the wheel pictured above is your standard late 80's 911 16x6 that was fully black annodized. Al does a great job removing the old annodizing then polishing (or annodizing) the bare wheel. He can do factory finishes, fully polished, polished and painted, etc...

Crazy maybe, CSOB oh most definately. But polishing wheels is therapy for the mind numbing work I do all day. Plus I can drink beer when polishing wheels.

Stuck on planet Utah... please send real beer to:

ME!

QUOTE (Joe Ricard @ Mar 30 2005, 08:38 AM)

Crazy maybe, CSOB oh most definately. But polishing wheels is therapy for the mind numbing work I do all day. Plus I can drink beer when polishing wheels.

Joe makes a valid point here....can't wet-sand a wheel, when your mouth is dry , and if you want that yellow zinc finish, throw a little Red Man into the mix!

How much would un-chroming cost, roughly...

Thanks guys! I came to the right place. I think I'll call Al Green and investigate. That 911 Fuch looked sweet! All of your suggestions are appreciated.

"ummmmmm...beer."

Scott