Best way to remove paint from OEM LX450 wheels? (2 Viewers)

[AppaFJZ80]

Hello! I finally was able to source some OEM LX450 Wheels. However, the previous owner did a poor job painting these. I would like to get them back to original if possible. What's the best way to do that? I know these are aluminum so the process may be different from what I've done in the past. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

[Fj80oregon]

The best way is to have them media blasted,
You can do it yourself with the wheels on with a cheep mobile blaster with like walnut shell.
You can try aircraft paint stripper but it’s nasty stuff and caution should be used.
My area it’s around $60 a wheel to have them blasted from a shop. Then maybe a fresh powder coat.

 

[AppaFJZ80]

The best way is to have them media blasted,
You can do it yourself with the wheels on with a cheep mobile blaster with like walnut shell.
You can try aircraft paint stripper but it’s nasty stuff and caution should be used.
My area it’s around $60 a wheel to have them blasted from a shop. Then maybe a fresh powder coat.

Thanks! I'm familiar with sand blasting, but knew it would be too aggressive for the aluminum. Walnut shell is interesting, I'll see if I can get to my local harbor freight to source the blaster and media. If I like the bare aluminum look, would a coat of clear work to retain it?

 

[Malleus]

Try dry ice blasting. There a re mobile services that do it. Bonus is that there's no trash left behind afterwards.

Yes, clearcoat will work.

 

[jpoole]

You've got to remove the visible paint and also the coatings underneath to get to bare metal. My assumption is that the original clear powdercoat (I think that was used from the factory but others can correct me if I'm wrong) is still partially intact so may need to be removed once the visible paint is off depending on it's condition. The Lexus wheels also had paint in the D holes and those grooves.

My guess is that the visible paint will be the easiest to get off and may come off with fairly gentle solvents/strippers while the underlying coatings will be harder to remove and may benefit from media blasting or other techniques. I'm sharing that since you may want to try a few "easy" approaches on a spot first to get a sense for what it takes to get the visible coating off. If, by some chance, the wheels look ok under the paint you could possibly get away from a little cleaning and then clear-coat touch up on problem areas if there aren't too many.

There's a guy on the forum with a great wheel refinishing setup that will make them like new for a reasonable price. I don't have a name or link handy but wanted to share in case you prefer to just have them done for you.

 

[AppaFJZ80]

Great information! I'm going to call local to gauge some pricing on refinishing. As you're right, having the paint in the grooves and D holes add an extra challenge to restoring these. If it's too much, then I'll document the steps I take here.

Thanks everyone!

 

[CrabCake]

You've got to remove the visible paint and also the coatings underneath to get to bare metal. My assumption is that the original clear powdercoat (I think that was used from the factory but others can correct me if I'm wrong) is still partially intact so may need to be removed once the visible paint is off depending on it's condition. The Lexus wheels also had paint in the D holes and those grooves.

My guess is that the visible paint will be the easiest to get off and may come off with fairly gentle solvents/strippers while the underlying coatings will be harder to remove and may benefit from media blasting or other techniques. I'm sharing that since you may want to try a few "easy" approaches on a spot first to get a sense for what it takes to get the visible coating off. If, by some chance, the wheels look ok under the paint you could possibly get away from a little cleaning and then clear-coat touch up on problem areas if there aren't too many.

There's a guy on the forum with a great wheel refinishing setup that will make them like new for a reasonable price. I don't have a name or link handy but wanted to share in case you prefer to just have them done for you.

Yup, here's the thread on the 80 wheel refinishing.... from @musthave

Thread 'Restoring 80 Series Wheels'

Jan 19, 2023

I've went through it for too long. Too many different methods that all end up looking like 20% of what excellent is. So, finally got the right solution in place. Once I've perfected things I'll post up the results.

• musthave
• Replies: 86
• Forum: 80-Series Tech

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[Malleus]

You might give this a read, from @Super77 in the 100 series forum