does anyone know of a way to remove the paint from an alloy wheel without restoring to
beadblasting or paint stripper.i bought 2 14 inch mags to make up a set for my racing sunny,but the wheels i bought are painted
blue & yellow.the rear drums on the corolla i got the wheels off were fluro pink,so the owner of this car was probably colour blind.i think using paint stripper will eat into the alloy,& as these are supposed to be a cheap
solution,bead blasting would add too much to
the cost.i saw a show called wheeler-dealers on the discovery channel where the poor,long suffering mechanic cleaned up some porsche mags to look brand new,but i can't remember
what he used,& i can't find anything on the net about this show.anyone have any ideas.

Not exactly sure if this will work, but you could try blasting the rims with a high pressure water jet. Every time I tried to clean my old Stanza alloys this way, more of the paint came off.

Good luck.

Depending on the paint type, you could try a little paint thinner & a stiff brush, maybee even a wire brush.

I experimentally restored ONE of my 25 year old wire mags, using bead blasting, painting & professional polishing. It looks absolutely great, but with a new cap & wheel nuts, it cost about $100 for just that one. Ouch.

Try this on the back of the wheel first
At your local hardware you can buy a wire brush that fits a 4inch angle grinder. Usuallt a red colour. Get the brass coloured wire. They are great for removing paint from panels and car parts. Wear eye protection cause the wire sometimes spins off like a little needle.
Works great.
Normo

ovencleaner works very well, before spraying it on rough up the paint a bit with 180grit emory cloth first so the acid has something to grit to, spray a generous amount on, wait around 5 mins, wash off with hose and voila! no more paint

thanks for the responses,i think i'll give the oven cleaner & wire brush a go.that seems to strike a cord as to what was used,but i think he used a scourer on the rims. i've had rims acid dipped & repainted once,but it was $90 a rim,so i don't want to go down that path again,plus that business doesn't exist any more.i'll let people know what happens.

I had to remove paint from my wheels, I used paint stripper with no probs , I left it ononly long enought to soften the paint then with the finest wet and dry removed the rest.
Personally I would not use a wire brush the chances of scratching the rims would be to high,maybe a brass brush.
Ade