I would like to polish the outside lip of my rims and leave the center inserts (Spokes) black. Does anyone know of a good stripper that will work well in removing the paint or powder coat from the stock wheels?

Been there done that....airplane paint stripper. Any paint store. Metal duckwork tape to protect what you don't want removed.






Here is what it looks like when applied....paint bubbles off.



Then I took SUPER fine sandpaper to get the residue off, then mothers aluminum polish, then wax....mirror finish.

Thanks for the advice Dave. I'm gonna get crackin....

Wipe the cakey bubbled paint off and wipe well before sandpaper....OR use brillo instead of sandpaper.

Also.....use thick dishwashing gloves....that shit will fuck your skin up.

You had me up to here, I know a few good strippers....

I should know better than to plant a seed like that with you lurking around...LOL

Dave has the plan down perfectly but I didn't use the tape, I used a small, Testors model brush to apply the stripper right up to the lip.

I can do a wheel in about 30 minutes. (off the bike) I prefer masking tape and move along pretty swift after yrs of doing boat repairs and car repairs.

only takes a minute for the stripper to bubble up the paint.

If you want a mirror polish you will need to do some sanding. The XX wheel isn't that smooth and shiny under the paint.

Have done some kawi's and zuki wheels and find a damn mirror finish you can shave with under the paint.


Wear gloves, that stripper I got burns like a bitch on bare skin. I accidentally got some on my forearm past my glove and damn it was like Napalm

Did the back wheel this afternoon. Was really easy. That stripper took it right off. The stuff for the paint removal worked well too ;)

Those wheels are just trying to pay their way through medical school.

Dave... where's some pictures of your Old Bike ?

The one's with Don's wheels on it...... that was a great looking bike.