[Jim Doak]

Some good advice here.

One thing about by wheels; the lips aren't polished but they are machined.

Last summer I got a couple of gouges in the lip one of my front wheels. So the local wheel repair firm first painted the entire wheel white and then machined-down the lip to get rid of the gouges and continued on to just "kiss" the aluminum to machine-off the white paint on the raised portions of the spokes. After that was done they sprayed clear coat on the entire wheel, including the machined lip. Then they did the same thing on the other three wheels.

Here's my plan, let me know what you think. (1) I tape-off the parts of the wheel that I don't want blasted. That includes the machined lip and raised portions of the spokes. (2) I begin blasting the wheel centers with a fine abrasive to remove the paint. If I don't like the finish, I continue with more aggressive media until I get the desired finish. (3) I then remove the tape.

Question: Should I clear coat the wheels after removing the tape? Remember that the machined surfaces already have a layer of clear coat on them.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks.