Alloy wheel refinishing.

winmutt

09-21-2013, 01:02 PM #1

I am not even going to pretend to claim I did this the right way or that I couldnt have done a better job on some aspects. I wasted about $40 in stripper trying to get down to the roughcast to keep its natural color and ended up discoloring it with the plastic scraper I was using. I think it looks just fine with paint and clear coat (needs more). FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE CAN!!!!

What I bought:
[Image: borbet.start.jpg]

I used 2 strippers, Aircraft Stripper which is hard to find, kills braincells, and causes cancer and Citristrip available at any homedepot, costs the same, doesn't need gloves, doesn't cause cancer and doesnt even really need much ventilation AND worked better because it was stiffer and stuck better.
This was about half way through the process:
[Image: 2013-08-11%2021.00.32.jpg]
This was the final stripped wheel:
[Image: 2013-09-20%2013.50.21.jpg]

You will need a spray booth for this, I reused a fairly large box with pretty decent success. It was the first time I've managed not to get debris in the paint!
[Image: 2013-09-20%2013.50.37.jpg]

Need to degrease and clean the wheels. I had this laying around, so I used it. Lots of it. WARNING. I had a cut on my hand and this shit stings like a motherfucker on open cuts!
[Image: 2013-09-20%2013.51.50.jpg]

I had some really wierd contours and rather than use bits of masking tape and not have a smooth edge, I used vinyl electricians tape. It cuts a good smooth edge, didn't allow any bleed and was flexible and easy to work with. I was able to use a single piece for the entire wheel. Once you have a good starting point stuck well, you can hold the tape in one hand and then use your index finger to apply some stretch and align it properly. Lucky for me, Borbet had cut into the wheel to polish it so there was a nice clean line for me to work with.
[Image: 2013-09-20%2014.00.22.jpg]

After you cut the line, use the blue tape. I used about 4 pieces and then cut in from the outer edge to allow it to lay down, went back in with little pieces and filled in the gaps. What I didn't do and SHOULD have done was cover the tires. Ended up with a little overspray but nothing to worry about on rubber :
[Image: 2013-09-20%2014.09.45.jpg]

Now starts the painting. This was the closest thing I could find to a clear primer at any local car place. I hope it works out! Don't worry about runs so much with this stuff.
[Image: 2013-09-20%2013.52.22.jpg]

Some words of wisdom (my own and some I picked up from the net):
Not every can is the same. With this in mind I used one can for the bottom coats and one can for the top coat, ensuring that the top coat on all 4 wheels all came from same can.
PUT THE CAP BACK ON. The metallic and clear coat BOTH HAVE THE SAME COLOR CANS and after enough paint fumes and beer you get pretty cross eyed!!!!
Practice a little before you start. I managed to get a run on the first spray like a complete noob.
Shake it *OFTEN*. There is not enough shaking in the world that can be done.
Keep your distance! What ended up working well was holding it out about 8 inches and then making little circles constantly. This helps keep the paint mixed up.
Be methodical. I started in the spokes and rotated the wheel and then would do the face and the rim bits, 2 or 3 full wheel rotations made a coat. When I wasn't methodical (beer, paint fumes etc) I missed some spots or had it on 2 thick.
Start with the back. The wheel I show "finished" below I did not spray the back at all and it shows. I will have to go back in with tape and mask off the open areas and do a light spray in.

Duplicolor wheel paint in metallic silver. Pretty standard stuff.
[Image: 2013-09-20%2013.52.37.jpg]

The outcome, starting to look nice! :
[Image: 2013-09-20%2014.20.44.jpg]

After this I applied DupliColor wheel clear coat. Sadly I do not have a picture of this can. I applied several coats but missed some spots on the first wheel. You have 1 hour to apply coats with 10min in between. After that you have to wait a week.

For now this is the finished product. Not too shabby I think.
[Image: 2013-09-21%2012.41.25.jpg]
[Image: 2013-09-21%2012.40.59.jpg]
This worked out OK for me since I still need to redo the lips and really don't want to do that this weekend. As it is, I cleaned up the lips with some scotchbrite pad and 600 grit using soapy water. This did not give me a mirror finish but did take out most of the stains where the old clearcoat had chipped off. There is also some curbing that needs attention as well, I will take a pretty rough grit to that by hand and then get it up to 600 as well.

More to come!

1987 300D Sturmmachine
1991 300D Nearly Perfect
1985 300D Weekend/Camping/Dog car
1974 L508D Motoroam Monarch "NightMare"
OBK #42

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sassparilla_kid

10-07-2013, 04:05 AM #2

Awesome, pretty much the same thing I did when I painted my bundts way back when, although I just used some rustoleum aluminum paint and skipped the clear coat part

-1982 300D Turbo, 280k miles, ALDA apparently maxxed, fram 8038, 12 lbs boost, non-egr manifolds, W/M injection, 4 brake light mod, Gen II w126 front rotors/calipers, 4-speed swap
In the works: A/W IC, adjust pump, turbo rebuild (w/60 trim comp wheel)
-1980 300SD, 110k, project car. Goal is to get it lookin' like it did on the showroom floor (body and interior wise, not necessarily under the hood )
-1974 240D, FRESH PAINT!!!!!!

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