Wheel Refurb - My plan

[MK3GTI_16Valve]

Planning on refurbing my alloys on the Mk3
Anyone know the name of them?



This is what i plan to buy to tackle the job. Wire brush set to strip them down, white primer, wheel paint and clear lacquer to finish the job. See links below

Havent included the sand paper yet, not sure which grades to get, need to do a bit more reading. Also need to get some paint wipes to wipe the wheels down but will the products below do the job?

Any ideas / advice welcome
Cheers
Brian

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Brand-New-6-Piece-Wire-Wheel-Wire-Cup-Brush-Set_W0QQitemZ400101530796QQcategoryZ98641QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D10%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7677227267188630659

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_158614_langId_-1_categoryId_212593

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_206487_langId_-1_categoryId_212593

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_203865_langId_-1_categoryId_212593

[antogoof]

ive only ever done one set of wheels and i did them with a wire brush attatchment.

its too agressive for alloys, to actually get all the paint off will take forever and the wire brush eats the alloy.

really its not a good idea to use that on wheels, maybe some paint stripper? but dont leave it on too long or again you will end up with knackered wheels.

a proper refurb only costs about £30 but you could maybe get one or two wheels done at once to spread the cost if you are skint.

good luck whatever you do.

[antogoof]

try your local motorfactors for the paint and paper, halfords is always top dollar.

where you from in cork im from rosscarbery orignally..........

[MK3GTI_16Valve]

Will the paint stripper / sand paper be sufficient prep before the primer?
tbh i saw ed china from wheeler dealers refurbing allows for an mr2,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-iQvDZ6ix0&feature=related
He did say that the wire brush attachment did mark the alloys so used the G3 cutting paste with a mop to try and smooth them out

Nobody in my area does wheel refurb at a reasonable cost so looking at a DIY job, have the time at the mo unfortunately due to lack of work so no excuse not to get the body work / wheels into shape.

Obviously want to do a good job, just thought the wire brush attachment would be the best to strip down the alloys but may have to change my mind

Was living in douglas in cork but moved out to Ballincollig 4 years ago about an hour from Rosscarbery

[antogoof]

yeah if i was doing it again i would just use sandpaper, it will be akward in places so it might be wise just do one at a time or something cause your fingers will be fairly raw! its also a bit of a b!tch masking off the tyres, i know it sounds not much but it does take time.

remember all wheeler dealer does is make a car look good for sale, you dont want the paint to start flaking off in 12 months.

get as much paint off as you can you might want to consider paint stripper but im not sure on alloy, if you do dont leave it on long.

primer the wheels and rub out any imperfections primer rub out primer rub out, carry on this process until you get a finish you are happy with.

use decent paint, and maybe 2 coats of clear coat to seal them.


other people might tell you different but thats how i would do it.

good luck.

[boneybradley]

i would be very careful using wire as they could mark the wheels.. I used simple sanding pads/blocks and my electric sander and they came up fine (and they didn't peel)
check my thread http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=82219.0

[MK3GTI_16Valve]

Cheers for the advice lads, would of went with the wire brush if I hadnt asked for advice. I'll take some before and afters to show my progress

[Thom89]

If all the wheels are in that sort of condition, the refurbish is very simple, sand wheels with 180 grade discs on a sander, 180 wet/dry if no sander is available, tyre beads can be broken by a tyre fitter, this allows you to paint down to the inner wheel, without removing the tyre.
3 coats of aerosol etch primer, 4-5 coats of 1k primer, rub down with 800 wet/dry, trying to avoid rubbing through to the etch primer...
then apply the silver, dont count the coats! just keep going until all of the primer is covered, and your happy with how it looks, but take your time to avoid runs
Once touch dry, after half an hour or so, apply the lacquer, again dont count the coats, just keep going till your happy with how it looks..
best done in the warm if you can, heating the wheel with a hot air gun will help immensely with all of the drying processes

2 large etch primer
2 large 1k primer
2 large paint (basecoat)
2 large lacquer
this should be more than enough for really good results
Use "Mercedes Brilliant silver" code 744, for your silver, this is a good clean silver that has no pearl tinter added to it, that may make the wheels look strange, and is ideal a a wheel silver...
Thom

[Wayne]

One quick question, why would you want to refurb them.

[MK3GTI_16Valve]

Loads of more info, very good....

The alloy in the pic is the best of the 4, the front left is bad. Had a problem with the brakes on the car and basically it ate through the brake pad on the front left (loads of pad on the front right) and went down to the bare metal. Didnt notice any differnce with the brakes at the time and wasnt pulling to the left. The tracking was out on the car at the time as I was getting lots of work done on the suspension which probably masked the problem

Metal filings from the brake disc itself etched themselves into the alloy and I've marked the alloy trying to remove it, it looks terrible so basically i want to sort it on the cheap as I have the time to do it at the mo.