POLISHING my 10 holes

[Mavrick]

Well, i'm finally getting around to it...

Previous owner painted all the wheels black, so i've been using laquer thinner to remove the paint.. its pretty harsh on the hands and is really fumy. Is there a better alternative? Someone told me gas works real good, anything else thats not so fumy?

Going to paint the inside of the holes black, along with the indented lip... like 88POSLX did.. i wish mine would turn out as nice as his

Any other tips? They are pretty easy so far, just lots of time and elbow grease... and classic rock

 

[1991vert]

i'd say a brillo pad, jk, but maybe try using a heat gun and then try using paint thinner or something to wipe it off, just wash the wheels off before using the heat gun again, i dunno if the heat gun would cause the junk to ignite seeing as though it gets WICKED hot

 

[noslow5_0]

wow easy there killer.... what you need to do to get the paint off of all the wheels in under a half an hour is run to the parts store, or local hardware store an ask for aircraft grade paint stripper. the hardware store may not have it, but the parts store should!!! if neither dont, get the strongest stuff the hardware store has!!!! paint stripper, the thick liquid stuff.... it'll take no time flat, but be careful, cause the stuff can be leathal on the hands!!!! good luck!!!!

 

[Mavrick]

I'll try and find some.. any other suggestions?

I'm on a tight budget here, i've got $0 cash in hand, give me some budget idea's!

 

[hllon4whls]

Budget ideas are elbow grease, sweat, cramped fingers and more mp3's.

There is this stuff called MEK. Bad stuff. Will take the paint off of everything. About $10 a gallon here. CAn be had in smaller quantities for cheaper.

Will melt the plastic right off of your cell phone. Dont ask me how I know.

Be warned, that stuff makes some major fumes! It gags me outside (I am sensitive to fumes) so be extra careful.

 

[Mavrick]

I'll check that out, thanks.

I don't mind the sanding and polishing, except for the blisters i got.. just the fumes are getting to me.

 

[5.0fox]

just get paint stripper it took 1 6$ can to do my valve covers and upper and lower intake so you would probably need 2

 

[tim_the_toolman]

I'll try and find some.. any other suggestions?

I'm on a tight budget here, i've got $0 cash in hand, give me some budget idea's!

i am usinf the aircraft stuff from autozone...it cost like 7 bucks and stripped my paint (5 layers) down to metal in 15 mins.

 

[89lxsport50]

Last weekend I stripped the old clearcoat off my 10 holes. WOW what a difference! They look great. I used some stripper called Off. I think Krylon makes it. The aircraft stripper would probably work better, but I already had this stuff. I wore rubber gloves and used rags and an old toothbrush to get down in the groove. You might want to wear safety glasses if you use a toothbrush.

 

[tim_the_toolman]

Last weekend I stripped the old clearcoat off my 10 holes. WOW what a difference! They look great. I used some stripper called Off. I think Krylon makes it. The aircraft stripper would probably work better, but I already had this stuff. I wore rubber gloves and used rags and an old toothbrush to get down in the groove. You might want to wear safety glasses if you use a toothbrush.

Are you going to clear them or anything now or just leave them?

 

[89lxsport50]

Tim, I think I will just leave them without the clearcoat. I will probably polish them with some aluminum polish, but I doubt I will highly polish them by sanding and all of that. It made a world of difference, and the wheels match the centercaps alot better now.

 

[tim_the_toolman]

Sounds like a good idea. Idont want to spend a bunch of time on mine cuz I have a 4 wheel disc 5 lug conversion setup to do soon. Hey you going to the thing in Nashvill next month? Where's Springville any way? I am in McKenzie Tn

 

[Mavrick]

Thanks for suggestions guys.. im going out right now to find some aircraft grade stripper and some gloves.. i never thought o fthe toothbrush idea, thats a good one.

 

[tim_the_toolman]

Man if you get the same strengh stipper I ended up with you can probably just hose the stuff off. I used an old sock and literally wiped the paint of my car.

 

[89lxsport50]

Yeah, the clear just wiped off of the smooth parts, but it took a little effort with the toothbrush on the rough parts like the holes and groove.
Tim, Yeah I will be at the 40th anniversary celebration next month. It is actually in Lebanon, at the racetrack. Spring Hill is in Williamson County, just south of Franklin, which is just south of Nashville. Where is Mckenzie?

 

[tim_the_toolman]

Yeah, the clear just wiped off of the smooth parts, but it took a little effort with the toothbrush on the rough parts like the holes and groove.
Tim, Yeah I will be at the 40th anniversary celebration next month. It is actually in Lebanon, at the racetrack. Spring Hill is in Williamson County, just south of Franklin, which is just south of Nashville. Where is Mckenzie?

West TN, just North of Jackson...about 2 hours from Nashville on 40. I was hoping to have my car painted and semi drivable for the cruise but I dout it's gonna happen. Do you guys have any mustang car clubs in your area? I was thing of starting a cc here, but there is no way i could limit it to stangs

 

[89lxsport50]

My parents and my sister both live in Jackson. There is a club called The Music City Mustang Club. They hold a show at the Cool Springs Galleria Mall in Franklin every year. I am thinking of joining. I don't know anybody with a Stang. I often wish I did, so we could help each other out with repairs and stuff. My car won't be ready for the 40th. either. It will get painted in August or September. I will drive it to the event but the paint is shot.

 

[tim_the_toolman]

What do you have? Mods and all?

 

[89lxsport50]

89 LX Sport hatch, Daily driver, Dark Grey, Grey interior, Original owner, 172,000 miles, Stock except tint, no silencer, K&N panel, Mac high flow cat pipe, and Monroe Formula GP shocks and struts from Saleen.
What about you? An 86 GT was what got me hooked. It was black with T tops. It belonged to a friend. Man that was a sweet car.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

boy does this sound familiar....lol I've been working on mine now on and off when i get time for about a month. That time has basically been spent on trial and error on the first wheel to see what would A) take off the paint better and B) sanding and sanding and sanding. I can tell you, unless you have a huge stockpile of sandpaper, you're not getting out of this project without spending some cash. I've probably dropped something like 30-50 bucks on nothing but sand paper, and that's no lie. The next 3 wheels wont be as bad though. The first wheel i did a lot of harsh sanding to remove the paint when i should have just used stripper on it, so i'm sanding a lot of spots out that wouldnt have been there. Anyways, you can check out my thread for some progress pics. I can tell ya, unless you've got some time on your hands, dont expect this to go quick. I'm a perfectionist so that could explain some things, but i dont see myself finishing them before late summer.
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=434060

BTW, thanks for stealing my idea!!! THIEF!! lol just kiddin.