Refreshing 6-spoke ZX wheels

[CJK '73 240z]

Just bought some new wheels! A few questions... What is the best cleaner for 6-spoke ZX wheels? The coating on the spoke portion of the wheels is peeling off - what is the best way to remove it? I am hesitant to sand this area since it has very small groves and I'm not sure it this would damage them. What is the best polish to use on these wheels? Anything else I should know? Looking forward to the advice!

CJK

[TomoHawk]

I've been sanding the spokes on my wheels every summer since I got them, but the machining grooves are still there. I just paint it black inside the 'groove' in each spoke and some aluminum polish on the exposed areas, and that's it.

Good luck.

[DatsunZGuy]

I restored a set a few years ago.

I used gel paint stipper to remove the peeling finsh from the spokes and center caps. After a good dry and rinse, I applied quick release tape over the entire front part of the wheel and cut out the spoke centers with an Xacto knife. Then, I used Dupli-color dark argent wheel paint to refinish the centers. Finally, I used Mother's wheels cleaner and many hours of polishing by hand to get the shine back.

[TomoHawk]

You got all those machining grooves out by hand??

[sblake01]

I can still see the grooves in those wheels. A couple of years ago I did some Iron Cross wheels and the only way I was able to get the grooves completely out was by machine polishing. I used diluted muriatic acid to remove the finish and dirt/grime, rinsed them off and machine buffed them (several times!) and then finished them with Mothers aluminum polish, by hand. I sold those to a guy in Colorado who used to post here but I've not seen him on the site for quite a while.

[twsutt]

DatsunZGuy,

Those wheels look great.

I'm about to do the same thing to mine. The need is there...

What kind of paint remover/stripper would you guys suggest? DatsunZGuy said that he used a gel-type stripper, has anyone had success using anything else? Brand names please.

Thank you,

Terry

[CJK '73 240z]

Thanks for the advice. I used LePage Poly Super Strippa Gel Stripper and an SOS pad and the clear coat came off really easily. A couple of hours of scrubbing and polishing later and the wheel looks great... three more to go!

Thanks again!