Suggestions on fixing partial cosmetic issue on alloy wheels

Hey guys


Any suggestions on what might work for cleaning up the areas corroded from where the weights have been? These are a used set of OEM wheels I got last fall for my F-150, they were made for Ford by Alcoa. Lightweight wheels with a nice finish, I believe they were forged. Overall the finish is still in decent shape so I'm trying to avoid the cost of having them professionally redone ... got quotes from a few places, and for less than what I'd spend on that I could get a new set of American Racing wheels in a similar style. Of course they would just be cast made in China wheels, so I'd rather use these if I can. Comments / ideas appreciated.


thanks,
Ed

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Assume clear coat over polished.
If so, could try water sanding n blending the damaged area out then shooting clear yourself.

Pretty much what Rick said. Just need time and patience. Polishing helps if you have things like a powerball mini and a cordless drill. Then you can finish by hand.

That said, union tire will likely charge about $150 to do a complete refinish and clear. I had a wheel from my X5 done there and they did excellent work.

if you like a brushed look - you could strip the coating (usually there's a coating on the wheels) with pint stripper - then use 400 grit to give a brushed look - if you continue to wet sand down to 2000 and 3000 grit the wheels will become closer to a high gloss - if you want full gloss you can them buff out with a compound - I personally would use 3m compound it's a bit pricey at around 100 $'s but works good - if you wet sand smooth enough you should be able to buff out by hand with the 3m compound and some elbow grease or use a polisher...

edit: may need to use 100 up to 280 grit on the rough areas...400 may no be aggressive enough in the tough spots at first and use 3m wet/dry paper all others don't compare

There are an abundance of videos on the internet regarding refinishing wheels in various states of corrosion and curb rash. Depends on how much you think your own time is worth compared to professionals who charge approximately $150 per wheel for really good results.

Thanks for the input guys. With them being polished vs. a standard painted or machine finish, the quotes I've been getting are in the $200-300 per wheel range. That's why I'm hoping it might be possible to make the corroded areas look 80-90% better than they do now with equipment at home.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fast Ed

Thanks for the input guys. With them being polished vs. a standard painted or machine finish, the quotes I've been getting are in the $200-300 per wheel range. That's why I'm hoping it might be possible to make the corroded areas look 80-90% better than they do now with equipment at home.

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I wouldnt do it for 150...lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fast Ed

Thanks for the input guys. With them being polished vs. a standard painted or machine finish, the quotes I've been getting are in the $200-300 per wheel range. That's why I'm hoping it might be possible to make the corroded areas look 80-90% better than they do now with equipment at home.

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I wouldnt do it for 150...lol

How about $100? LOL

I hand polished a set of 10 holes for one of my Foxes. Stripped off the clear, then started wet sanding with low grits and worked up to 2000 grit on each wheel, must of been 5 different grades for each wheel. Then clear coated them.
Took a while but, it was cool sitting in the garage listening to music while doing it. Sometimes one of my sons and a friend would pull up a seat and each take a wheel.