Paint Removal From 2.0 Fuchs?, Damage control Options

[Ottomotion]

Have a set of 2L fuchs that have been painted with black in the 'low spokes'.
I prefer the factory all metal look.
Wondering about recommendations for paint removal. Chemical? Pressure wash?
Obviously want to retain the stock look without damaging the underlying alloy. What would you do?

Thanks....

[mepstein]

Good chance it was rattle can and may come off pretty easily.

[brant]

Are they aftermarket Fuchs ?
Could be baked finish very hard

Do they have the right part number vs aftermarket?

I use easy off oven cleaner
The yellow can marked heavy duty
Lye in the ingredients

Works good on factory anodizing.
Less well on powder coat or some baked finishes

I’ve stripped about 25 wheels maybe 30 and refinished them now

[brant]

Half of them

[JeffBowlsby]

I recall cleaning up a set with acetone. I think it was prob a rattle can black, nothing very durable.

[Ottomotion]

Thanks for the feedback. They are factory and the black seems to be chipped in a few places so i am thinking oven cleaner is a good bet. Just didn't want to ruin them without checking here first.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Unpretentious]

I used Klean Strip, available at Home Depot etc., with good and fast results.

[mepstein]

Thanks for the feedback. They are factory and the black seems to be chipped in a few places so i am thinking oven cleaner is a good bet. Just didn't want to ruin them without checking here first.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

I would start off with less harsh chemicals first. No reason to strip off the factory anodizing if you don’t need too - unless the factory anodizing has failed and then you might as well go all in.

[porschetub]

Thanks for the feedback. They are factory and the black seems to be chipped in a few places so i am thinking oven cleaner is a good bet. Just didn't want to ruin them without checking here first.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

I would start off with less harsh chemicals first. No reason to strip off the factory anodizing if you don’t need too - unless the factory anodizing has failed and then you might as well go all in.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) I would put oven cleaner near them ....please don't plenty of safer ways ,if anodized it will sand off with wet and dry.

[dhuckabay]

Two bits here. Oven cleaner as pointed out above has lye, caustic soda. This eats aluminum very well. Probably not a good choice.

[brant]

It’s great for anything that you intend to polish

I’ve got 30 wheels to prove it
Yes they get polished after stripping. Sanding if necessary for gouges
Then multiple steps of buffing with progressively finer compounds

[technicalninja]

The trick for using lye on aluminum stuff is to not leave it on long.

Lye/scrub/wash off in under 90 seconds.

Lather, rinse, repeat, as needed.

I use oven cleaner for lots of "nasty" removals.

If left on too long it will first discolor the alloy and then it will start to eat it.

I'd clean any alloy wheel by using increasing powerful cleaners.

Dawn dish soap/simple green/normal cleaners first then

Acetone, alcohol, B12.

Followed by "aluminum safe" paint stripper (this will most likely be citrus based).

Real old school paint stripper.

Lye based cleaner.

The last three I'd be very aware of how long I left it on...

Minimum exposure would be my target.

Nothing I've ever tried works as good as oven cleaner on cast iron blocks. You can get them to the point it looks like they have been "vatted" in caustic solution.

Most machine shops "vats" have serious caustic solutions in them. I once saw a 100+ hour ported Mitsubishi head that a moron paced in one of these vats for 10 minutes. Looked like something out of a horror movie- Total loss...
Thank God it wasn't mine. I'd have executed the moron.

Lye is a wonderful stripping chemical; I use bunches of it.
It can damage alloy things.

I always get mine at the dollar store. The cheap stuff is usually lye based.

[technicalninja]

Safety tips:

Oven cleaner: you need variable airflow. The fumes will mess with you. The spray will mess with you MORE!
So, during application limited airflow but during "soak" phase strong airflow.

You will only allow the overspray to hit you in the eyes ONCE in your lifetime.
Any light misting on your hands/arms will rash up quickly.
I know these tips from personal experience...
Water is the solvent to remove this shit from your body.

DON"T GET ANY ON YOU (or in you!).

Any nasty cleaning I do over torn down cardboard boxes.
I have lots of condenser and radiator boxes which make killer "drop cloths".
A carboard box can absorb far more than you would think it can.

Don't wash the refuse away. I package my debris up and take it to a proper recycling/hazardous waste center.

My 2 cents.

[Ottomotion]

What about using a heat gun?

[technicalninja]

Heat will help the cleaners work.

Heat by itself will remove some paints before affecting the aluminum.

I'd try to keep the temp at the surface below 250 F

I have a German made heat gun (Gartech) that has lasted 30 years and will put out 1100 degrees at max temp. It will fry paint off of anything, but I'd worry about degrading the aluminum at higher temperatures.

You will find it's damn hard to heat an aluminum wheel up very much.

I might try the Gartech at full kill on the back side of the wheel first. The mass of the wheel is probably so large that even the Gartech would have problems heating it up enough.

Heat might work/help.

I'd try chemicals first.

I used the heat gun to repair a seriously hail damaged minivan once.
1100 degrees until the paint bubbled and blistered (thin sheet metal) then hit it with dry ice. The metal audibly screamed as it shrank back into place. Got 80-90% of the damage removed and was able to fix the remaining issues with standard body work procedures.

I really like my heat gun. Used it on a Toyota front wheel bearing install today...

[Mikey914]

Heat is a good way to go. Don't use oven cleaner right away, even if you intend to polish. It will not work on the paint as well as the anodized finish. Remove the paint 1st. You can use aircraft paint remover. It will not attack the aluminum.
You can buy in many hardware stores, even Wallmart.

Rustoleum makes a version as well as Klean-strip

Then use whatever you plan to strip the anodizing off with. The lye or oven cleaner will not attack the paint as well as the finish making it uneven.

[Unpretentious]

I should have been clearer in my earlier response. I used Klean Strip “Aircraft Paint Remover,” as recommended by Gonzo54, with good results.

[MikeK]

Since CA and CO have banned MEK, I've found that most of the strippers hardly work. I recently tried out Kleen Strip on my never ending quest to find something that works as good as the old Aircraft Stripper. I put all the door hardware for my Westfalia in a cup, covered it, left it for three days and the paint barely softened. I ended up blasting it.

The only 'new and improved' product that kind of works is Jasco. It's just way more product and way more time. When it comes time to strip another large project, I'm going to take a road trip to New Mexico to pick up some real stripper.

BTW, caustic oven cleaner will turn your aluminum black. Some folks use it to get a magnesium look on their aluminum wheels.

[Jett]

I bought some citrusstrip and am going to try it on a rattle canned set of 4lug Fuch’s… will take pictures.

Without Al Reed, paint stripper seems like a reasonable thing to try.