I am new to everything automotive. I am trying to absorb as much as I can without rushing and overlooking important details.

I am 27 years old and I have never had a license. Honestly, It was not for being lazy, their were many factors. Trust me when I say I am going to get my license as soon as possible. My wife drives everywhere.

We got a 1991 honda accord from a place that rebuilds from a junkyard. The car is a piece of S^&T. But I am pouring hours into proper maintence and care.

I got the A/C running, and I got the transmission to stop leaking.

The point I am at now is the tires. It looks to be original honda accord 15" tires with center caps. somewhere in 1990-1993. I am preety sure it is alluminum with a clear coat.

My question is, how do I remove the clearcoat to polish the aluminum. What are some precautions to take? Can you reapply clearcoat?

If anything sounds stupid please forgive me and inform me what is right.

Thank you for your time.

 

Welcome to HAF!
(Tires are rubber - WHEELS are aluminum)

I haven't done this, but have heard that aircraft paint-remover works good for that. Mask off the rubber tires, so they don't melt.

I didn't try this, but I HAVE asked a body/paint guy that I like. He hasn't had real good luck with clear over aluminum. Maybe after removing the clear, you can sand em and apply silver wheel paint.

Personally, I'd concentrate on getting everything OPERATING first. Then look at cosmetic stuff.

 

Hi new member and Welcome to the HAF..

There is a company named Eastwood that you can Google..it will come up when you put it in. They have all kinds of products for things such as your wheel stripper and clear coat products..

Thanks For Joining...

 

I cant believe I actually put aluminum tires. I do know the difference, I guess I haven't been involved with this enough to really get the terms ingrained.

The car is mechanically sound at this point. Replaced the belts, hoses, filters, and even replaced all the little clamps. Getting new brake pads(Will access further damage when I look closer).

Something I noticed yesterday, One rim is a slightly different design than the others. That is going to annoy me. Going to a pull-a-part in a few days. Any idea how much these rims tend to go for at junkyards?

 

Cheap if they are not anything fancy, the Chrome rims for my Grand Prix where on $115, yours should be around ~$45.
And I don't think you can get quite the same stuff as aircraft mechanics can, my dad was a jet mechanic in the Navy and he had the stripper they used and used it to Rhinoline our Jeep. It's called MEK, and its so acidic, he had to use an oxygen mask and special gloves. He also said something about it being illegal to own...

 

MEK = methyl-ethyl-ketone.
Not to be careless about it, but you CAN buy it at hardware stores like paint thinner & paint-remover. It's not healthy to breathe, so use plenty of ventilation. I really don't think it's illegal.

It's an organic solvent. Not an acid. It evaporates easily so if you're stripping paint off a LARGE surface (like maybe... an airplane) you can get a pretty high (toxic) concentration of the stuff in the air.

 

I wasn't exactly positive on the spelling, so I stuck with the acronym. And I do know that you can buy "aircraft paint remover", but the only way to know if it is the same concentrations as aircraft painters use. However I can believe it may not be illegal, I'm just going off my fathers words from an old memory. Maybe just the method of how he obtained it from the supply guys was "illegal" I'm unsure haha. (Not supposed to take military supplies off base)
And random, but I'm sorry about your Saab 92x they are a fantastic car, great version of the WRX.
Did it have the Boxer motor or the I4?

 

All 9.2x were boxers. The Linear version was non-turbo Impreza, the Aero (mine) was the turbo WRX. GM forced it down the throats of Subaru and Saab; neither company seemed happy about it.

I liked it, but I heard A LOT of flak about "it's not a REAL SAAB". I thought that was BS becuase I knew all along it was a rebadged WRX. I thought it looked nicer, and it DID have a better warranty. It was a fun car until I blew up the engine at Nelson Ledges track. If you wanna do that with a Subie, you better get a baffled oil pan.