wheels are rotting - being eaten alive!

I have no idea what is going on with these rims but it looks like they were left in the gass face down and got moldy. But thats not mold. It doesnt come off with out chipping the finish off.
Seeing is how they are toast anyway, i went at it with a wire brush to se wtf is going on. its almost like the way rust appears under paint. It bubbles up and then eventually opens. I poked at it a bit and have idea whats going on. Its almost like some kind of chemical got on them.


what do you think?



So lets say I scrape off all the areas that come off with a brush or grinder. If i wanted to plasti dip the rims, would i have to treat the areas that were exposed with primer? ive never used plasti dip other than for dipping tools.

before anyone says get new ones, this is for a beater car and id drive with them as is before buying new ones.


Pics by PackFan88, on Flickr

the first pic has some crap sort of like adhesive that kinda comes off.



Pics by PackFan88, on Flickr

the second shows the sort where i wire brushed off the "rust"


I saw a video once of mercury (maybe?) or something eating away at aluminum. no idea.

 

this is what i was thinking but all four rims are liek this and unless the previous owner worked in a mercury manufacturing plant no clue how they coulda got that much mercury on the rims.

unless it was mercury contaminated grass !!!

seems to be on the paint no thru to the aluminum. they are just like my factory tacoma wheels witht he silver finish.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7Ilxsu-JlY

 

Clearcoat is peeling. If you really want to make them look right I would get them sandblasted. It usually only runs about 15-20$ per wheel. Then you could finish them yourself with etching primer and spray paint.

 

This is what happens to aluminum rims for those of us living in the salt belt. some last longer than others.

 

walnut shell media blast

repaint

 

just clear coat? the chunk i took off was silver and about half as thick as a dime

that'd be ok if it were that much. im check into it.

if i wanted to plasti dip them after media blasting do i still need to prime them and paint them? I dont know what type of surface the plasti dip likes to adhere to.

 

If its a beater, Plasti derp and rock it