how to refurb your own wheels

[obriener2054]

hi men,

i do this kind of thing in my spare time and wrote this how to for dtd and thought you guys may well be interested;)


First evaluate how bad the wheel is

in the case below the wheels are kerbed all round

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/4f2d2c80.jpg

what i usually do is file down the kerb damage, sometimes its possible if not to bad to get a perfect finish

but in this case it's a matter of taking as much of the damage away and filling in later


so files at the ready

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/0b7ff5c2.jpg

so it went from this


http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/4f2d2c80.jpg


to this

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/ef2956b8.jpg


then in order to get the filler to bond i needed to remove the finish back to metal, in this case it was a chrome finish but most of the time it will be just the paint

i used a drill bit and this, but regular sandpaper is fine


http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/7fe80cfd.jpg

i then set up about using wet 'N' Dry sandpaper starting with a low grade first going upwards and upwrds to get the desired smoothness


http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/9294dd6e.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/47cb6b0b.jpg




remember the more preperation the better the finish

the next stage was to apply the P38 filler

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/47cb6b0b.jpg


i cant stress enough how important it is to apply this to bare metal....

also with the hardener be frugal, only a tiny amount is needed for it to set, too much and it will set too quickly

now apply;

the tip here is to come from the rim inwards keeping the applicator nearly flat against the edge


it should turn out like this

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/84f51f48.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/1c27bda6.jpg


then again set up about the wet 'N' Dry sandpaper starting with a low grade again as before and sand the filler

then start to prime

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/e0a289a0.jpg

first coat

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/bed99c46.jpg

and finished, 3 coats and 2 of laquer

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/2f0dd18c.jpg

hope this helps people save some money

[subzero]

great thread :cool:

[obriener2054]

updated in first thread

[obriener2054]

and finished:D

[Titan Autoworks Japan]

good thread

[Dunnedriftin]

Jesus thats a savage turnout!! say some amount of time & effort in that tho? say a few hours for each step?? not minuets...

[obriener2054]

Jesus thats a savage turnout!! say some amount of time & effort in that tho? say a few hours for each step?? not minuets...

2-3 day turnaround...... :D painting and drying etc

[andy t]

i do this aswell & its well worth the time & effort when the wheels come out mint again,

fair play lad,,,,,great thread !

[Kruizer]

Excellent work fella ;)

[obriener2054]

cheers lads....... now lets see others' attempts:)

[Dotzs14a]

Brilliant walk threw there. Wats the name of that colour

[nikkisixx69]

great thread!! savage work too! what if your lips are chromed??

[obriener2054]

Brilliant walk threw there. Wats the name of that colour

i'll get it for ya, peugeot something


great thread!! savage work too! what if your lips are chromed??


dont kerb them lol:D

you wont be able to use filler on the chrome unfortunately, that would be more intense than a diy job would be

[nikkisixx69]

i'll get it for ya, peugeot something




dont kerb them lol:D

you wont be able to use filler on the chrome unfortunately, that would be more intense than a diy job would be

ya thought as much, some japanese bastard kurbed one of my wheels before i got them haha

[k1984w]

good write up there man i do alot of wheel refurbs for lads and theres alot of work in them most people dont realise another good way to get curbs out is to throw the wheel on a car and have it up on axel stands and throw it into 1st and let it spin then just start filing and wet sanding down through the grades works great and the lip stays nice and even, doin a set of 3piece works vs off my mates 180 the dishes are all polished just have to paint the centres, there after turing out hell of a lot nicer than a set off 3 piece ones i sent to the wheel doctor last year but then again put in a lot of hours ill throw some pics up when there finished:D

[k1984w]

great thread!! savage work too! what if your lips are chromed??

i dought yr lips are chromed nikki them equips are polished with a protected coat over them you can take the kurbs out by doin wat i said in the last post you d easily spend a day or 2 dow to get them polished properly

[nikkisixx69]

i dought yr lips are chromed nikki them equips are polished with a protected coat over them you can take the kurbs out by doin wat i said in the last post you d easily spend a day or 2 dow to get them polished properly

naw man im pretty sure there chromed as there super shiny reflective, but im probably wrong! my ssr dishes are defo polished

[Keith88]

On a side note ..... Anyone know any Re-chromers here or if they even exist?! :confused: :(

[obriener2054]

http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/24/62040624.html

[k1984w]

naw man im pretty sure there chromed as there super shiny reflective, but im probably wrong! my ssr dishes are defo polished

def not chromed man there just polished with a protective coating something like a laquer over them never seen any works wheels (with a big dish) chromed, chrome is shit and starts lifting chipping etc after few years

[johnbro]

Nice thread, Ive done lots of these when i was a panel-beater.
I used to be able to do a full set in a day in work no problem then put the tyres on the following day obviously.
Its not that big of a job quite handy and if ya have no or little experience Id recommend attempting the repair ya cant go too far wrong after the repair clean with thinners and I found (Wurth) aerosol primer worked fine on wheels thenget a pro to spray them up for ya if ya dont feel confident.
I used to use a clean silver with very little metallic in it and tint it accordingly to what colour ya want.

[skinnynphats200]

Have done this once or twice as well, quite handy to do. Great walk through!
Good thread!

[michael]

ill be trying this on my car in the next month at least ill post up ahd hopefully pays off havent done anything like it before ...but u never try ull never learn

[mick]

cool thread! tips on polishing up a split rim lip thats gone shit? what sort of polish to use etc. and how to take it down without destroyin the surface etc.....

[obriener2054]

cool thread! tips on polishing up a split rim lip thats gone shit? what sort of polish to use etc. and how to take it down without destroyin the surface etc.....

wet and dry from low to high...... then laquer thereafter:)

[bunney]

Nice thread

[johnbro]

ill be trying this on my car in the next month at least ill post up ahd hopefully pays off havent done anything like it before ...but u never try ull never learn

Good luck and fair play for attempting it your self make sure to use files at first or a grinder with a worn disk.
Spend most of your time preparing the wheel and when rubbing down filler try not to take too much off keep cleaning off with water and rubbing the repaired feeling for imperfections and fill them all in again.
Also if not familiar with mixing filer and hardener do a small bit first to test not on the wheel.
If ya have any questions post them up here

[dil]

nice one, doing mine white now for d craic, turning out well, il throw some pics up when their done

[dog-tag]

loved that thread always wondered how 2 fix them! Alot more people attempting DIY now with the recession too...

[thedaggsy]

nice job man:cool:

[obriener2054]

there's the colour again on a set of Penta's.....
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd239/obriener2054/10748c3e.jpg

Peugeot steel gray:)