tc

I bought an SR5 rim to replace my VERY rusty spare. I am planning on using it for practice for refinishing the "main" rims.

Here's the problem: this rim appears to be chrome plated! I bead blasted (glass media) it at work, and that did an OK job of removing the aluminum scale and dirt, but didn't appear to be removing (what I thought at the time was) the paint. I tried using a 3M paint removing wheel, and it wasn't working either, but noticed that places started looking copper colored. I believe they put down a copper basecoat (then nickel, then the chrome), so I think it's chrome plated.

So here's the situtation - parts of the chrome have chipped off. Is it possible to remove the remaining chrome and get it back to the aluminum base? Just get some small sanding discs and get to it?

I trie searching "refinishing wheels" and "removing chrome" - any other ideas?

Nic

The OEM spoke wheels I refinished definitely were not like that. The only trick to mine was simply getting the clear coat off and sanding them down to look smooth and pretty beacuse underneath the clear coat, there are small grooves on the rims.

I have no idea about removing the chrome. It sounds like it may be more trouble than it is worth. At least it is just a spare and not 4. Out of curiosity can you post some pictures? Plus, someone may can help if they see what it looks like.

tc

Probably should have guessed a photo request was not long in coming...LOL

Nic

I see the red color. It appears that it is only in the wheel recesses or is it under all portions of the wheel? I don't know for sure, and correct me if I am wrong, but the the recesses have a rough finish compared to the outer portions being realtively smooth? That is the way it was with the spoked alloys I refinished. I never touched the recessed portions, and only removed the clear coat from the outer portion.

I can't really tell that your wheel has been chromed-not that I am an expert on the matter. I have seen some OEM wheels that had been chromed for sale on eBay and they are very shiney. Also, it looks like some clear coat is still on your wheel?

This may be a little late for you, but this is the write-up I used to refinish mine:

http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/S...l/SR5Wheel.htm

tc

I read that - that's what got me going this way to start with! I figured the bed blasting would have removed any clear coating pretty quickly. Then I figured if it was paint, the Scotchbrite disc would have cut right through it. It took the belt sander to expose the copper color around the lugnuts.

Yeah, the pictures aren't all that great. They are actually pretty shiny. The area between the beads (where the air is) is VERY shiny. In the second pic, you can see the copper showing through on the flat area around the lugnuts. The area immediately around the lug nut at the top is the actual aluminum (and lower than the "chromed" area). In the third pic, you can see where the "chrome" has come off at the bead (about 1:00)

Would it be worth it to try paint remover? Any recommendations? (and where to get it - have Advance, AutoZone, and NAPA pretty close)

Nic

I can't tell from the pictures how shiny they are. I do see what you are talking about around the lugs. You can try paint remover, but I don't know if it will ultimately do you any good. I bought some gel type stripper at Wal-Mart that worked well. It didn't take much at all to do all 4 wheels.

You can try it, but I just don't think it will help you that much for your problem.

Have you thought about painting it?

tc

Well, yeah, it will DEFINITELY be painted in the end, but the chips are so deep they will show. Hope to fix it first.

paddlenbike

iTrader: (1)

I think I put that together in 1995 (brings back some memories since that was three Toyota trucks ago). I have done several more sets of wheels the same way and they always turn out factory-new.

Nic

That's a pretty good write-up. Worked like a charm for me. Although, I don't know if I could do another set again. It was awfully hard on my fingers by the time I was finished, but the wheels turned out great.

Cebby

Use aircraft paint stripper. That will get it to where you need it for painting...

Here's the end result of mine:

Snorkeldepth

Those look great! I'm trying to figure out what to do with my new set of stock SR5 rims. Hmmm . . . polish or paint?? Are those functional beadlocks?

Cebby

Yes they are...

Polishing a wheel like these SR5 alloys is a thankless job. It will take forever to get them looking good and don't forget about the upkeep. They will haze up over time and require more work to repolish. I was going down this road, but decided I have better things to do with my time. Plus my paint turned out good...

paddlenbike

iTrader: (1)

If you decide to go the painted route, let me know because I have a write for that too. My blue 1988 Toyota Supra has been on the front page of Duplicolor's website for nearly a year now for some of the wheel projects I have done.

http://www.duplicolor.com/

jposey66

My first couple of cleanings were with oven cleaner. It took almost all of the clearcoat off. Sprayed the recessed areas with medium grey wheel paint and then polished the flat surfaces. Looks just like the factory finished wheel.

Posey

Snorkeldepth

$159.95 each for installed beadlocks from Champion? They look great! But, I don't know if I can justify that without being more dedicated to rockcrawling. I guess I'll buy that tool when I need it.

I think I like the painted route! I like the color of Cebby's wheels . . . . at least from the photos. I'd like to see the write paddlenbike.

paddlenbike

iTrader: (1)

Sure thing...this was intended for the Supra community but any painted wheel will require the same steps.

This is what I started with--a highly pitted and less than attractive 1991 5-spoke wheel:



Here is the process & materials I used to restore the wheels:

(1) Insert 3x5 cards between the deflated tire and the rim & mask-off the valve stem.



(2) spray paint remover on the wheels (I used Martin-Senor (M-S) brand.) It took 3 separate coats to remove the factory clearcoat from my wheels. Avoid getting the paint remover on the tires.

(3) wet-sand the lip of the wheel (mine had severe corrosion where the wheel weights reside) with 220 grit 3M sandpaper. I did a quick sanding or roughing up of the spokes with the same sandpaper.

(4) dry the wheel and spray with M-S "Prep Clean" or similar.

(5) spray 3 coats of M-S self-etching primer or similar.

(6) spray 3 coats of Dupli-Color "Wheel Coating"



(7) spray 3 coats of Dupli-Color "Clear wheel coating." (clearcoat)


For the center caps, follow the same process but do not use the paint remover. (You'll melt them otherwise.)

The first wheel I sanded with 220, then 320, then 400. These wheels already have a textured finish (which is kinda nice because it helps hide any spraypaint imperfections), but I see no reason to go finer than 220.

Finished product:



1024x768 pic

Here is the latest set I refinished--the gouges were 1/16th" deep!

Snorkeldepth

Thanks!