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Robofuzz
08-11-2009, 11:03 PM
I have been doing some research and am considering having my VZ Wheels glass bead or plastic media blasted to remove the paint on the wheels. From my research, this should leave the aluminum with a bit of a satin finish. I have also seen info on the web about using crushed walnut shells as a blast medium.

Does anyone have any experience with the stock wheels and having them media blasted? I don't want to polish these to a mirror finish. I just want a satin finish.
schufflerbot
08-12-2009, 08:31 AM
walnut shells? lol

ive never heard of that, actually. i would think media blasting would do it, what are you going to use to seal it up after the blasting though?
Robofuzz
08-12-2009, 10:22 AM
Yeah apparently crushed walnut shells will remove the paint and not pit the aluminum. I dunno on the coating. Should they be clear coated? How does clear powder coating look?
schufflerbot
08-12-2009, 10:31 AM
Yeah apparently crushed walnut shells will remove the paint and not pit the aluminum. I dunno on the coating. Should they be clear coated? How does clear powder coating look?

damn good questions, to which i have no answer. lol

i would think that after polishing, youre going to need some kind of sealant. not sure what would work though... do they even do clear powder coating?
BackRoadGTO
08-31-2009, 03:44 PM
Have you looked at a chemical stripper? When I get around to repainting my 17s that's what I'm going to use. Also, IIRC the wheels are not smooth underneath the paint. Look for the writeup on one of the guys polishing his 18s, that's where he showed what the bare wheel looked like.
Kjhallex
09-01-2009, 06:15 PM
When I stripped my wheels to polish them I used paint stripper. The factory paint is really thick, When you remove the paint it looks just like cast aluminum. Tiny pin holes everywhere! lol good luck!
Robofuzz
09-01-2009, 09:45 PM
What chemical stripper and tools did you use to strip the wheels?
Kjhallex
09-01-2009, 09:49 PM
Aircraft paint remover, the local walmart sells it here. You will want some gloves to, thats all you need to strip them. It takes a little while because the paint is so thick.
Raymond
09-02-2009, 06:03 AM
When I stripped my wheels to polish them I used paint stripper. The factory paint is really thick, When you remove the paint it looks just like cast aluminum. Tiny pin holes everywhere! lol good luck!

Kjhallex is right. When you strip the paint on the factory 18's - it's ugly!

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6307/63872640.jpg (http://img181.imageshack.us/i/63872640.jpg/)
Corndog
09-02-2009, 12:50 PM
Walnut shells are used because they don't heat the metal up like sand does when blasting.
BillsMafia
09-02-2009, 01:40 PM
Kjhallex is right. When you strip the paint on the factory 18's - it's ugly!

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/6307/63872640.jpg (http://img181.imageshack.us/i/63872640.jpg/)

+1..
Mikey340
09-18-2009, 12:43 AM
Walnut shells are used because they don't heat the metal up like sand does when blasting.

+1
Used alot on frame-off restorations.
Breze84
10-13-2009, 12:49 AM
When I did my OEM 18's I used 320 to get the OEM coating off, then I went back and cleaned them up and shot them with primer.... Then I used 1050 Wet sand paper and made them smooth as hell and shot them with some Flat black and wet sanded them. They came out mint.....