How do you clean oxidzed rims????????

GRAY WHISKERS · 10-10-2004, 09:27 AM

I've got a 92 S10 4X4 that has very bad oxidzed rims. Clear coat is peeling off and rims look like crap.

Is there anyway to clean them up and paint them or what ever to make them at least look a little better.

Thanks for any help.

hiatts10 · 10-10-2004, 12:32 PM

I have some of these wheels. And I was wondering the same thing, I know a mechanic well see his blazer and he painted them and they look as good as new

s10-sport · 10-10-2004, 06:48 PM

I saw an article about that in this months SPORT TRUCK magazine. Basically, you get some extremely fine sand paper... something like 2500 grit or better, and do the entire wheel to get all that old clear coat off.. then you progressively polish them up.. Kroger carries the mag.. a few other places might.. but thats where I got it.. something like $10 worth of materials or less.

lowriderbowtie · 11-04-2004, 10:25 PM

id go get them sandblasted, then sand them down smooth and throw some good paint on them with some more clear

BlkS10Kid2002 · 11-04-2004, 11:14 PM

first try a bottle of eagle one mag cleaner (omg cleaned my rims up from sitting outside for 2 years) its like $5 give it a try and see how they look if you want to do more than that see what these guys say. i wish i had a pic of how good that stuff worked. also when u use it you might get a black line while washin the wheels on the bottom grab a towel and wipe it off before the wheels dry or else it wont come off till u wash it again.

dansellbuddy · 11-09-2004, 04:59 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by s10-sport

I saw an article about that in this months SPORT TRUCK magazine. Basically, you get some extremely fine sand paper... something like 2500 grit or better, and do the entire wheel to get all that old clear coat off.. then you progressively polish them up.. Kroger carries the mag.. a few other places might.. but thats where I got it.. something like $10 worth of materials or less.

well, thats sort of it. right idea anyway. you can make any wheels polished (well, mostly any wheels).

the way i heard of doing it, is start with stripper to remove all the clear, it'll just be quicker this way.
then start out with some semi rough paper (my guess like 800 or so) and wet sand the whole thing. progressively get finer grit. and once you.....eh, i dont want to spread anymore info thats probably wrong. if you really need it, there's been people in the forum that have done it, and can tell you exactly how they did it. its possible for me to even search for it if you'd like.

basicaly, sand down like crazy, and then polish. thats it.

blazn_sensation · 11-25-2004, 06:09 PM

My buddie had some american racing mags and he just took a sos pad on a drill to clean them up, didnt make them perfect, but made them ok.

EYEROCK89 · 11-30-2004, 01:35 PM

Whoa, don;t use SOS pads on the S-10 4x4 wheels. It;s a different finish than on the mag wheels. Once the coating starts coming off these wheels, it's a huge PITA. Sears sells a polishing kit that would be perfect. it comes with all the compounds, sand paper grits and the drill attachments.
What would look even better is if you straight-up polish the wheels from scratch.
Use some aircraft paint remover and strip all the finish off the wheels. I would stay away from sand or grit blasting...depending on the alloy, it could pit the metal. Anyway, then use the polishing kit...those wheels will freakin shine.

Dallas@2020Kustoms · 12-01-2004, 09:09 PM

I don't think all the effort would be worth it. It will take lots of sanding and I'm afraid the results will be less than satisfying considering the amount of work you would have done. There are wheel shops that can have your wheels redone for you and the cost is usually around $80 each. The professionals usually dip the rims in a solution that pulls off the clear coat and gets into all the little crevices that would be impossible to get to by hand. Then they will media blast the rim to remove the oxidation in the aluminum, then polish and clear.

03 SS · 12-03-2004, 02:14 AM

Dansellbuddy has the right idea. You strip them with an aircraft stripper & then go through the polishing steps. Otherwise you can do what 02-x stated & have them redone. I think its around $120-150 per wheel but they will look showroom new. Otherwise look for new old stock on Ebay.

10-10-2004, 09:27 AM	#1
GRAY WHISKERS Registered User Age: 55 Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2 Location: User is: OffLine	How do you clean oxidzed rims???????? I've got a 92 S10 4X4 that has very bad oxidzed rims. Clear coat is peeling off and rims look like crap. Is there anyway to clean them up and paint them or what ever to make them at least look a little better. Thanks for any help.
	[Reply w/Quote]

10-10-2004, 12:32 PM	#2
hiatts10 Registered User Age: 23 Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 329 Location: Wisnton Salem, NC User is: OffLine	Re: How do you clean oxidzed rims???????? I have some of these wheels. And I was wondering the same thing, I know a mechanic well see his blazer and he painted them and they look as good as new
	[Reply w/Quote]

10-10-2004, 06:48 PM	#3
s10-sport DONT DRINK & DRIVE Age: 25 Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 246 Location: Portsmouth, Ohio User is: OffLine	Re: How do you clean oxidzed rims???????? I saw an article about that in this months SPORT TRUCK magazine. Basically, you get some extremely fine sand paper... something like 2500 grit or better, and do the entire wheel to get all that old clear coat off.. then you progressively polish them up.. Kroger carries the mag.. a few other places might.. but thats where I got it.. something like $10 worth of materials or less.
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-04-2004, 10:25 PM	#4
lowriderbowtie 2LO4BC Age: 23 Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,856 Location: Kamloops, BC CANADA! User is: OffLine	Re: How do you clean oxidzed rims???????? id go get them sandblasted, then sand them down smooth and throw some good paint on them with some more clear
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11-04-2004, 11:14 PM	#5
BlkS10Kid2002 www.Barstoolsports.com Age: 25 Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,790 Location: Central MA User is: OffLine	Re: How do you clean oxidzed rims???????? first try a bottle of eagle one mag cleaner (omg cleaned my rims up from sitting outside for 2 years) its like $5 give it a try and see how they look if you want to do more than that see what these guys say. i wish i had a pic of how good that stuff worked. also when u use it you might get a black line while washin the wheels on the bottom grab a towel and wipe it off before the wheels dry or else it wont come off till u wash it again. Last edited by BlkS10Kid2002 : 11-04-2004 at 11:15 PM.
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-09-2004, 04:59 AM	#6
dansellbuddy Registered User Age: 25 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 6,055 Location: dayton oh User is: OffLine	Re: How do you clean oxidzed rims???????? Quote: Originally Posted by s10-sport I saw an article about that in this months SPORT TRUCK magazine. Basically, you get some extremely fine sand paper... something like 2500 grit or better, and do the entire wheel to get all that old clear coat off.. then you progressively polish them up.. Kroger carries the mag.. a few other places might.. but thats where I got it.. something like $10 worth of materials or less. well, thats sort of it. right idea anyway. you can make any wheels polished (well, mostly any wheels). the way i heard of doing it, is start with stripper to remove all the clear, it'll just be quicker this way. then start out with some semi rough paper (my guess like 800 or so) and wet sand the whole thing. progressively get finer grit. and once you.....eh, i dont want to spread anymore info thats probably wrong. if you really need it, there's been people in the forum that have done it, and can tell you exactly how they did it. its possible for me to even search for it if you'd like. basicaly, sand down like crazy, and then polish. thats it.
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-25-2004, 06:09 PM	#7
blazn_sensation Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 30 Location: User is: OffLine	Re: How do you clean oxidzed rims???????? My buddie had some american racing mags and he just took a sos pad on a drill to clean them up, didnt make them perfect, but made them ok.
	[Reply w/Quote]

11-30-2004, 01:35 PM	#8
EYEROCK89 Mr. Clean Age: 32 Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 800 Location: Birmingham, AL User is: OffLine	Re: How do you clean oxidzed rims???????? Whoa, don;t use SOS pads on the S-10 4x4 wheels. It;s a different finish than on the mag wheels. Once the coating starts coming off these wheels, it's a huge PITA. Sears sells a polishing kit that would be perfect. it comes with all the compounds, sand paper grits and the drill attachments. What would look even better is if you straight-up polish the wheels from scratch. Use some aircraft paint remover and strip all the finish off the wheels. I would stay away from sand or grit blasting...depending on the alloy, it could pit the metal. Anyway, then use the polishing kit...those wheels will freakin shine.
	[Reply w/Quote]

12-01-2004, 09:09 PM	#9
Dallas@2020Kustoms Registered User Age: 32 Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 965 Location: Deep South Ontario User is: OffLine	Re: How do you clean oxidzed rims???????? I don't think all the effort would be worth it. It will take lots of sanding and I'm afraid the results will be less than satisfying considering the amount of work you would have done. There are wheel shops that can have your wheels redone for you and the cost is usually around $80 each. The professionals usually dip the rims in a solution that pulls off the clear coat and gets into all the little crevices that would be impossible to get to by hand. Then they will media blast the rim to remove the oxidation in the aluminum, then polish and clear.
	[Reply w/Quote]

12-03-2004, 02:14 AM	#10
03 SS Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 1,380 Location: User is: OffLine	Re: How do you clean oxidzed rims???????? Dansellbuddy has the right idea. You strip them with an aircraft stripper & then go through the polishing steps. Otherwise you can do what 02-x stated & have them redone. I think its around $120-150 per wheel but they will look showroom new. Otherwise look for new old stock on Ebay.
	[Reply w/Quote]