Removing clear coat from wheels?

Guys -

I purchase a cheap set of modern aluminum wheels at a swap meet to use on a current project. I'm wondering if there is anyone who has tips on how to remove the clear coat so I can polish the outer rim and repaint the spokes?

Thanks
Rick

 

I had some valve covers that were satin & cleared. I took them to a shop that does anodizing & they dipped them to remove the clear. Must have been no big deal- they didn't even charge me to do it. Only took minutes. Then I polished them out.

 

Assuming the wheels aren't clear anodized or powder coated, you should be able to remove the clear coat pretty easily with regular paint stripper.

 

I used pait stripper on a set of whells that turned yellow from the clear.If the finish is ruff ,use a tooth brush and dont let it dry(the stripper),do one at a time and rinse supper good.Presure washer works great for final rinse.Good luck..................YG

 

Use that eagle1 wheel cleaner and leave it on there to dry, do that a few times and they'll be striped to the aluminum... ask me how I know!

 

I have a friend that uses Easy off oven cleaner to strip his wheels.

 

All of the above work. Also, if you can find a good batch of acetone it will strip that crap right off.
Some truck washes (semi) used to have some nice spray on cleaner stuff for aluminum tankers, spray on, foams up and gets black, wash it off and shiny underneath. Don't know if many places use it anymore, I had a hard time finding it last i looked.

 

I got the aerosol paint stripper last set of wheel I stripped and worked pretty good. Than pressure washed off. I don't have a pressure washer, I did it at the local car wash. It only took a short time for the clearcoat to break down.

 

Any good paint remover and a little elbow grease will take clear coat off your wheels. Let the paint remover sit on the wheel a few minutes.

 

oven cleaner

 

Ive used oven cleaner on my motors(in car or out) but that stuff is very caustic and if the wheels are high dollar and polished i would not use it,might as well sand blast them.Just kidding.Spray on or brush on stripper for me is the best choice,its designed to remove paint and thats what your after,other choices are risky if you like your wheels.Good luck..................YG