picked up some new-- to me-- wheels.

65fordguy · Post by **65fordguy** » October 19, 2011, 10:45 pm

I bought a set of 90 bronco wheels today ( the 7.5" versions ) going on my 65 ford f100! I think they will look good on there.

Anyone ever take the clear off these wheels and polish them? want to get rid of those blemishes in the clear.. heard some guys use aircraft stripper to get rid of the clear and then polish the wheels... and polish .. and polish.. lol. but, It would be worth it I think.

these are the 90s 8" or 7.5" wide wheels .... thinking about running a different style center cap.

White97 · Post by **White97** » October 20, 2011, 5:59 am

Nice - check out http://www.por15.com they have products to strip and reseal wheels. Used their engine paint, metal prep, por-15, and chassis black, love their products.

jamesdfo · Post by **jamesdfo** » October 20, 2011, 10:32 am

Quite a few years back, my DD was a 1990 Ranger EXT XLT, it had similar wheels (except with rivets). I went to Home Depot, bought a can of Polystripper, and went to work:) Put it on heavy, and once it starts bubbling, you can use a bondo squeegee to scrape the muck off.
The the polishing begins!!

:) We powdercoated mine, as my bro has the Eastwood setup.....and a word of warning, if you are going to powdercoat, getting the inside of the rim and the backside super clean is imperative, as we ended up having to strip & recoat two of the wheels due to all the junk on the backside of the wheels smoking & causing the clear powder to yellow:(
Best bet for cleaning inside/backside is a couple cans of Easy-Off Oven Cleaner & a pressure washer (and EYE PROTECTION is a must!!)

HTH
James

DIXONBOY · Post by **DIXONBOY** » October 20, 2011, 11:58 am

I had some just like that. I stripped the clear coat off like you said and polished the crap out of them and they looked brand new. But you have to polish them every once and a wile.

sully5 · Post by **sully5** » October 20, 2011, 12:23 pm

Been powdercoating for about ten years now. Unless it's going over a color, it's very difficult to get clear to go on without yellowing. I quit doing clear for that reason.

Also, aluminum is somewhat porous and has a tendency to outgas. The trick to good aluminum powdercoating it to clean, preheat, clean again, repeat and repeat until junk quits coming to the surface. The older the aluminum, the more you need to do this. Outgassing will cause bubbles in the coating.

Fanatic · Post by **Fanatic** » October 20, 2011, 5:06 pm

I got those same wheels for my neighbors Uni

Haus · Post by **Haus** » October 20, 2011, 7:30 pm

I picked up a set of 92 aluminum van wheels that also had clear coat issues. Had them blasted then powder coated gun metal grey. Turned out pretty good. Only issue was they came with 3 center caps. Took me over a year to track down some extras. Now I have to send them to be powder coated to match.

64 f100 · Post by **64 f100** » October 21, 2011, 8:28 am

Over the years, I have collected all of the wheels I could and center caps also. You can still get the chrome screws for the caps from Ford, the last time I checked but the caps were outragous from Ford, and the screw were 9$ a set and only came in sets of three.

Rich

65fordguy · Post by **65fordguy** » October 21, 2011, 8:50 am

HOLY COW! I almost told the guy not to worry about the screws.. glad I got em.. not that I'll use em.. but, sell em!

DIXONBOY · Post by **DIXONBOY** » October 21, 2011, 9:12 am

389465-S45 THEY ARE 4.20 A PEICE NOW.

Toyz · Post by **Toyz** » October 21, 2011, 9:23 am

Some of the Advance Auto stores stock an accurate copy for considerably less. Caps are readily available on eBay, but most are plastic repros.
Paul

65fordguy · Post by **65fordguy** » October 21, 2011, 9:28 am

Yeah... I saw a custom mid 50s f100 with these wheels.. he used a push through cone instead.. and closed tip lugs .. I was thinking something similar.. I really like the curve in of the wheel center area... and putting the cap on sorta hides that. call me crazy! lol. I have 4 of the original caps.. metal kind.. but the centers are missing.. he actual removed 2.. the other 2 are out for a 4x4 hub. wouldn't be hard to put a new center in of some kind.

65fordguy · Post by **65fordguy** » October 25, 2011, 9:15 pm

here is a before and after... well worth the effort and I haven't even polished them yet!

Alan Mclennan · Post by **Alan Mclennan** » October 25, 2011, 10:32 pm

WOW!, they look like different wheels!, what are you like with rocker covers?

manimal · Post by **manimal** » October 26, 2011, 9:43 am

Those are very nice. Arent they made by Alcoa like the ford 8 lug wheels?

65fordguy · Post by **65fordguy** » October 26, 2011, 10:23 am

Yep! gotta love em.. I will admit.. I'm not the biggest fan of the hole wheels. but.. this particular wheel is a nicely done one.. to me they look better with out the stock ford hub centers..

Max · Post by **Max** » October 26, 2011, 10:47 am

Same exact wheels I'm putting on mine. I think they're perfect for a truck without looking like some of the crazy modern truck wheels out there.

65fordguy · Post by **65fordguy** » October 26, 2011, 7:45 pm

this is kinda what I had in mind for center caps...
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WVI-5009-1/

or I've been looking at Alcoa wheel centers.