Rim Anodizing removal and polishing.

[Mosh]

I posted this a few years ago, on another forum From when I built my 330 Tri-Z..
I dont know why I didnt, post the thread here at the time..I think I was having Computer problems uploading the pics..
But here ya go.

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A member pm'd me asking how to do this so I will just throw it out for all of ya.
Dont know if it has been posted yet or not.

When you get desperate and or cheap enough,give it a try.LOL
When building my Tri-z there were no aftermarket silver front rims available,so I gave it a try.It was my only option.

WARNING this takes a long time to do about 4 hours per rim.But it will only cost you time and about 30 bucks.

Materials needed.
1-2 cans of EASY-OFF oven cleaner.THE EASY-OFF CLAENER MUST CONTAIN LYE IN THE INGREDIENTS.Be sure to read the can,and confirm you have the right formula.
Rubber gloves
A box of brillo pads.
A drill or die grinder with a buffing wheel and green roloc discs Scotchbrite type polishing pads.(NOT the sandpaper type.)
a few sheets of 400,600,800 and 1000 grit sandpaper.
Jewlers rouge stick
Mothers aluminum polish
2 cases of beer.lol

1)Start off by cleaning the rim of all mud.
Spray the easy off oven cleaner on the rim and let it sit.
Using the brillo pads and rubber gloves start rubbing the anodizing off the rim after about 10 minutes of soaking.
Continue the process till all the gold is gone.
You will be left with a very dull nasty looking silver.


2)At this point a 90 degree air die grinder works the best.
Using the air die grinder and green roloc (SCOTCH-BRITE)polishing pads, sand the whole rim of the dull factory clear coat.This will leave very minor swirl scratches in the rim.The next step of sanding will remove those scratches.DO NOT USE THE 80 GRIT SANDING PADS ON THE DIE GRINDER.


IF you do not have a die grinder,then using 250grit sandpaper by hand will acheive the same results.as above

3)Next starting with 400 grit sandpaper,sand the entire rim surface.Keep working up on the grit range until you get to the 1000 grit and a smooth finish.
Your rim will start to appear as a brushed aluminum during the sanding process.
Once the rim looks like a stock unpolished silver, you are done with the prep work.
The more you sand the rim,the better the final appearance looks.


4)You are now ready top begin final polish.....
Using the jewelers rouge, apply it to the buffing pad and die grinder and start buffing the wheel.Once you have achieved the final finish you want,
apply the mothers polish until it shines like a mirror.
One of those sponge balls for a drill work well for the polishing.
Hope this helps some of you.

[RudeDog666]

Another, quicker, easier way is to toss them in the dish washer and simply wash them with a detergent that has the active ingredient as caustic. The caustic will remove hard anodize off your most expensive pots and pans in one wash. The soft ano will pose no threat to the caustic wash.

I used to work at an anodizing facility and this is the chemical used to rework parts.

[SWIGIN]

i used a mild acid to remove anodizing in the past..........worked well but it then ended up eating off my finger tip....lol

[85Tecate]

No offense, but this way of deanodizing takes a long time. Want an easy way?

Use Crystal Drano. Dillute in water but dont dillute too much. This can be done in a big tub to soak the rim in. If its mixed potent enough the anodizing will come off in about 10 seconds. It will fizz and smoke and as soon as the color is silver, TAKE IT OUT. Leave it in longer and you have a pile of aluminum . Rinse well with water and touch up any spots that need it. Easy off does work, but takes awhile.

I would probably mix 2 cans of crystal drano to about 5 gallons of water to do rims. Mix in a big tub and let it sit for about 5 minutes. It will bubble a little bit. It should only take a few seconds for the rim to start fizzing up (This is when the anodizing is being removed) It doesnt take long at all after this begins for it to be DONE.

DO IT OUTSIDE!! The smoke will kill you.

[Mosh]

Yeah.

I am good with "Melting aluminum"
And ruining the wife's diswasher...

A lil elbow grease, some rubber gloves, and this works.

Good sugesstions though guys.

[MonroeMike]

Either way, the rims look great.

[harryredtrike]

nice looking rims,actually like the silver better

[ridecaity]

thx man ,you have been a big help.

[Ironbnder]

All the suggestions to get the gold off is great but nothing replaces the work Mosh put ito it to make it shine. That is where the sweat and reward comes in. With out the shine, it would just be an old gray rim.

Nice work there Mosh!

[Tri-Z 250]

I always wondered how you got them rims to shine so nice, straight Pimp!