So, I got a set of Motegi TrakLites 2.0 17x8 ET42 in Flat Teflon Black, but one had unrepairable damage. I got them cheap for $300 bucks here on NAM, oh yes seller did disclose one was heavily damaged before purchase. I simply thought I could buy one, but finding a Motegi Traklites 2's 17x8 in Flat Teflon Black proved much more difficult than I thought since they are discountinued. I search eBay, a dozen of forums, craiglists, google, emailed and called over 2 dozen wheel shops, to no avail. I found a couple of Silver w/ Machined Lip ones and decided to buy the cheapest one for $258. I thought I would strip them and have them repainted in flat black with a red lip. After stripping them decided I liked the bare silver look now. Here is some pics of the procces.
Here is what I used to strip, KleanStrip Aircraft Remover:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t-remover.html
The Wheels:

 

The Strip:

 

The Results:
Now I just got to clean up the details, but don't now how long I can deal with this 100 degree climate now. These should have come like this in just Polished Aluminum.

 

Here some more pics:
I decided not to paint them, instead I like them in pure naked silver. I will clean them out and strip them one more time in those detail areas. Next project is to polish them with Permatex Wheel Restoration Kit, then shine them with Meguiar's Hot Rims Aluminum Polish. Any suggestion on alternative products and techniques are welcome. Anybody try this stuff?

 

If you drive it in a climate that uses salt on the roads, you can put a clearcoat on it to protect the finish.

Looks real nice.

 

Those look amazing in the "plain" finish.

What's the surface/finish like? If you want a mirror polish, start hitting them with some high grit wet-sandpaper before hitting them with the wheel polish. It will give you a deeper reflection That's the technique I used on my lips. Stripped the clear and started sanding till they started to shine and then I hit them with Mother's polish. Note that any clearcoat will protect the finish from oxidization but it will dull the reflection.

 

Have you looked at ZoopSeal?

 

No salt, no snow, rarely rain
A lot of fires and earthquakes though
But I was considering coat of clear but was concerned about it dulling the shine as Rally mentioned. Went to Lotus Talk, to see what they do to their wheels since some of their oem wheels are polished aluminum and alot in NorCal (my area) they all just used mothers, eagle1, or macguires aluminum polish. Most suggested a carnuba wax every month.
I googled it, looks interesting cause am more concerened with oxidation. After I washed them the water dried and looked like they wanted to oxidize right before my eyes. But they were just water marks since it was 100degrees. I wish their pictures of examples were color and clearer to tell if it allows high polish. Two years no maintenence just sounds so enticing! Think I'll buy it and test it on the JCW front strut bar.
The barrels have the "little lines" all around-brushed I think its called "brushed", but still shiny, the face or spokes is a more shiny aluminum flat metal, the lip is a more dull aluminum flat metal, eventhough it looks as shiny as the spokes on the pictures. I will probably leave the barrels alone just hit them with polish. But what should I do if I want the finish on the spokes and lips more of a polished aluminum look than a chrome look if that makes sense? Kind of like the finish on Kodiak wheels, where one glance at the you could tell they are aluminum, but a mirror polish aluminum. Can you post more details on how you did your lips? Do you use rubbing compound with hi-grit? Will "I just know" when I've sanded sufficiently? Btw I never polished wheels before, always had black wheels or painted black with rattle can.

 

Pretty good DIY that I used : http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1259115

Now it sounds like you've got a pretty nice finish to work with. I personally started with 150 grit because my lips had all the lines you spoke of. Those lines mean that you need to use a lower grit to really remove them.

You can probably start with a higher grit since you don't have any lines to remove. You get a feeling of when you're done with each grit. The goal of every step is to completely sand away the sanding marks from the previous step.

I didn't use any rubbing compound. I dry sanded up to 220 grit and then wet sanded (water) with the rest of the grits.

You have full reign on the end finish. If you don't want it too shiny like chrome, you can stop a little earlier and still have a nice aluminum finish.

Zoopseal is good stuff to avoid oxidization. Lots of the wheel enthusiasts out there use it on bare aluminum. That reminds me that I should pick some up since I just re-polished my lips yet again

 

are those bbs lm wheels ?

 

Awww honda-tech! I have been a member on there since 04.

I did hte same thing with my OE Accord wheels, they came machined and I sanded them down to a mirror finish. It looked great, but after a while they just oxidized horribly.

 

Thanks for info!
Hey do you know if the Zoop still allows for shiny shine, without the dulling haze.

 

No, they're 3 piece BBS RS's

Haha I know...you always pop up in the 4x100 wheel FS ads I'm watching on there

Polished wheels will definitely oxidize if you don't stay on top of them and rub them with some polish every now and then.

Yah, it still allows the shine. It doesn't dull the shine like clearcoats do.

 

so if you use the stripper on an alum. wheel, it becomes the bare, bright silver, clean looking wheel eh?

i have a set of borbets that may need some refinishing...

 

hahah not always the case. Mine were an odd dark gray that's wasn't exactly pretty. It really depends on the manufacturer.

 

Ah.. I guess I will just send them in for a refinish / paint for next season
Thanks Rally, you are always very helpful on both NAM and Mu..

 

Wow this is time consuming. I have not even began the sanding process. I completely and thoroughly stripped and cleaned 2 of the wheels need 2 more to go. Now the paint is completely removed, not a smudge of it. All with a baby bottle scrubber and a toothbrush, oh and a lot of aircraft remover. Here a pic of the 2 wheels ready for sanding:



BTW: Where is the best place to by wet/dry sand paper for metal finishing/polishing?
Home Depot and Orchard Supply failed.

 

Try your local auto body supply, or perhaps your local welding supply store. I usually buy mine at the swap meet, but either of those places should be able to help you out.

 

Definitely a time consuming project. I was just stripping/polishing the lips and it still took a few days

You can usually find a good selection of sandpaper at your local auto shop like autozone etc. They'll have the metal polish and rags too

 

So, I have not had a chance to finish, still working on cleaning those last 2 wheels, but in the meantime I was thinking about the wheel center caps. Since the wheels were black, the centers were black as well, but they now looked mismatched in black on a silver wheel. So, I ordered a set of silver ones. Note:black caps going on NAM and eBay.

Also, thinking about a JCW logo soldered on, it fits too, just not sure if I want to use the push-in piece or just the screw in cap on the wheels. The push-in piece will make it an "outtie" or kinda stick out a bit. And just the screw cap will make more flush with wheel. Any thoughts?


Well, gonna finish up cleaning them.

 

flush

 

If anyone is gonna remove paint from wheels use the Klean Strip Aircraft Cleaner, not the Rustoleum brand one and especially not the Mar-Hyde (Bondo) brand ones, they suck.