DIY - Wheel Refinishing

[Slangbox]

Dude that was 11 months ago.

[slow e30]

i have no pictures showing? I was thinking of re doing my bottle caps. What variations of colors should i consider?

invest the money you would spend on paint supplies and get some decent wheels and keep bottlecaps for winter / re-sale the car.

[Initial35]

i have no pictures showing? I was thinking of re doing my bottle caps. What variations of colors should i consider?

[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...

[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]

Zymöl makes a wheel wax

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

[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. :)

[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

[schmidty]

Looks great, the texture is nice and even.

thanks

[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.

[CorvallisBMW]

Looks great, the texture is nice and even.

[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.

[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...

[sticksdaman]

so what of the valve stem?

[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?