Wheel refinishing, take two.
03-13-2007, 08:26 AM
#1
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Wheel refinishing, take two.
Alright, still looking at doing this sometime soon. Met with some local VW enthusiasts this past weekend to wrench and hang out. One of the older guys suggested that if I were adventerous enough I could try and do them myself. I never really thought of this. I would have to get them stripped (100 bucks for all 4), because I dont see how I can do that myself. Then I could order the appropriate paint and clear. It would likely be a lower quality job, thats for sure, but *may* turn out alright.
My concern is if I get them back from being stripped and blasted and crap that there will be imperfections in the wheel that I cannot take care of.
I am hopefully going to talk to the place that does the stripping tomorrow, as well as get a quote from them. The main reason Im bringing up doing it myself is cash.
The last option for now (until I can save up enough to have them look super nice) is to somehow clean the stock wheels up enough so that they look decent again. If I were to do this, whats the best way and what cleaner works best to get **** off of wheels?
Thanks for any responses guys. And yes, I know "ya gotta pay to play". Ive been around enough to know that
My concern is if I get them back from being stripped and blasted and crap that there will be imperfections in the wheel that I cannot take care of.
I am hopefully going to talk to the place that does the stripping tomorrow, as well as get a quote from them. The main reason Im bringing up doing it myself is cash.
The last option for now (until I can save up enough to have them look super nice) is to somehow clean the stock wheels up enough so that they look decent again. If I were to do this, whats the best way and what cleaner works best to get **** off of wheels?
Thanks for any responses guys. And yes, I know "ya gotta pay to play". Ive been around enough to know that
03-13-2007, 08:45 AM
#2
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Mike, I bought this cleaner at Carlisle last year, worked real good, bit pricey.
But you can go the route of Green Clean and alot of scrubbing to get alot of the crud off the rims.
And ask Morgan since she refinished her rims by herself awhile ago. She even posted a how-to with photos.<ul><li><a href="http://detailersdomain.com/catalog/i52.html">http://detailersdomain.com/catalog/i52.html</a</li></ul>
And ask Morgan since she refinished her rims by herself awhile ago. She even posted a how-to with photos.<ul><li><a href="http://detailersdomain.com/catalog/i52.html">http://detailersdomain.com/catalog/i52.html</a</li></ul>
03-13-2007, 08:54 AM
#3
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Yeah, I was just talking with her about it
I did some searching on the forum too in the wheels and tires forum. I may look over the wheels again and attempt to just clean them up for now, depending on how much Im going to be raped for painting or powdercoating. Blewtoon said he may have a lead on some nice Alpine White Ronals for me as well.
That cleaner looks good, I may have to pick some up.
That cleaner looks good, I may have to pick some up.
03-13-2007, 11:11 AM
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wouldn't it be cheeper to buy a K24 and go fast enough no one can tell?
I have access to a giant pizza oven if you want to try your hands at powdercoating the week before the show.
How bad are your factory wheels? Any chance of finding a nice OE set?
03-13-2007, 11:12 AM
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I borrowed time on a friend's bead blaster to do my engine pieces - should work for wheels as well.
See if you can find someone, although 100 is a decent price as long as they glass/media - not sand - blast the wheels.
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03-13-2007, 12:47 PM
#9
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Blewtoon said he may have a lead on a set
Mine are kinda poor but they are all true, IIRC.
Some curb rash, they are really filthy too. May just have to clean em up really good and rock those for a while.
The car just looks hideous with the stupid BBS wheels on there. Gotta get her back to the OEM look with the stock wheels
Some curb rash, they are really filthy too. May just have to clean em up really good and rock those for a while.
The car just looks hideous with the stupid BBS wheels on there. Gotta get her back to the OEM look with the stock wheels
03-13-2007, 05:28 PM
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A little experience
I have refinished quite a number of VW, Audi and Porsche wheels. I recommend bead blasting to clean them. Now pause here a minute. I have found that VW wheels have the best primer, don't recall Audis and Porsche uses no primer at all.(Primer is unnecessary under powder coating, but I have stripped a few Fuchs wheels where the coating fell right off, I think that was paint) My preference is to use the bead blaster enough to clean off all of the brake dust, etc and to "roughen" the paint. Leaving the primer in place.
Then spray your color over the bead blasted surface. One very light coat for adhesion and then a second coat. This helps prevent runs. Then spray clear.
There is much talk about the necessity of German Wurth paint. I don't know what to say on this. I have tried it a few times. The "precision German nozzle" has failed me enough times to sour me on the product.
Cleaning: Eagle makes an excellent line of cleaners. Read the labels to determine the best for your wheels. As far as the brake dust is concerned, do not expect "the meat to fall off the bone". It will require "agitation", this means scrubbing. If it is very thick, clean numerous times and use a soft brush. You can remove paint along with the dust. Acid,of one type or another, is the active ingredient in most cleaners.
As to curb rash and such, there are numerous articles on the web about sealing with these by using spotting putty. I prefer JB Weld.
Don't be intimidated. If it was hard to do, the people who do it, couldn't do it.
Then spray your color over the bead blasted surface. One very light coat for adhesion and then a second coat. This helps prevent runs. Then spray clear.
There is much talk about the necessity of German Wurth paint. I don't know what to say on this. I have tried it a few times. The "precision German nozzle" has failed me enough times to sour me on the product.
Cleaning: Eagle makes an excellent line of cleaners. Read the labels to determine the best for your wheels. As far as the brake dust is concerned, do not expect "the meat to fall off the bone". It will require "agitation", this means scrubbing. If it is very thick, clean numerous times and use a soft brush. You can remove paint along with the dust. Acid,of one type or another, is the active ingredient in most cleaners.
As to curb rash and such, there are numerous articles on the web about sealing with these by using spotting putty. I prefer JB Weld.
Don't be intimidated. If it was hard to do, the people who do it, couldn't do it.