How To:Wheel Refinishing

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[edit] Intro

So it all started when I bought my Axis Milano wheels. There was about a quarter size spot of clear coat missing which developed into a huge spot, then multiple spots, then spots on multiple wheels, etc. They were getting black spots on them that could not be removed and looked horrible close-up. So I got a little advice from Toykilla and got some supplies together.

[edit] Materials

• Simple Green
• Aircraft brand stripper
• 320, 600, 800, 1000, and 2000 grit wet sandpaper
• Mother's Mag & Aluminum polish
• Mother's Powerball
• Poorboy's Wheel Wax & Sealant
• LOTS of microfiber towels

[edit] Procedure

I started by cleaning all four wheels, which were pretty dirty. I cleaned them inside and out, behind the spokes, lug holes, etc.

After cleaning, I started to wetsand the clearcoat off of the wheels. I made a mistake here. Instead of starting the wetsanding, I should have used the Aircraft stripper. Doing this caused me to have to do much more wetsanding to get it back to the polished look I was going for. When I used the stripper, it left the surface much brighter and required much less sanding and polishing.

Anyways, the first wheel (the one I wetsanded the clear off of):

This is the second wheel which I used stripper to remove the clear:

Here is the difference between the two.	After stripping the clear coat, I wetsanded all four wheels to a dull finish. The factory finish did not look clear up close at all. After wetsanding the first wheel from 320 grit to 600, then 1000, then 2000 this is the finish that I got.	Then I polished the wheel with the Mother's Powerball and the Mother's Mag & Aluminum polish.	Right one is polished, left one is factory finish without clear.
Then polish by hand.

[edit] Finished