how do you remove the gold from wheels?

[03 ORANGE SHEE]

this is for my tri-z spare wheels, i used oven cleaner and got 90% of it off, but its lost its shine and turned kinda white ..how do i get the shine back??

[MTS]

Break out the mothers and a Rag!!

[twgranger]

Use a grinder.

[Tri-ZNate]

chrome spray paint

[Cody]

Steel wool? Then some copper cleaner? I dunno.

[03 ORANGE SHEE]

come on, i know someone has to have done it the RIGHT way! ( a grinder, huh!)there for serial numbers arent they?

[Dammit!]

Take it to a proffesional polisher. Save yourself the trouble and get 100% better results.

[KASEY]

man four STUPID RESPONSES!!!!!!!


I DID ONE AND I AND TELLING YOU IF IT WASN'T WINTER AND I WASN'T A SHUT IN I WOULDN'T DO IT AGIAN,,,,
I used easy off oven cleaner,,, it got alot off then i steel wooled with easy off on it ,, then i scrubbed and scrubbed till all the gold was gone ,,, i then wet sanded with 1000 grit till i liked what i saw. then about 2 hours of polishing ,,, it looks great now but ,,,, it was alot of work ,, oh by the way,,,, it was alot of work ,,,, if your wheel choice is limited i guess this is your chosen path,,,

[thedeatons]

Anodization must be taken off chemically, as it was placed on the wheels.... This is a plating you are trying to remove, and thus will be very difficult. You're best bet is to take it to a metal finisher and ask him to chemically remove any and all platings on the wheels, then either polish the wheels yourself or have the same metal finisher do it for you. Professional plating removal shouldn't cost much more than $50-$100 for all your wheels. If you do it the shadetree way, you will end up with shadetree results. Spend some money here for the best possible results, or every time you look at them you will cringe.... James

[69HemiGTX]

Go figure, I just saved a nice home-brewed anodization removal process to my comp two days ago. I found this info on motocross.com.

The swingarm could be taken to an anodize shop and restored as well for big $$$. Here is a cheap alternative, but be very careful. Wear gloves, goggles and a mask. You are going to need some drain cleaner that contains Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide. Brush it on and the anodize will literally melt. Paint stripper WILL NOT remove the anodization. Rinse off the bubbly anodize and reapply some drain cleaner. The areas that turn black are free from anodize. Repeat the process until everything turns black. Rinse and rinse and rinse. Scotchbrite takes the black of very quickly. Now that you have bare aluminum, you can sand and buff the wheels and swingarm to the desired finish (I prefer a brushed satin look). When everything is squeaky clean, coat with the VHT polyurethane.

[twgranger]

come on, i know someone has to have done it the RIGHT way! ( a grinder, huh!)there for serial numbers arent they?

only you would know.

[Cody]

only you would know.

. That was FUNNY!

[Groundworx]

I contacted a anodizing shop recently about the removing the gold off my front rim off one of my Z's. He told me to strip it would be $35. Then he told me to polish it and bring it back and he would put a clear coating on it.

I am sure there is a way to get it off yourself, but I would just pay the $35 to have it stripped the right way. It will probably turn out better that way too.

[x.system]

You can strip off the existing anodized layer from any anodized part by placing the part in a caustic solution for an hour or so. Just mix a few tablespoons of lye and water in a plastic container. Wear eye protection and rubber gloves for this procedure!! Place the part in the solution and monitor its progress.

The Lye will dissolve the old anodized layer, about .001" thick. It takes a while for it to start breaking through the layer. It's a little slow at first. The first ten minutes or so not much action will be seen. Bubbles and smut will rise up as an indicator of its progress.

This is what the professionals will do to get the old stuff off. Hope this helps