Here'* a closeup of what I ended up with.



On the left, the new ones from Pontiac, on the right, trashy "ABS" caps from the rims

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Which brings me back to the start of this thread. Got a call from Powder Kote Plus this morning. The cannot get the friggin gold off the rims. Guy said he ran his sandblast up as hard as it would go and still didn't make a dent in whatever GM used to make the center gold.

So, tomorrow I go pick them up and start looking at what to do next. Thinking time to try a chemical stripper on them. I hate like heck just painting over the existing finish (visions of paint flaking off leaving the rims a speckled mess.)

Ok, Tried chemical stripper on the wheels. (Kleen-Strip Aircraft Paint & Primer Remover)

Messy, slow, took multiple coats/rinse/scrub sessions. But at the end of the evening I actually have ONE cleaned up rim. This is gunna take forever.

The clear coat comes off pretty quick. That gold powder coat comes off in layers as a rubbery goo. Even then, it takes a wire brush and a dental pick to get it down to bare cast aluminum.

I'm whipped. Time for bed.

Here'* the first one done. Just need to add a valve stem and have a tire mounted to it.

good god......instant boner

I was hoping to see the bare cast aluminum pics before final.


That rim sure did come out great though. what did you paint it with?

Why remove the gold in the first place? If it'* on there that good why not just scuff and repaint?

Rims look super though. Wanna do another set?

yeah they just painted over mine.