Wheel Painting Question

[Tex]

I am going to paint my infamous blue wheels either gunmetal or silver. I've decided to use paint stripper to completely remove the blue paint, as I'm going with a lighter color (yes, I know they make light colored primer) and these things already have 2 different coats of paint on them. I have a polished lip which I think might be clear coated and I don't want to mess it up. What can I do while still using stripper? Can I just tape it off, or will the stripper eat through that too? If I'm doomed to screw up the lip, how hard is it to clear coat a bare lip and make it look good? Before anybody says to just have them PC'd, I can not bring myself to pay the money to dismount the tires, blast the wheels, send them to blu_fuz, pay him, ship them back, and pay to have the tires remounted and balanced when I can buy a set of wheels for not much more than that.

This is what I hope my end result is-

Thanks

Robert

 

[Tex]

I went to the store and bought silver paint along with a ton of aircraft stripper (it was on clearance for 80% off). Now I'm wondering if I really should strip the paint or just scuff and paint over the blue? If I do strip it, what kind of primer do I need to use to ensure that the paint doesn't flake and is still heat resistant?

 

[Beans]

I'd scuff the blue and do a couple coats of wheel paint.

 

[Tex]

I'm leaning towards that myself. I just thought that stripping and starting over would be easier and more thorough that hand sanding all the damn little spokes, but then I literally wouldn't know where to start. I wonder if you can return paint stripper?