Sandblasting Wheels

Will sandblasting snowflake wheels cause any damage to the wheels themselves...the wheels I have are so far gone...that I don't think stripper is gonna do anything without a heck of a lot of elbow grease and time I don't currently have...I am trying to find out: if I sandblast them and re-clear coat them will they llok the same as they did from the factory or not...any help is most appreciated!!!

From my experence sand blasting will easily get rid of the clear it will also get rid of the mahined factory finish the sand will etch the alumuium even glass beads will probaly distort the factory machine finish.

That's what I was trying to find out...I like the factory look and would like to restore it. I don't think polishing will do it right...I don't know.....

I can tell you that paint stripper is a mess! I still have spots inside the spokes that still have clear coat on them. It is tough to get it good in the tight spots. You need a ton of it!

When I was redoing my wheels, it was suggested that I find someone who could mount the wheels in a lathe. This is how the factory wheels got their look. I don't think it would hurt to take off a 32nd of an inch or so. It wouldn't even take that much to remove the old finish. Then you could recoat them with clearcoat. I never looked for someone who could put wheels in a lathe. I bead-blasted mine and left them uncoated (except for the holes which I painted black).

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Jim Portteus
86 Turbo Coupe, 131K Miles, 140MPH Speedo, Gillis Valve, 2 1/2" Downpipe to 2" Duals w/ 18" Glasspacks, 245/50R16's and new paint.

[This message has been edited by tylerport (edited 12-09-2001).]