Wheel Refurbing Questions!

[Dec]

Yeah just seen that dude! Watching your thread

Your refurb looks great! I just worry far too much about everything, and this is one of those things!

The bit that I'm going to worry about most is the masking up, paint removal (should i rub down, or paint stripper btw?) then the curbing repair. If I fook up the spraying, then I can always just keep trying it till I get it right! But the initial stripping is whats going to make me panic, as usually I wouldn't bother doing anything about them :embarassed: but I want to get them sorted out to look smarter!

Thanks for all the tips/guidance/help so far guys! Might go to halfords at the weekend and get a few of the bits I need to give it a go on my spare wheel

[jeremybarker]

Hi Dec,

Just reading this post.

If it helps i didn't use any paint stripper on mine. I started with 60 grit sandpaper to cut through the lacquer and do most of the work, i then worked my way down until the primer on the wheel was nice and smooth. After this and making sure you clean every and i mean every bit of dust off, triple check this part, you then want to acid etch prime the wheels (Halfords £10.99 in the large metallic red tin) so the paint keys to the wheel properly. You can then paint normal primer over the top and carry on with the flatting process.

Any scuffs,dents or chips in the wheel were flattened (gently with a hammer) to remove any burrs and then filled with a metal filler (also in Halfords), then sanded to a flat finish before the etch primer went on.

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=168372.0

HTH

[Dec]

Awesome! Thanks dude! From the looks of these wheels, they have had paint over paint, as they are a slightly darker silver/greyish than standard (which I like) but nowhere near as dark as anthracite So I think it is going to take a lot of rubbing to get them down to the right level to be able to patch the curbing

Suppose all I can do now is give it a go! Tbh they are probably the easiest wheel to do this on as it is such a simple design

[godsANGER]

I just stuck a few pics and words about my wheel refurb in my ride thread over here that might be of use:

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=168952.msg1572657#msg1572657

Pretty much all the stuff I used I got from Halfords.  I spent extra for the enamel primer and colour but not entirely sure if it's worth it.  I used way, way, way more paint than I thought I would, so maybe factor that in - buy more than you think you need!  But yeah, it was a mix of the wet+dry sandpapers, then the usual primer, colour, lacquer and that was all there really was to it - I didn't attempt any curbing repair though.

Patience is probably the number one thing, a rushed job will show through especially if you hurry through some steps especially prep!  But it's so rewarding when it's done and they're on the car, so I'd say go for it 

they look good [thumbs up]

[jeremybarker]

Pictures speak a thousand words let's see the damage and the rims overall.

For what it's worth I've never re-furbed a wheel in my life, this was my first go, no practice runs just straight onto the wheel, if I can make a half arsed job on the fiddley RA's you'll be fine. 

[godsANGER]

mine are foobards mix of curbing (previous owner) and lacquer pealing very old pics not even lowered so the lacquer peal is much worse
I am going to be doing them Black so i need to fill the curbs 






Also sorry for hijacking  the thread saves me posting and asking the same questions 

[Dec]

Don't say sorry lol, this is a general thread that hopefully may be of use to others

Few crappy pics of mine, will get close ups tomorrow..









This one is the least damaged:

[Dec]

Oh, and they now have tyres on obv, so will need to do some masking work first. Tyres are slightly stretched so at least I have space to get between the rim and tyre!

Is masking tape and newspaper suitable, or will I need something more 'hardcore'?

Warning, mega huge pic (6.1mb) but its big enough to see the stretch

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/5025877156_68ee142fa3_o.jpg

[godsANGER]

clean your shoes lol   joking

how you refurbishing them ? colour or you just repairing then going le natural ?

[Dec]

clean your shoes lol   joking

how you refurbishing them ? colour or you just repairing then going le natural ?

  They are the pics my mate sent me when he asked if I wanted to buy them, so not my shoes lol

Going to strip them all completely, repair the curbing, then try to match that colour as much as possible. I don't want a hugely bright silver, more of a slight grey but not as dark as anthracite