So I'm getting my first set of dedicated trail tires this year for the 93, and thought I'd refinish the factory alloys. They're a bit scuffed and pitted with 235,000 miles and 26 years of weather, but I'm not going to go crazy and try to make them as new. I also am an old guy and not into painting them a color as so many do. I'm from the old school where dark grey alloys remind me too much of ill cared for alloys with brake dust. I like bright alloys and the clean, crisp look they provide - contrasting sharply with the rubber.
The factory wheels have a machined finish on the alloy and then Toyota had them simply cleared. So any effort to make them perfect will require serious effort to duplicate. And I don't want them sandblasted or any other physical removal process that will change the texture and look.
Research showed the way to get the clear coat stripped off is to use Aircraft Paint Remover which will cause the factory clear to flake and loosen, then hit it with a pressure washer to end up with bare aluminum. Be advised that about a year ago the big box stores (Home Despot, et al) were pressured by the Global Warming folks to remove this product from their shelves and recently other consumer chains are following this. It's dangerous, so this requires proper ventilation, eye protection, etc. I called every auto parts store in town and all said they'd yanked it. Some so recently they still had product holes in their shelves that had not been refilled.
After realizing what was going on (literally right now as I write this, I called one of the shops back (O'Reilly's) to ask if they had the stuff in back or if it was gone. Yep - got it here waiting for vendor pickup to return. I asked to speak with the manager and he was cool enough to check if the SKU was still in his register and agree to sell it to me. I bought all their product as I have about 10 sets of alloys in my "fleet" that I'll want to strip and recoat some day. It was cheap compared to getting it online. It seems the online sources have already figure out they will be/are already the only place we civilians can get it from now on, and jacked their prices. I paid $8 a can and some online sources are already $15 and one was over $25. Plus shipping. So a head's up for others thinking about this. If you're in Kalifornia, I think you're already SOL.
To coat them, I did some research and others have tried the DupliColor and similar consumer aerosol clear coat route with poor results. It's not designed for application directly to raw aluminum. In a year or so, it begins to fail. Online I found a clear designed for direct application to aluminum, but it has to be sprayed with a body shop spray apparatus which I'm trying to avoid.
I called my local KC autobody supply shop and they don't sell anything in an aerosol for consumer use but said Eastwood has exactly what I'm looking for. So, I ordered 3 cans of it shipped for $45 to my door and that's where it's at.
I'm now waiting for the clear to arrive before I strip the wheels as I don't want any corrosion to begin after cleaning to raw aluminum. I'll keep you apprised and get before/after shots. Again for clarity, I'm not going to try to deal much with any pitting or discoloration I find as I think that's a downhill slippery slope. My goal is simply to strip and reclear for the next 26 years.
The factory wheels have a machined finish on the alloy and then Toyota had them simply cleared. So any effort to make them perfect will require serious effort to duplicate. And I don't want them sandblasted or any other physical removal process that will change the texture and look.
Research showed the way to get the clear coat stripped off is to use Aircraft Paint Remover which will cause the factory clear to flake and loosen, then hit it with a pressure washer to end up with bare aluminum. Be advised that about a year ago the big box stores (Home Despot, et al) were pressured by the Global Warming folks to remove this product from their shelves and recently other consumer chains are following this. It's dangerous, so this requires proper ventilation, eye protection, etc. I called every auto parts store in town and all said they'd yanked it. Some so recently they still had product holes in their shelves that had not been refilled.
After realizing what was going on (literally right now as I write this, I called one of the shops back (O'Reilly's) to ask if they had the stuff in back or if it was gone. Yep - got it here waiting for vendor pickup to return. I asked to speak with the manager and he was cool enough to check if the SKU was still in his register and agree to sell it to me. I bought all their product as I have about 10 sets of alloys in my "fleet" that I'll want to strip and recoat some day. It was cheap compared to getting it online. It seems the online sources have already figure out they will be/are already the only place we civilians can get it from now on, and jacked their prices. I paid $8 a can and some online sources are already $15 and one was over $25. Plus shipping. So a head's up for others thinking about this. If you're in Kalifornia, I think you're already SOL.
To coat them, I did some research and others have tried the DupliColor and similar consumer aerosol clear coat route with poor results. It's not designed for application directly to raw aluminum. In a year or so, it begins to fail. Online I found a clear designed for direct application to aluminum, but it has to be sprayed with a body shop spray apparatus which I'm trying to avoid.
I called my local KC autobody supply shop and they don't sell anything in an aerosol for consumer use but said Eastwood has exactly what I'm looking for. So, I ordered 3 cans of it shipped for $45 to my door and that's where it's at.
I'm now waiting for the clear to arrive before I strip the wheels as I don't want any corrosion to begin after cleaning to raw aluminum. I'll keep you apprised and get before/after shots. Again for clarity, I'm not going to try to deal much with any pitting or discoloration I find as I think that's a downhill slippery slope. My goal is simply to strip and reclear for the next 26 years.
. I think I recall it was going to be difficult, expensive, or not produce desire results, or all three. I ended up having mine professionally dechromed and then priming painting and spraying clear with wheel specific paints. Pics below. But for yours I might suggest contacting a pro to strip and sand and then just paint them or just drop them off at a powercoater 
