From: John Steczkowski
>I just bought a set of alloy wheels for my daily driver. They appear to be
>painted and clearcoated. There are some scratches and some paint chips, and
>one wheel has some scratches in the metal. I'd like to refinish them
myself.
>I'm not sure if I want to repaint them (strip and repaint) or strip them
and
>polish them. If I polish them, I don't think I want to polish to a chrome
>like finish, but I'd like to polish them to a matte finish.
>
>What tools do I need, any hints, any good books on the subject?
Plastic media blasting or bead blasting might get the matte effect that you
want; I can't think of any polishing procedure that would result in a matte
finish. You'd probably want to chemically strip them first, sand and
smooth any scratches. After blasting, they'll need some protective coating.
http://www.aircraft-spruce.com sells brighteners, stabilizers and coatings
for aluminum. If all this sounds too much like work, Krylon
"dull-aluminum" rattle-can paint looks pretty durn good on wheels and,
though short lived, you can touch it up for about $3 a can as needed.
Tony
(I've done both)
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