cpeyton113

Hey guys. I have an 03 f150 fx4, and recently the clear coat has been peeling off and flaking on 3 of the 4 oem rims, and it doesn't look all that great. I dont want the bare aluminum to be showing. Is there any way that i can peel all the clear coat off and re apply some spray can style clear coat? I want to make sure that my rims stay looking nice.

poodleguy

You may want to get them professionally refinished. Will cost you 3-500 but will look like factory new again. I just refinished mine myself. A lot of work and elbow grease not sure if I would do it again.
1-Machine all old clear off.
2-In my case I machined all the factory machine marks off to bare aluminum.
3-800,1500,2000 grit wet sand.
4-Polished with autosol metal polish to a chrome like finish.
5-Several coats of Duplicolor clear.
I am happy with my results, and I prefer the factory FX4 rime over aftermarket ones.

F33lmyWrath

CDIESEL

Do you have before and after pics? or progress pics of that?

poodleguy

I can take one of the completed wheels but no progress shots, too busy.
Regards,

tonyroc14

Plus one on this. If you clean the wheels really well, and scuff them up this paint will stick well. Spray a few coats, and then spray some clear on top of it. Should last years. I used similar paint on an old bronco with steel wheels, and I did a half *** job(I was young and dumb) and it came out great and lasted fine for the year and a half I owned it, never chipped or anything.

CDIESEL

Okay. How are you machining all the old clear off and are you wet sanding all grits or just 2000?

DungBeetle

I used 3-4 cans of Spray-On Heavy Duty paint remover to remove the factory clear coat from my FX4 wheels.

http://www.zoro.com/i/G1748013/?utm_...FYRFaQodNaMAVA

On each wheel, I applied a heavy coat of the stripper, and then let the wheel sit for 10-15 minutes. Then, hit it with the pressure washer to knock the loose clear coat and paint off of the wheel.

Once fully stripped, I cleaned them with ZEP A-Lume aluminum cleaner and brightener.

http://www.sprayon.com/product-categ...-aerosol-sp615

Finally, scrubbed with green scotchbrite pad. Came out with a nice bare aluminum look. I have done this with numerous wheels in the past. At this point, you can clear them again, or paint and clear, whichever you would like. Much cheaper than paying to have it done, and minimal effort needed to come out with a clean wheel.

CDIESEL

Thanks for the tips. Does this hold up well? I take my truck to the self wash once or twice a week in the winter here in Wisconsin. Just making sure this would be worth my while.

poodleguy

here is a couple of shots of the wheels, I want to give the clear coat one wet sand yet. I used an orbital sander with 80, then 220 grit discs, then 400 sand paper. Then wet sanded 800, 1500, then 2000. Then polished with autosol metal polish. Then 5 coats of clear.