My Lamina wheels need to be refinished. Before I paint or powder coat them I wonder if it would be possible to strip the wheels and just polish them. I assumed the wheels could be chemically stripped and polished. Has anyone done it with a set of factory wheels?

 

I've done it with a set of lattice alloys on my xjs . I had them dipped at a firm that does diamond cutting. I then had the edges of the rims polished and the centre hub but not the whole wheel. That could or could not be easier to do depending on the wheel style.

 

If you start with painted wheels, there are many options. The easiest is to properly fix and re-paint them, starting with stripping if warranted. The main advantage of paint is that it is generally spot-fixable in case something happens down the line (loose pebbles chipping the paint, abrasion from straps on a tow truck, etc.). Powder coating seems more appealing (one-time thing), but is not easily fixable in the off chance it chips anyway, AFAIK. Remember you are starting with wheels that do not have a high value to begin with. How much do you want to spend per wheel? How much would you be able to sell them for in case you grew tired of them or came across that one set you always wanted?

If the wheels are chromed, it is generally way harder. There are hardly any local shops that can handle the chemical processes required to properly strip not only the chrome (muriatic acid?) but also the under lying copper/whatever layer. California Chrome is the easy answer, but there is high cost and shipping involved. Not to say that home garage procedures are impossible. Someone on this list took a set of (gifted/free) peeling chromed Apollos, sanded and powder coated them recently with spectacular results, but there was serious work involved (multiple passes at every step) and "friends-and-family" discount from the powder shop, so likely not cost effective for us retail folks.

Another cheap option is the newer wrapping techniques folks are taking about. Probably not terribly durable, but likely a spectacular way of experimenting with various ideas over time. Likely not as good to take your wheels towards the shiny look though.

Best of luck, keep us posted.