Thread: DIY alloy wheel referb

Is there a write up on this subject. Im looking to referb a set of 18" Nouvlari replicas myself. They are the black ones whith the polished face and i want to strip them back and repaint them silver allover.

Seen a how too on the MX5 forum I used to use http://www.mx-5.com/Forum/Room/Topic/?topicId=9691 it's only for a patch repair though, may give you some Ideas
HTH
Neil

Someone done it on SeatCupra.net, worth having a search on there.

There is no better place than http://www.wheel-whores.com/forum/

TOGWT™ Detailing Article Series DB Hyperlinks

"Repairing Scrached or Curbed Wheels" (includes a re-painting section)

http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/detailing-school/17686-togwt-detailing-article-series-db-hyperlinks.htm

Well the rims looked quite bad but im one who likes a challenge. In a nut shell im worked on the damaged areas of the face of the alloys and with little effort most of the surcase scufs are gone. Ill be able to get the polished finish that they should have with some elbow!!!

The thing is the inners of the rims are powder coated in black and im looking at maybe stripping that back so i cam paint it all silver. Has anyone painted on top of powdercote?

i wouldnt paint over powdercoat as it could possibly react. Need to take it to bare metal.

Iv been doing my rstt reps, actually quite enjoyed it. Only problem iv had is that im not happy with the colour, halfords silver alloy paint rattle cans. Have now bought audi avus silver to go in gun. should do the trick.

i have done a few DIY refurb of alloys (mine and friends)

this is my latest one, sorry i didn't get a very good before shot. the rims ws kerbed to hell.

i try to use little as filler as possable (if i have to use filler i use isopon metalik)
all i did on this set was to get the electric sand with a heavy grit to fully smooth the rim.

using 800, then 1200 all over the alloy to act as a 'key'

this is a before shot, using alloy cleaner, i should of got a good shot of the kerb marks


this is the new colour gloss black (only 1 coat of lacquer when this photo was taken)

what a cracking job - looks ace!!!!

my rs6's are going to get it soon when i can decide on a colour hmmmmm black wheels silver car???

I recently refurbed some alloys.

Before -




After -




Detailed the car and it took me 12 hours start to finish.

that pic has just made me cry I miss my type r soooooo much :'(!!

Such a good job on the car m8! impressed

Thanks. The owner has now spent another few grand on upping his modifications of the car. Intake, ecu remap, brakes etc etc.

Now Im getting more requests to refurb alloys from his forum LOL!

A week ago I refurbed the 15" alloys on my aging VW Bora with the standard (flaking) silver paint. Got all four done in a day and was pleased with the results, especially with new VW centre caps. Having done this a couple of times before the two important rules are to take your time and not shortcut the work.

After removing from the car (I did two wheels at a time), each wheel was given a serious clean to get the mud, oil and grime out, before sanding with 800 and then 1200 grit paper as per the previous post. Then they were masked up. The masking tape is thin enough to get between the rim and the tyre, so I cut a circular hole in a large cardboard panel to lay of the top of the wheel. If you cut this slightly larger than the alloy wheel diameter, then your masking tape can cover the gap between the wheel and the cardboard. I made two of these so could paint two wheels at a time - speeds your day up.

Next the wheels were sprayed with white primer. This really helps the paint bond, obvious as that sounds. I used even, left-to-right strokes (don't zig-zag or spray in circles). Then they were left for a couple of minutes between coats.

Then build up the paint, in my case silver. Don't spray it too slowly or thick that it runs; this will be a pain to sort out. Finally, I added a lacquer top-coat. This is where, in my opinion, patience pays off. You apply a couple of coats as normal and then subsequent coats get slower and slower strokes. I find this builds up the lacquer into a nice shine without it running.

The Halfords stuff I bought was more than up to the job and including sandpaper and masking tape it was around £25 all in.

playing cards between the rim and tyre is a quick way to spray them, also make it very easy

if you do get paint on the tyre, it does clean off very easy

my old corsa c SXi alloys

how do you grind down the curbing on the wheels lads and what are the stages of doing a DIY refurb. my dad wants his done but never tried before, is it a case of paint from halfords type of stuff? i have compressors with paint guns which i can use but where do i get the paint from

Depends what colour you want. If you want exact match then you can go to the dealers.
Usually Wurth paints are the ones for German cars.

To grind down you can either do it by hand using wet/dry sandpaper or a machine which I now use for the deeper hard to take down areas. Once Ive flattened down the area I then put the filler and allow dry. Then take off the imperfections by hand as its fairly easy to remove using something like a 400-800 grit.

What filler do you use..

Davids Isopen Metalik. A small tub is enough as it will last forever.

so its a case of rubbing down a bit(do i need to rub down to bare metal?) then primer, then paint and then laquer is it??

You will notice when you have rubbed off the lacquer, the water will turn milky.
Then you dry it off, wipe down with ipa or something and then apply in a well ventilated area.
Then allow to dry and sand down using say 400-800 grit. Depends on the severity of the kerbing.
Once you are happy wipedown the rest of the alloy and mask off areas. Theres lots to read on the forum and on google. Just do a search
Took me a few tries to get it right, but you have 4 alloys :P

good thing i have 12 audi alloys in my garage i can work on then isnt it lol

LOL! Not bad way to learn. Im pretty sure that after the 3-4th alloy you will get the hang of it. How much metal filler to put, what grade sandpaper to use and spraying methods and layers.
Good luck and let us know how you get on

Originally Posted by S4twiggy

how do you grind down the curbing on the wheels lads and what are the stages of doing a DIY refurb. my dad wants his done but never tried before, is it a case of paint from halfords type of stuff? i have compressors with paint guns which i can use but where do i get the paint from

it depends on how bad, the curb makrs are, if its just minor surface then just sandout, if they are deep then i use isopon metalik filler, smooth with wet and dry paper. then start spraying

primer just normal grey or white (depending on spray colour) 2/3 coats
colour 3/4 coats
clear lacquer 3/4 coats

normally costs around £50 to refurb a set of 4 alloys

Does anyone know from where i can the paint for MY2010 black edition alloys ??

if theyre are badly gouged and curbed theres places that can weld in small bits of aluminum in there and polish it off back to new. then u can get them painted or powdercoated.