Refurbing My Speedlines

[djinuk 2]

Today I began refurbing my speedline wheels which have seen better days, I had the tyres taken off, and attacked the outer rim with the electric sander with some mild paper.

 

here are a couple of pics

 

One of the damage im hoping to put right

 

 

And one of the wheel after i speant some time on it, please be advised these are far from done yet, ill keep you updated over the next two days by when they should be completed.

[Higgy 0]

Looking good.

 

I put body filler on the rim edge, then once it was dry I used a file to smooth the rim nice and flat.

 

I held the file handle on the centre cap then kept turning the file in small arcs to get the rim edge/lip flat.

[Paintguy 0]

Minimal damage on those by the looks of it. A sander should remove it all just fine

 

I usually start off with 80 grit on a DA sander, then work my way down the grades (120, 180, 240) to a smooth finish. If they're really badly kerbed, I'll start off with a 36 grit 'soft' pad on the angle grinder

[djinuk 2]

ive used 80 grit on electic to get the bad bits, then gone dwn 2 hand sander with 120 , then im going to high build and flat them with 800wet n dry n spray

[Paintguy 0]

Sounds like a good plan

[djinuk 2]

hehe to be honest im not after a perfect finish to somthing to smarten them up a little

[KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars]

Paintguy, how the hell can one spray wheels and get a nice glossy finish?

[welshpug 1,657]

good prep and decent finishing with a few layers of clearcoat kriss

 

I know the 205 paintcode is EVE for the earlier wheels but does anyone know the code for the Mi16 alloy? its a flat silver not as bright as the 205 ones, but that might just be the condition?

[Paintguy 0]

Paintguy, how the hell can one spray wheels and get a nice glossy finish?

Practice

 

As above though, it's mainly in the prep. Unless your primer and paint layers are super smooth, then the lacquer (clearcoat) layers won't be either. Plus there's a fine line between putting the lacquer on 'wet' (thick) enough so that it flows out nice and level, and putting it on so thick that it runs and sags

 

Plus wheels are much more difficult to paint than a flat panel, as you have to get into all the nooks and crannys properly without getting too much paint on the rest of them. I hate to think how many wheels I've painted over the years, but it must be well over a hundred full sets, and probably several hundred individual wheels, so I'm just starting to get the hang of it

[KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars]

When I did the sideskirt on my 405 I removed it from car and sprayed it on the flat and it seemed that I was able to apply the paint so thickly that it looked really glossy like the original paint. But if I try to spray anything that's stood vertically the paint will sag so I end up having to use a thinner coat and then it just ends up rough.

[KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars]

http://ben.loaded.net/gallery/view_photo.p...amp;id=Wheels_5

[Paintguy 0]

Yep, that's the fine line right there.

 

Try several light coats with a few minutes drying time in-between. Ideally you should be overcoating when the first one is not wet to the touch, and not stringing up off your finger, but not completely dry.

 

Also make sure your cans are nice and warm before spraying. It'll reduce the viscosity of the 'paint' making it flow better for a given thickness, and increase the pressure inside the container, giving better atomisation (it comes out in finer droplets).

 

Don't have the surface you're painting onto too warm either, as the paint will dry before it has time to flow out

[alternatengine 0]

Does anyone who has completed a full refurb have a step by step guide as to the full process of refurbishment including the best tools and sprays to use.

 

 

Also what you would do if you had BAD kerb damage.

 

Any Guides or info would be muchos appreciated.

[Paintguy 0]

Also what you would do if you had BAD kerb damage.

In an ideal world - TIG weld in some new aluminium and use a lathe to shape it.

 

In the real world - bodyfiller

Be careful in your choice of filler though, as some do not adhere well to aluminium alloy.

[j_turnell 137 3 Cars]

Theres a step by step guide on the main site by paul iirc. I did mine a while ago and they turned out well.

 

[djinuk 2]

im not trying to achieve a perfet finish is im honest just trying to bring them up a bit nicer than they are at the moment

 

[stealth_pug 0]

Theres a guide on one of the 106 forums, il dig it out later.

[djinuk 2]

well as we dont have acess to a unit at the min ive settled with doing the wheels with rattle cans, and to be honest for a rush job before fast show so far its all going well. See what you think.

 

[cheapthrills 0]

^^^nice job^^^

 

i'm planning to do mine at some stage, i wanted to do the rim edges in silver and the centres in a darker shade, for that diamond cut type look

any idea how to do this?

do i paint and lacquer each colour seperately or paint each colour taping/masking as i go and then lacquer the whole wheel?

 

Paintguy....

any recomendations on what filler to use for the ally?

[pugman211 0]

There are several forms of filler that can be used now on alloy wheels. The first is bodyfiller, but in my opinion its too weak and will crack easily. The second way is to use metal filler, its made by Loctite, and that stuff is good! and the third is the new generation of rapid repairs. Its a gel that u put on the damaged area, and then you spray on the aerosol hardener, and 1 minute later, you can rub this stuff with 180 grit!!!

 

In order to make your wheels look ace though, your prep has to be 100% especially on silver wheels. And the other good thing about have them refurbed, is you get to choose your own colour - or you do with me anyway! lol

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

i did mine with hammerite then laquered over the top, not the greatest of jobs if you kneel down and look closely but once your stood up they look pretty good imho

mind you as soon as i got them on i went for a blast down the country lanes in the wet so there not exactly white any more lol

[cheapthrills 0]

There are several forms of filler that can be used now on alloy wheels. The first is bodyfiller, but in my opinion its too weak and will crack easily. The second way is to use metal filler, its made by Loctite, and that stuff is good! and the third is the new generation of rapid repairs. Its a gel that u put on the damaged area, and then you spray on the aerosol hardener, and 1 minute later, you can rub this stuff with 180 grit!!!

 

In order to make your wheels look ace though, your prep has to be 100% especially on silver wheels. And the other good thing about have them refurbed, is you get to choose your own colour - or you do with me anyway! lol

 

 

thanks for the info, i've seen the loctite stuff but not the gel, will keep an eye out for that. the wheels arent badly kerbed anyway, should be able to sand out most of the damage.

 

has anyone tried using a heatgun or blowtorch to strip the paint off? i'd use nitromors but i'm worried about residue lifting the new paint

[pugman211 0]

I'm old fashioned. I would personally strip the wheels back to bare metal using sandind discs etc. it will give u better adhesion with the new paint!

[Paintguy 0]

and the third is the new generation of rapid repairs. Its a gel that u put on the damaged area, and then you spray on the aerosol hardener, and 1 minute later, you can rub this stuff with 180 grit!!!

I use a similar product made by Glass Aid especially for alloy wheel repair, but basically it's just a gel form of superglue with an accelerating hardener