Alloy wheel refurb

[Deleted member 31521]

Hey starting to refurb some wheels I just got one to try first this is the first stage after being power washed.
Going one step at a time starting with the wheel.
Trying to get an idea what the k12 may look like in black and yellow possibly wrapped.
Anyhow this is just the matching one that arrived today to be used for a spare I wonder if this will fit in place of the original spare.

 

[Mika The Finn]

 

[John_D]

Hey starting to refurb some wheels I just got one to try first this is the first stage after being power washed.
Going one step at a time starting with the wheel.
Trying to get an idea what the k12 may look like in black and yellow possibly wrapped.
Anyhow this is just the matching one that arrived today to be used for a spare I wonder if this will fit in place of the original spare.

See my thread HERE on fitting a full size 16" spare in my K12.....

 

[Deleted member 31521]

Today have started to sand down the 15" wheel with an orbital sander and am going to finish up with a smaller sander tomorrow.
yes its a mess I hope that I have not ruined it at this stage. Mainly was making sure the inside has a decent key.
Will be getting the primer paint and gloss when I get into the store next.

Looks beat up to me at this point haha However it feels nice and smooth to the touch after the second pass of sanding.

 

[Deleted member 31521]

Second pass with the electric sander looking much better used 240 grit and 320

 

[Deleted member 31521]

Just started to prime the wheel and then try first coat of gun metal grey. will need another coat after a fine wet sand tomorrow then is getting lacquer gloss finish.

First two are primer then last is with the gun metal grey satin.

 

[John_D]

Looking good. I would leave them at least a week after the final coat, to fully cure and harden off (preferably somewhere warm), before you have tyres fitted.....

 

[Deleted member 31521]

Had a small disaster with the last coat. so primed again after sanding the mess back then clear coated twice and the finished wheel is now more acceptable for a spare

 

[Deleted member 31521]

So this week managed to get new trolley jack and axle stands ect. Should be able to get to work painting the rest of the wheels and get some new tyres on.

 

[Deleted member 31521]

Had a go at cleaning my headlights a while back so took a shot after the first power wash

 

[Deleted member 31521]

Been looking at the door cards this week. I'm thinking about tidying up the door arm rest on driverside. I'm sure it will have to be both as they should look the same. Got no idea how to remove them yet seems I need to remove the whole door card.
A guide or some hints as to removal would be great if anyone knows about this.

 

[Deleted member 31521]

Having another go at removing scratches and bubbles in the ally wheel. Had to sand back again and re paint will need another coat of clear tomorrow. Some how it got scratched even though it was wrapped up in bubble wrap.Not sure if you can see the bubbles but it shows near the valve.
My thoughts are might as well get the technique right on this one and not spoil the other 4.
If it doesn't turn out well its cause I was spraying in poor light

 

[John_D]

Biggest problem with spraying alloy wheels this time of the year is the temperature, really needs to be done at a minimum ambient temperature of 20C, preferably a bit higher.......

 

[Deleted member 31521]

Might try doing it when the weather improves then or if we get a sunny day it may work. Since the area is under a plastic roof. For now though I'm just testing out how to remove the bubbles or whatever the term is for those. Compound was not working. Sandpaper wet and dry went through to the undercoat and somewhat past. That's why I resprayed so I have another layer to smooth down again
Most of the guides say to start again and repaint is easier to do.
Gonna stick at it and keep trying.

 

[Deleted member 31521]

Have done another sand down spend a good hour or so. All of the wavy paint has smoothed out.
Can still see some indentations.
Have came to the conclusion that they are below the paint. On the alloy it's self. Also noticed in another guide. That it is a good idea to use filler before priming. In the areas that have curb rash or indentations.
This was totally missed out. Since I thought that the primer would fill those areas in. And it would not be an issue.
Lesson learned and will definitely be using a filler in future as part of the preparation.

 

[Deleted member 31521]

Going to get a different colour and see what happens after adding a couple extra coats.

What colour should I try I'm either going racing green or silver. And I'm leaning towards the racing green.
But also think the silver would give a better over all finish.

 

[Deleted member 31521]

I'm going to finally paint the test wheel black inside and hopefully get racing green paint..
For now I just want to see how the black paint works on the inside. As I think it will look better.
Edit:- The paint was very old tin and it ran in the same places as last time not surprised really.

 

[Deleted member 31521]

So now I'm back to removing drips and high spots must have left way to much from last time..
Sand it all back they say.
I have decided to try and blend it back to flat with minimal sanding.
Testing an area now seems to have ran again.

 

[r-reg-sr]

got to use soft bristle brush man

 

[Deleted member 31521]

So gave it another shot after cleaning the face up the bowl looked okay ish after razor blade and some light sanding.
The front ain't perfect but its a lot better than it looked. It was a right mess from last time it ran.
Apart from a tiny fly landed on the face oh well.

Will have to see how it turns out when its dry. Just needs a tyre on it now. Then I can remove one of the real wheels to refurbish. They won't be getting all the sanding this one had that's for sure.