Help with alloy/aluminum rims - long post WARNING!

[Hank3]

First time poster here with very basic knowledge of PC'ing

I brought in my four alloy rims to a local PC'er back in mid-Nov to get PC'd. He ran into issues with them. The color I chose was Bonded Black Chrome. His work area was somewhat contaminated thus causing my rims to have imperfections in them. His shop is basically a small storage unit. The PC'er deduced it was either contamination, his gun, or my rims. The imperfections looked like inkblot dimples beneath the coat. Some were more noticeable than others. He had them for a month and a half and told me he couldn't guarantee that they would look perfect (i.e. without the marks) if he were to keep trying. So he suggested that he would chemically strip them down and re-sandblast them. He started to strip one down and it winded up looking really bad. All of the powder bunched up and turned into rubbery residue. It almost looked like he hit it with acid. But whatever he used, it started to strip the powder enough where one could probably sandblast it clean to powder again.

I was kind of at my wits end at this point so I got in contact with another PC place this week and asked if they could basically take over the project. The original PC'er didn't charge me for any of the work (which should be the case since he messed up my wheels). Three of the remaining rims have one or two layers of PC and one coat of clear. The clear didn't cure right - probably due to him using too much powder? It basically looks like a bunch of veins and wrinkles on it. The second PC'er calls me back yesterday to tell me it's gonna take a SUPER long time to sandblast the three wheels and would wind up costing close $100-$125 a wheel. Would probably require finer sand or soda blasting, but they couldn't even guarantee that it would take off the powder and may permanently damage the aluminum. So I get in contact with another PC'er who does PC'ing on the side and he says that he's stripped powder before using Duplicolor Reducer. He tried aircraft stripper on some factory valve covers before and it didn't do anything...but he said those may have had some kind of epoxy on it causing the aircraft stripper to not have any effect.

So at this point, my idea is to get with this guy in his shop this weekend to attempt to chemically strip the wheels. He has been very gracious to offer his time and knowledge in helping me out. If we're able to do this successfully, I could give it back to the second PC place and they could sandblast it and then PC the wheels for me. They're charging me $150 - $200 for everything (PC and sandblast). This other guy could PC the wheels, too, but he's not sure if his oven is big enough for 18" rims, and I'd basically pay for just the powder. The other variable with him would be that he could only cure one rim at a time where as the second PC place has a huge oven to bake all four at the same time. And they have the powder already in-stock.

Are there any other chemicals/products that you guys have used to successfully to strip PC? We're gonna start off with getting the Duplicolor Reducer and aircraft stripper, but I sure could use some other recommendations if you guys have them

I'm sorry for the long post. It's almost been two months, and I'm stressed about the entire situation and ready to have some sort of resolve. My fear is since I don't know much about PC'ing if my rims will be damaged after all this stripping and or sandblasting. And then there's the issue of aluminum annealing if not done properly. I've read and seen the horror stories/pictures of rims cracking. Of course if I could do this all over, I would've just went elsewhere in the first place(i.e. second PC'er), but I wanted to give the first guy a chance since he's trying to start up his business. Oh well...hindsight is 20/20.

TIA for any help, assistance, or guidance.

[Harleydad]

I could venture a guess as to the issues with the coating, but it would be nice to see a pic. As far as stripping them there's a product called B17 from Benco that will strip those things in short order. If you would decide to try this product be careful, follow all the instructions. The stuff is dangerous.

[Hank3]

Thanks for the suggestion on the B17. it looks like it would work and I'll keep it in mind. Unftrunately the smallest quantity you can get it a 5-gallon sizeand I would like to have something for Saturday. Anything else similar to that and its properties? And what is your guess on the issues with the coating?

My brother snapped some pics with his phone of the one rim that was chemically stripped but none of the other three. I might be able to post some up Friday night of the other three. Here are the pics of the chemically stripped one (he obviously wasn't done with it, but the second PC place started sandblasting and was able to make progress in getting the residue off):

[SCOTTRODS]

One important factor.... Where do you live? A lot of the guys that read this forum will have the needed stripper and could likely work a deal with you locally to strip them. I have the B17 and would be glad to strip for a very fair price. It takes almost no time to strip powders and if what he was using did that,... the B17 will slide the stuff off in short order.

Give us a location and maybe we can help.... Good luck too.

[Hank3]

Sorry about that. I signed up for my account a while ago and forgot to put in the location. It's Tallahassee, FL. If anyone is close, that would be great. The B17 stuff sure does sound like it would do wonders - especially if you can just dunk thw the wheels in a tank. But the plan is still on to strip the wheels this weekend.

BTW - the pics I posted were taken when the PC'er was about 25% through with the process. He purchased some stuff in an aerosol can from Walmart that's used to strip wood, metal, and other stuff. He has used harsher stuff in the past (aircraft stripper), but he wanted to try something that was less harsh and more environmentally friendly.

[duke46]

Well looks like the weekend hit and no one has contacted on this post. Maybe someone PMed you? There are guys in your general area but you might have better luck on one of the other forums that are heavy into to powder. But just make a post by its self like need a coater with stripper for PC or something like that around your area. The only other choice is Jasco stripper like from Lowe's It will take longer on PC and you have to help it out with a wire brush and course steel wool and better get some real good heavy duty gloves because it will eat up the thin ones and sometimes make it through the playtex yellow ones. Maybe try the type that are good for hot hot water. Also the warmer it is the better it works. It is very slow in cold weather and fast in hot. At least you live in a warmer temp area at least most of the time.

Good luck guy.

[Hank3]

Thanks for chiming in duke. We winded up getting about six cans of Aircraft stripper, some wire brushes, and plastic scrapers. With three of us, it took about six hours. It was a mess. Wasn't hard work, but just tedious and tiring. LOTS and LOTS of scrubbing, rinsing with water, and sandblasting. The wheels aren't 100% clean, but the areas that are visible after the tires are mounted and on the car are clean as can be before PC. I took some additional pictures of the rims before we stripped them all and will take some more after they've all been PC. I'll see if I can get some taken of the stripped wheels, too.

I appreciate everyone's feedback.