[misc_work] Time For My Wheel Refurb Thread!

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

After asking several months ago for advice on doing a DIY wheel refurb, the time has come and I will be starting tomorrow morning.

 

Basically I have borrowed a set of wheels from a mate while mine are off and will be going to see another mate with his own tyre fitting business tomorrow morning so he can take my tyres off the rims for ease.

 

Hoping to get it done in a week and I expect lots of mess and cock-ups will be made.

 

These are the tools I shall be using (probably other bits too but this is to start with).

 

 

So hopefully more pics to come and a decent end result.

[timmsy19 3]

will be watching with interest

 

what colour you going for?

Edited April 6, 2009 by timmsy19

[matty_gti 20]

Im guessing white?....good old halfords spray cans

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

Yes gentlemens, white. 2 reasons, I've always wanted a car with white wheels and it shows up less imperfections when spraying!! Lol :)

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

Day 1

 

Didn't get much done today as most of it was spent at Cleethorpes eating Ice-cream and playing the 2p machines

 

But this morning I had the car on axle stands and swapped my wheels for the spares I'm borrowing from Flix. Then went to another mate who has his own tyre business and asked for him to seperate the tyres from the rims. Naturally this being a budget refurb he did them as a favour (well not really, I'll pay him when he reattaches them for me when they're done). I decided that it would be easier lugging the rims around without heavy tyres attached and getting in the way.

 

So after returneing from Cleggy, I set to work on cleaning the wheels the best I could before sanding commences.

 

Dirty rims...

 

My cleaning tools... (rubber hammer and screw driver were to get the balancing weights off)

 

My trusty Karcher which had the hardest cleaning attachment erm, attached, which can just about strip paint...

 

I basically gave them a good pressure wash and soaked the inners for a few mins with some Autoglym engine degreaser. Then washed down at high pressure and did the same on the fronts...

 

After a thorough rinsing with the Karcher, I then grabbed an old towel and set them up for the night in my cosy bathroom (unimpressed Mrs is out the shot )...

 

So thats it for now, just cracking open a beer while I watch Man Utd Vs Porto. Will start the sanding tomorrow and gonna have a clean out of my shed so I have somewhere to spray them. Will screw a beam and hang them down via a coathanger as I believe this to be easier than having them on the floor and flipping them over.

 

More tomorrow...

[pip470 61]

They dont look too bad now they're clean. I'm lookng forward to seeing these finished. Good luck with them.

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

They dont look too bad now they're clean. I'm lookng forward to seeing these finished. Good luck with them.

 

The insides are terrible though, will get a pic later

 

When these are done and I've finished the Scoob I'm drawing for a Scoobynet member, it's your car next fella

 

More updates later when I've had pies and crisps for breakfast

[djinuk 2]

its all about the prep mate. Just tackle one a night.

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

Day 2

 

After a busy day sorting out an interview next week for the apprenticeship I applied for, I didn't get started until about 6pm. No worries, just slow progress.

 

The bathroom was my choice of destination, so a big plastic sheet was put down and I got all my bits at the ready...

 

This was the little drum sanding kit I picked up from Screwfix Direct. Mainly for the spokes of the wheels and the sharp edges around the exterior rim etc...

 

Safety first!!!...

 

To get used to the drill sanding, I decided to sand the outer rim edges on all 4 wheels first. I used the 1 1/2" drum for this. The sandpaper bits wore down about 1 a wheel, good considering I had 4 to use! You can see a little from the pics, but they aren't great...

 

This is to show what the inner rim looked like on all four wheels. Ended up later being ok to sand by hand, just unable to penetrate through to the bare metal. Was smooth though, so happy with that...

 

Heres a 50/50 showing the inner rim edge on one side sanded with the other not. The sanding bits are 80 grit I think...

 

As the drum sanding bits were wearing quickly, I decided to have a go on one of the wheels' inner rims with some of the Aluminium Oxide paper. You'll notice the drill sanding has gone to the original alloy, where the hand sanding has just smoothed it out, which is fine for me, as the primer should stick well to it...

The back of the spokes on the above picture will be drill sanded with a 1/2" or 1" drum piece, as I simply can't get the hand sand paper in there and it's very rough.

 

Decided then to have a go on the front of the same wheel rim as above, to see what could be done by sanding by hand. It was then I realised that the wheels had been painted a few times before, the most recent paint having lead like texture. Started sanding the silver top coat. This then turned white, then underneath that was a dark grey, then under that a light grey, then under that bear metal. There is no chance I'll ever get bare metal all round, so I went for a decent sand all over the top face to smooth it out and get rid of any bubbling paint. This is gonna be my approach for the other three when I resume tomorrow. It may not be the best prep, but I shal use several coats of primer and sand them down afterwards. It's that or I'll never get them done to be fair...

 

Birds eye...

 

So thats as far as I've got tonight, will resume tomorrow morning inbetween signing on, and hopefully have more pics. This is to show what I've got done today...

 

 

As said above, it's a bit disappionting that the front in particular wont look evenly sanded, but as long as there aren't any dimples and the primer has something to stick to, I'm confident my approach will work. That or I fork out for a proper alloy refurbishment - NAH!!!

 

See you in the morning, I'm off for a bath

Edited April 8, 2009 by chocolate_o_brian

[miamichris 9]

I was laughing my head off there at the photos of you refurbing your wheels in the bathroom!

 

Keep up the hard work mate!

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

I was laughing my head off there at the photos of you refurbing your wheels in the bathroom!

 

Keep up the hard work mate!

 

No chance in the shed, too small and cold!! Mrs can still get by for the loo, so she don't have a choice.

 

Now I really am going for a bath!

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

Day 3

 

Following on from last night, I got started today just after dinner.

 

Kept with the same wheel as last night and used Alu. Oxide paper and my drill sand pieces to get the front looking like this...

 

It may look all rough, but I will give it a sand with some softer paper when I'm happy with the overall coverage. Notice I've done the bolt holes and rim parts also.

 

Next up, and this is where I'm struggling, was the inner rim. This is where its the roughest. Before...

 

After...

 

I am struggling to get anything off and get the inside smooth. I'm not bothered about getting to bare metal, but can anyone suggest something I could use to sand it better. My drill won't fit in there so I'm stuck using little bits of Alu. Oxide paper and my fingers are red wrore on the tips. This and I've got another 3 wheels to do. Any advice or experiences would be appreciated, as it's this which is slowing my progress down.

 

More later - picking Mrs up from work.

[pugman211 0]

you wont get the insides smooth unless you sand them. Best thing you can do is just clean them as much as you can, and sand the edges of the spokes smooth.

 

Only other thing i can think of is a die grinder type of setup, but be careful you dont take too much off the wheel. On the other hand, it costs approx £60 to get alloys dipped in acid. Now that will clean them up perfect, and then you just prime and paint them.

[jimistdt 1]

I'd look at getting them shotblasted somewhere local to you, prolly looking at around £10-15 a wheel.

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

Gentlemen, I have a solution

 

Popped to Screwfix earlier when I picked the Mrs up. Knew they'd have something to help, and I bought these bad boys

 

£5.37 inc. v.a.t., so I bought 2 sets. These should get a reasonable coverage.

 

Oh, another question if I may... when the wheels are all sanded down, before I use the paint prep wipes, can I wash/hose/rub the wheels down with a hose/damp cloth? The dust being created is very fine and is sticking like flies to sheet I need a way of cleaning them without causing rustage or anything.

 

Again advice appreciated, more laters!

[willmounsey 1]

You could wash them down before you use the panel prep wipes mate, would ensure all the loose stuff is removed just be sure there nice n dry before you tackle them again

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

You could wash them down before you use the panel prep wipes mate, would ensure all the loose stuff is removed just be sure there nice n dry before you tackle them again

So the sanded down wheels are ok to wash with clean water then? No soap or anything just a sponge or cloth? I didn;t know what could be used, but I'll steal the Mrs hairdryer to ensure they are 100% dry before primering!

[pugman211 0]

yea should be ok, the better question is, have you got a tack rag???? these little clothes pick up all the loose bits of dust you might not see, giving you a better finish.

Edited April 9, 2009 by pugman211

[pugman211 0]

However, you see the picture you have posted on Day 3. It looks like that wheel, has sharp deep grooves in the paint. If the paint isnt overally smooth, as in, you can feel any difference in the levels of paint, when you apply the next layers of paint, these marks will still appear in the final finish......even in white.

[willmounsey 1]

So the sanded down wheels are ok to wash with clean water then? No soap or anything just a sponge or cloth? I didn;t know what could be used, but I'll steal the Mrs hairdryer to ensure they are 100% dry before primering!

 

Aye mate its just as if you were preping a panel on a car to be painted, the water wont affect the wheel because your not leaving it for along time.

Pugman has a point also if there is slight groove's or indentations in the wheel it will show up in the paint, you may not even notice untill you get the primer on and it's sooo dissapointing to see it happen after all the hard work that you put in and thinking its sound

If you can feel any wee inperfections get a metal filler can be got from halfords and like a panel on a car build it up and sand off till you think its nice n smooth

I refurbed a set of legeue alloys for my escort and they were kurb'd to fu*k but that filler did the job just dont go mad with it when applying its not the easyest to sand (as i found out )

And again as Pugman suggested get a tack rag after the wash n dry and a panel wipe run round them with it it'll pick up any bits left over.

 

Will

[oz. 2]

I found paint stripping wheels to work very well, they look like wire wheels but black plastic type material. If you cant find them, wire brush will work to a certain extent. If you have a bit of time on your hands the un-soaped wire balls for dishes are great with plenty of water. They only cost 50p from my local spar!

 

I would post pics of mine as an example but i have no camera! i did 3 wheels with one wire ball and one with the paint stripping wheel. both as good as each other but the wheel was more messy - splattered it all over my face!

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

Last update for today.

 

I've got one wheel totally done now and the others partially done. The wire brush bits did a decent job of the inners. Not brilliant but a decent amount came off. I'm happy in the knowledge that it won't be seen anywho, so if it's not perfect it's something I can live with.

 

This is an after shot of the inner rim with one not done yet as comparison...

 

On it's own...

 

As for the little marks and indentations, when all the wheels have had the same amount of work done, I'm gonna go over them with some finer sanding paper quite thoroughly. The surface is smoother than it looks, thats my digital camera for you

 

One good thing was the bubbling inbetween the spokes came off well. Down to the metal in some areas, but again considering I haven't wiped the rim clean or washed it, it's a smooth finish. Whoever has painted these in the past wants shooting, probably why it's taking me so long. Think the pressure washer will do a decent job of cleaning the surface

 

More tomorrow, as I'm having a full day on them. Up at 7.30 giving relative a lift to work

[pugman211 0]

loving your determination to doing a decent job!!

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

However, you see the picture you have posted on Day 3. It looks like that wheel, has sharp deep grooves in the paint. If the paint isnt overally smooth, as in, you can feel any difference in the levels of paint, when you apply the next layers of paint, these marks will still appear in the final finish......even in white.

 

Just saw this. It's the camera playing tricks. Basically it's just differing levels of shine. There aren't any deep grooves, it's maybe when I've swapped angles with the sanding pieces. Feels quite good actually. The middle bits on the inside edges across the rim have grooves, but the tyre goes across this, so not overly bothered. The face of the wheel is very smooth, but will be better tomorrow

[chocolate_o_brian 0]

loving your determination to doing a decent job!!

 

Aye, definitely. It may not look 100% professional when finished, but white can be forgiving, and it can't look as bad as brush marks and bubbling before. Just time consuming, and the bathroom is turning dark grey. Gonna have to invest in some creme cleaner and Flash for the tiles me thinks. She's going spare as we speak