plastic peeling off OEM wheels

[jnsnwt]

I recently acquired an '02 liberty with what I assume are the original wheels on it. The plastic coating is coming off in various spots making them look terrible.

I tried high pressure washing at a really low angle in an effort to get under the coating but still no joy. So can someone clue me into the secret to remove this or are new wheels the only answer?

I'm not having much luck resizing the pic down to 97KB but I bet this has been discussed and solved before.

 

[jnsnwt]

Ok, figgered it out. I'm slow but I usually get there:emotions34:

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[dude1116]

My best suggestion to you is sand/grind it all down, then get yourself a can of etch primer, a can of filler primer, a can of your paint of choice, and a can of clear. All 4 wheels can be done in less than $100. (Should be able to use 1-2 cans of each paint for all 5 wheels)

 

[jnsnwt]

Dude1116
Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[JasonJ]

I concur... that's the clear coat peeling off. It's happening on mine as well, and thousands of others over the years. I've seen only about 3 KJ's EVER with pristine, 100% factory wheels of that style. The other style of aluminum wheel I have not seen it occur so badly to.. so maybe it is unique to the wide 5 spoke.

I'd sand it all off, or blast it off... smooth out the surface as best you can and paint them. I'm going to either paint or plastidip mine black... better than the corrosion and fading, greying, peeling I've got now.

 

[sota]

I wouldn't paint 'em personally. strip the paint off, go to town with some polishes of various grit, and get yourself some nice shiny wheels.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Just put Plasti-dip right over the finish you have. That's what I did, worked great.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[jnsnwt]

It sounds like plastic dip is the way to go.
Thanks to all for your input and suggestions.

 

[turblediesel]

There's a good smooth finish under the remaining plastic. Sanding introduces bigger scratches that would be hard to get rid of. Personally I'd try to get rid of the remaining plastic and use some Mother's Mag Polish to see how they clean up.

Try a heatgun and see if it softens the plastic enough for chemicals to take it off.

I tried to polish my plastic protected engine cases on a bike many years ago and gave up when I realised how much worse it would look with the exposed parts shinier than the remaining protected areas. Went for a ride instead.

Goo Gone or fingernail polish remover might work.

'Course, paint them if you want to.

 

[jnsnwt]

Goo Gone and Goof Off were both non-starters

Heat from her hair dyer was also useless. I suspect the wheel is too good a heat sink for that small amount of heat.

Acetone did soften it up enough I could scratch the plastic with a thumb nail but I didn't try scraping or brushing for fear of scratching the finish.

I got Mr. Victor and a regular cutting tip and tried that on the acetone areas .
That made the acetone treated plastic evaporate like water under the torch with no residue. Those areas that had not been treated just smoked a lot but had no positive effect

 

[turblediesel]

So, acetone, scotchbrite pads, and Mr Victor?

 

[jnsnwt]

I did not use the Scotchbrite pads. I'm toying with the idea of using Methyl Ethyl Ketone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanone) but that involves $30 and a trip to Home Depot

 

[Ohio-white-kj]

I learned the hard way... Started by sandblasting the first one. I figured the aluminum was rough under the clear coat. It was not. So I tried paint stripper on one - worked great and took little time.


Paint remover, clean, wipe with prepsol (pre-paint wax grease remover), etch primer, 3m scuff pad, top cote - Duplicolor base coat, clear coat.

Still looks like new after 3 years.

 

[Ted Williams]

I learned the hard way... Started by sandblasting the first one. I figured the aluminum was rough under the clear coat. It was not. So I tried paint stripper on one - worked great and took little time.


Paint remover, clean, wipe with prepsol (pre-paint wax grease remover), etch primer, 3m scuff pad, top cote - Duplicolor base coat, clear coat.

Still looks like new after 3 years.

This might be my route, thanks. Scrolling old posts to find a solution to clear coat peel.
Also a set of 4 Firestone Destination ATs and aluminum wheels just popped up on Craigslist, so I may not have to mess with a slow process.