Best at home wheel paint stripping

[DarkWing6]

I'm going to have a set of my wheels powdercoated in the near future and I am trying to prep them by sanding all the paint off them myself. The only problem is that they are basketweaves. It is doable with sandpaper, but I would prefer something easier. Is there some sort of chemical I can spray on them or something like that?

[Jordan]

Pay the money to have them bead blasted. Trust me.

[carazy]

Most powder coating places include cleaning in the price to get them painted mate.
Call around and ask exactly what they do.

[DarkWing6]

I was just thinking (and don't flame me for this idea), wouldn't brake fluid strip all the paint off for me? I know that stuff strips paint off, would it work in this situation?

[DaN]

Probably not as effective as a paint stripper. Go to home depot and see what they have.

[nando]

you might think sandpaper is possible, but it's not. especially if you are like me with arthwritis/carpel tunnel. I only sanded enough on my weaves to give the paint something to stick to, and it took *forever*. there are 30 spokes and 3 sides to each.. that's a lot of surface area to sand by hand, especially if you're trying to go all the way through to bare metal.

you want some advice? just spray paint them. sand them down with 400 grit, prime them, paint them, and clearcoat them. it's not hard and it's cheaper (probably $10 per wheel). if they were something more rare powdercoating would be worth it, but as it is they are old, stock 14" wheels.

[Scatman]

Repainted my basketweaves about a year ago as the clear coating and silver paint had faded pretty badly. At first I tried some aircraft paint stripper, and it did - well, it did absolutely nothing. Brake fluid did nothing even after sitting on one of the center caps for a week.

What you need is a can or two of oven cleaner - specifically Easy-Off Heavy Duty oven cleaner (in the yellow can). I sprayed my wheels with a heavy coat and let them sit for ~20 minutes. I then wiped all the cracks and crevices with a strip of a scotch-brite pad (wear some heavy latex/rubber gloves and expect the cleaner to eventually eat through them) and resprayed the areas that still had traces of paint. When you're done hose them off with a water hose and let dry. When you're done, there should be a white primer of sorts remaining on the wheel - clean the wheel with soapy water and you should be ready for paint.

[terrybpp]

Supposedly oven cleaner is the best way to strip a wheel. Go to pelicanparts.com, go to the 911 Technical Forum and search for Fuch refinishing. Tons of info on wheels.

[asubimmer]

what about sand blasting? would that be ok?

[Digitalwave]

I've had good luck with this paint stripper called "Dad's Paint Stripper". It's some serious stuff. We stripped the paint off my friend's front bumper with it. You spray it off, and within about 5 seconds all the paint bubbles up and you can simply wipe it off. I've never seen anything like it.

You can get it at most paint supply stores.