DIY - Wheel Refinishing

[nando]

the balance of your wheels are gunna be out of wack now that you have parts of the lip shaved off, wont they?
Seems like this would completely throw the wheels off balance.

uhh, that's why you have them balanced... no wheel most of us can afford is going to be perfectly balanced anway, even brand new.

[Garageaholic]

Your wheels look good, but lets not go overboard with "smoothness." They are wheels, subject to chips, high head, curbs and brake dust. They don't have to be perfect, and the longer you spend making them perfect, the longer you will cry when your girlfriend/wife curb it in the mcdonalds drive thru.

nope, you're absolutely right, that's why toward the end, i wasnt' so....meticulous... but if you take care of it, they last a while.. and yes, i did get chips in it. and the first chip i got in it, i was very disappointed, but that's what happens..

[sepehr]

Don't grind aluminum especially with a wheel thats meant for steel.
The reasons:

1) The fumes you let off are not very good for you: aluminum is highly reactive, when it gets into your lungs itll pull away oxygen from your lung tissue to form very stable aluminate (the layer of dull material that builds up on aluminum parts and prevents further corrosion). It is also known to settle in your brain, definately not a good thing.

2) If you have fine aluminum powder (as you would when you grind it) and anything with iron in it in the area, you could set off a thermite reaction, which is not pretty.
Fe2O3(s) + 2Al(s) → Al2O3(s) + 2Fe(s);
That type of reaction is used in incendiary bombs. It will get hot enough to make iron react with oxygen instantaneously, and violently. Never seen iron react at high temperature? Watch someone torch-cut. You could do yourself real injury. Boom. Pretty fireworks...

Here's an extreme version of what I'm talking about. Obviously you won't have that much fine iron and aluminum but you get the idea:

http://www.guzer.com/videos/thermite_car.php

Finally, if you really must grind aluminum, use some form of lubrication/coolant, and the proper grinding wheel, wear your face-shield and gloves and be very careful. Don't let the piece get hot.

[schmidty]

thought I would bump this thread instead of starting a new once since I refinished my stock weaves.

Started with this, an old dirty black weave...



using some aircraft remover I started stripping the wheel,







I didn't get any pictures off the wheel completely stripped, but once I had all the old paint, primer, etc off I started applying the primer. I just used some duplicolor primer...




I sanded with some very fine steel wool in-between coats. Once I was satisfied with the primer I started applying light coats of Duplicolor Bronze (I forget the exact name right now)...



...after about half a dozen coats (with sanding in-between) this is what I got...




then I finished it off with about another half dozen coats of clear coat.

I'll post pics of them mounted when I get all four done (I only have 2 done so far)

Overall I'm pretty happy... some of the very tight spots near the lip didnt come out the greatest but whatever... they're just weaves :D I just hope they last....

Is there any kind of additional sealant/protection I can put on the wheels to help with keeping the brake dust off? I think I heard somewhere that someone used Nu Finish?

[sticksdaman]

so what of the valve stem?

[schmidty]

so what of the valve stem?

they were replaced when the tires got mounted... most tire shops should replace them for free so no sense in trying to tape them off...

[n2motorsports]

...after about half a dozen coats (with sanding in-between)

i don't understand why you sanded in between coats? isn't the painst still damp, how did you clean off the dust/grit from the sanding? looks amazing anyways, i just never thought of sanding between coats.

[CorvallisBMW]

Looks great, the texture is nice and even.

[schmidty]

i don't understand why you sanded in between coats? isn't the painst still damp, how did you clean off the dust/grit from the sanding? looks amazing anyways, i just never thought of sanding between coats.

I didn't sand between every single application. Especially toward the beginning I would do a couple coats to get a good even layer and then sand, do a couple more coats. and so on. I did that routine about 6 times.

[schmidty]

Looks great, the texture is nice and even.

thanks

[CorvallisBMW]

Is there any kind of additional sealant/protection I can put on the wheels to help with keeping the brake dust off? I think I heard somewhere that someone used Nu Finish?

Zymöl makes a wheel wax

[nando]

yeah, wax them.

my spray bombed wheels have held up pretty well - it's been almost 5 years now (shit!). they have their share of chips but I've gotten to the point that I don't care, I want some nicer wheels anyway. :)

[schmidty]

Zymöl makes a wheel wax

thanks... are you talking about Zymbol Wheel Coat?

[CorvallisBMW]

thanks... are you talking about Zymbol Wheel Coat?

I thought they actually made a wax, but maybe not. I know Bavauto sells a wax designed just for wheels.

But the more I think about it, the more I realize you could just use regular wax. After all, it's just paint + clear like a normal car, so why not use normal wax?

[schmidty]

I thought they actually made a wax, but maybe not. I know Bavauto sells a wax designed just for wheels.

But the more I think about it, the more I realize you could just use regular wax. After all, it's just paint + clear like a normal car, so why not use normal wax?

Well, that's kind of what I was thinking. I have some Mcguire's wax and could use that. I just didnt know if regular wax could take the abuse of all the heat and brake dust... mostly just concerned about the heat though...