Refinish Rim

[RyanbabZ71]

Has anyone had a rim refinished? One of my rims is tarnished (dont know any other word to use) real bad. It is loosing its shine in a few places. It looks like water spots ran down it but they wont come off here are a few pics

 

 

 

[asepgrad98]

have you tried rubbing alcohol? i guess this is a good excuse to have the wheels chrome plated.

[rtbrick]

Mine had some similar spots on them, but not quite so bad. I polished my wheels with some Blue Magic Metal Polish Cream and most of it came out.

[carguru]

The elements have started to attack the clear coat. You could try some 3M swirl mark remover (or rubbing compound--start with the least abrasive and work your way up if necessary) and a coat of wax on the wheels. This will remove the waterspots and protect from the elements. To refinish them, you would have to remove the clearcoat completely and reclearcoat the wheels. It is a PITA.

[RyanbabZ71]

Well i tried to polish them and they got worse.

 

How would wet sanding and re clear coating work?

[BDBWTE]

I don't see it... I see a few ittty bitty oxidation marks...but no big problems.. After-all it is aluminum and will oxidize. You could sand them and then re coat them but make super sure that the wheel is totally dry before you spray it.. I would start with a 1000 or 800 grit, actually I don't worry about it until it gets real bad.

[RyanbabZ71]

it doesnt look that bad in the pics because the rim is dirty. there is a nice film of dirt covering most of it. It is very noticable.

[MCourson]

I think (but am not sure) that it is some kind of aluminum proctecting film that gets messed up. There are spots on the wheels on my '94 where it has come off completely and you see new looking shiney aluminum. There should be a way to remove the protectant and replace it but I think it would be a pain.

[RyanbabZ71]

wet sanded the rims today and applied some clear coat. Spots are gone. Doesnt look brand new but good enough much better than before. Hopefully the clear will hold up

 

*** Update***

 

Well the clear started to peel so i sanded some more and sanded it to much so it is real polished and now the clear wont stick to it so the rim is junk