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Fri Apr 20, 2012 9:52 pm

Just picked up a set of 4 Porsche 2 litre wheels. They look like they were the all chrome version, but someone masked them and painted parts of it black. A lot of the paint will come off by scratching it with my nails but not all of it. What's the best way to remove it? Acetone then polish the wheels?

Fri Apr 20, 2012 10:40 pm

if its spray paint like out of a rattle can lacquer thinner will usually take it off.

Sat Apr 21, 2012 7:07 am

Yes it looks like rattle can paint. It just flakes off. Will laquer thinner mess withthe chrome at all?

Sat Apr 21, 2012 5:53 pm

If you have chrome wheels, use acetone or lacquer thinner. It won't hurt the chrome. DON'T use a green or red scouring pad. They will scratch the chrome.
Thinner and a rag should do fine.

Sat Apr 21, 2012 5:59 pm

brake fluid will dissolve the paint, then you can just wipe it off after a few minutes.

Sat Apr 21, 2012 6:30 pm

My guess is it aint chrome. It's polished aluminum. Thats good news. Because if you sanded it with a fine sand paper the scratches will buff out.

Laquer thinner is probably the best bet. then re-polish

Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:19 am

Flyboat- I think you may be right. The rims are super light, they feel about 12 pounds each. I will try laquer thinner first on the caps because they are "painted" also. Do I just dump it om there and let it dry?

Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:35 am

No, it will evaporate too fast. Put a liberal amount on a cloth and lay the cloth on the area you want to strip. Let is sit a minute or two and then start wiping with the same cloth or another one with liberal amount of thinner. It will take some time to soften up enough to get it off. If the paint is a high quality paint or a urethane paint, this process may not work as the paint will be too hard.

Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:06 am

Ok sweet thanks for your replies. I'm gonna try it out when I get off wok today and I will post my rEsults. Thanks again

Mon Apr 23, 2012 9:31 am

Most gel-like paintstrippers will probably also work, if they don't hurt wood I can't see how they can damage chrome or aluminum. Acetone works great for stripping rattle can paint, I did the chrome around my popouts that way. The rag trick over the paint works really great on any paint soft enough to scratch with your fingers. Get a big can of the stuff (If you plan on doing this often, get a barrel of the stuff and soak the rims in it), problem with acetone is that it evaporates really quickly, so you need a lot of it, a gallon should be alright.

Mon Apr 23, 2012 9:46 am

Wear gloves. These chemicals are tough on skin.

Mon Apr 23, 2012 10:29 am

Don't use chemical strippers on aluminum or chrome. It will etch them.

Mon Apr 23, 2012 10:43 am

Looks like I'll be needing more then I have 4 rims to clean along with center caps so I'll need more than the small tin I have. Thanks for the tip otherwise I would have only been able to do 1 wheel