I'm attempting to strip the clear coat and remove the oxidation so I can paint the wheels. Watched several you tube videos where they used stripper, and they made it look easy. Put it on and wait a little then it just scraped right off. Well, I'm not having much luck. I first tried a gel stripper that was supposed to work in 2-5 minutes, it softened the clear and just made it gummy, couldn't get down to the metal. Then I bought the "aircraft" stripper in a spray can, it worked better but still not like what I watched on video! Softened the coating but little "peeled" off. What am I doing wrong. Do I need to let it dry before trying to scrape? I'm in Michigan and it's cold so I'm working in the heated garage, 60-65 degrees and I have to open a window with a fan in it to pull the fumes out and I'm wearing a respirator as well. How much of the clear do I have to worry about if I plan on painting anyway? It's not like I'm trying to polish the aluminum for a shine, just want a good surface for primer and paint to adhere to. I guess I'm asking if there is no oxidation do I still need to strip the clear in that area? Thanks for any input.

 

If you were gonna paint the wheels and the wheels are in good shape with no curb rash, deep scratches, etc. there's no need to strip the clear coat.
Just go over the clear coat with 600 grit sandpaper, apply the proper primer then paint.

But you've gone too far for that.
Only thing i can recommend now is keep applying the paint stripper and only use a plastic scraper to peel it and the clear coat off.
It might help the paint stripper if the temperature is above 65 degF say 80 or 90 deg. F.
I've used paint strippers before and they generally work well.
Are you sure those wheels aren't clear powder coated?

 

If your going to paint them anyways just have them sandblasted. Creates a clean rough surface for the primer to adhere to. I had 4 wheels blasted on my Lincoln for $40 and powdercoated for $300.

 

No I'm not, but off an 04 and what I have so far is shiny aluminum.

 

I was going to use my spot blaster on them after I removed the clear. Trying to do it on a budget, just trying to clean it up to sell.

 

I have a 95 Eddie Bauer and I stripped the clearcoat on my aluminum wheels with the Citrus Stripper, but it was last summer outside. It took a lot of effort to get the clearcoat off, but I was going for the polished finish on mine. Once I got the clear coat off, I sanded, sanded, then sanded some more, then buffed, buffed, etc.... I didn't put any new clearcoat on them, but I think I'll do that this summer because the aluminum oxidizes pretty bad without it.
Here's what I started with:


Here's how they finished:


It was a LOT of work, but like an earlier reply said, if you are painting them, you probably don't need to put that much effort in them. Just make sure any clearcoat left on them is smooth and the edges are feathered out so when you paint them you will have a smooth flat finish.

Good Luck and post some pics when you are done!

 

For future reference, try this.

First, get a stripper that works on epoxy or synthetic coatings.

http://www.jasco-help.com/product/pr...-epoxy-remover

And on a wheel, right after you apply the stripper, cover it with clear plastic sheeting, but even a heavy duty trash bag will work. The plastic makes the stripper more effective by keeping the solvents from evaporating. This works.