how do you strip 308 wheels for refinishing

Search some on Magnesium, maybe add paint. There was a discussion about the importance of stripping the Mg chemically vs mechanically & whatnot. Some talk about not stirpping to bare metal, either, etc.

 

I had mine "gemblasted" by a local shop (I'd point you to a website for reference, but they don't have one). Essentially like sand blasting, but they use finely-crushed precious stones as a blasting media. Could be a pile of BS that was fed to me, but to do four wheels only cost me $50 Cdn, so for that reasonable amount, I could care less what he used.

In any case, it left a beautiful, fine, satin finish. I then used a zinc-chromate primer, then finished off with a satin-aluminum paint - all from spray cans. Turned out really nice and has held up perfectly so far after three years.
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I should've labled the pictures:

1- Mini spray both. Wheel sits on a lazy-Susan, so it can be spun around while being painted for an even finish.
2- Gemblasted wheel.
3- Zinc-chromate primer coats.
4- Satin aluminum coats.
5- Krylon clear coats.
6- Ferrari and Campagnolo decals (applied before the clear. The clear then protects the decals from easily scratching off).