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General => Cosmetic and bodywork matters => Topic started by: sellers on 12 April 2006, 18:45

Title: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: sellers on 12 April 2006, 18:45
Im gonna have a go at refurbing these alloys iv bought, just wondered where to start??

(http://i12.ebayimg.com/05/i/06/c9/30/8f_1_b.JPG)

Am i best nitromorsing the whole wheel, or sanding down the front only?? then is it just primer then spraying??

cheers
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: dan7 on 12 April 2006, 19:00
I recently had a set of estorils refurbed. i took them to a powder coaters locally, they shot-blasted them and powder coated them bright silver. They came up bloomin' handsome! It cost £160 all in, but if I had paid cash, he wouldve knocked £30 off! :wink: Its worth doing this as its hell of alot of bother! :sad:
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: [han] on 12 April 2006, 19:34
if u ask about you're bound to have a connection darl! someone must owe you a favour?
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: The Hoax on 12 April 2006, 22:18
Han

If you want to do it on the cheap, get the fronts shot blasted, rub out any kerb marks with wet & dry. Next use etch primer which is acid based, as ordinary primer will just flake off. You can then build up with a bit of standard primer, spray your top coat and then lacquer. I seem to remember getting some old Mark 2 Jag wheels shot blasted without taking the tyres off

Put your spray cans in a bucket of hot water as this doeas really improve the pressure and spray pattern.

The beauty of doing it this way is that you can repair them easily if they get scuffed by doing a local repair.
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: Martz on 12 April 2006, 22:54
I tried to do a set of TT wheels when I had my A3 and made a absolut mess of them. They were certainly unique! I would defo pay someone to get a top job done.
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: jv on 13 April 2006, 20:51
Let the experts do the job for 150 ish. Not worth fecking about at that price :)
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: barkstar on 14 April 2006, 19:04
If you are determined to have a go yourself then only flatten off the current finish it will give a much better base for painting than the bare alloy. It's not too bad as a stop gap on a cheap set of wheels but only if you've got access to free tyre fitting as the paint finish won't last and you'll be paying another £20 to have the tyres off and another to put them back again etc etc.
But with multi-spokes like you have I'd bite the bullet and have them done, then it's tyres on and forget. And if its done well the finish will last years and you'll get a much better price for them if you sell - you can't give away wheels that need a refurb.
Barkstar :nerd:
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: BigDaveC on 01 May 2006, 20:47
How would you guys do these alloys up ? Refurb them all silver again as is, spray the inside spokes black, all black or go for a graphite look ? Would they look ok on a mk3? any ideas ?
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f307/avdave/rim.jpg)
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: Bazzer on 02 May 2006, 08:18
I nitromors'd a wheel over the weekend, and let me tell you it's a sh*t idea. totally screwed it up, now looking for a refurbers in the area...  :angry:
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: *Dubby* on 02 May 2006, 13:55
depends how good a finish you want - personally i would sand them down, primer then paint  :smiley:
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: sellers on 02 May 2006, 17:35
yeah i tried nitromorsing one, and it was crap,  i thought i could get them shot blasted to get all the paint off and then finnish by hand??
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: BigDaveC on 02 May 2006, 18:59
depends how good a finish you want - personally i would sand them down, primer then paint  :smiley:

That what i was thinking. My 1st attempt though !
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: Bazzer on 02 May 2006, 20:20
Well I'm gonna look up a shotblasters here in Bridgy to see if they'll laugh at me! I think it's feasible to finish them off by hand once they're totally removed of paint - but it's gonna need quite a bit of high build primer to get them to the same 'thickness' as the originals...

I'm such a dick for doing that - shoulda just sanded the crap bits out... But noooooooooo, Bazzer's gotta feckitup fullon.....  :angry:
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: BigDaveC on 02 May 2006, 20:27
happens to the best of us mate ! :smiley:
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: frog on 03 May 2006, 16:06
Got sent this link on the MK2 forum, Hope it helps, some other stuff on there aswell
http://www.drivewerks.com/tech/914_wheel_painting.htm
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: BigDaveC on 06 May 2006, 07:52
Cheers for the info ! mate
Title: Re: DIY wheel refurb?
Post by: BigDaveC on 10 May 2006, 10:31
I can't really decide what to do with these wheels above ?!!

All silver, anthricite centres , black, or GOLD ?!! :laugh: