Wheel respray DIY

[Mrk_Mickey]

Haha yeah 6 wheels also means lots of work if I want them to match..I suppose I'm going to have to mask one up and slap some primer on it to get the effect.

Might do that tomorrow! Pics when ready

[Mrk_Mickey]

Ahh, a nice big update for everyone today

I had an almost bare-metal wheel sitting in the back of my car for the last week without having the time to work on it, so I thought while I was at work I would give it a sandblast and see how it turns out. Let's just say, I had NO idea how good the sandblaster at work was!! I was expecting quite a rough surface with sand dimples and stuff but nope...I could have paid someone to do it with the same result

This took me about 25 mins. It actually would have been quicker if the sandblaster cabinet was bigger; it was awkward to blast some bits. Pics for kicks:





The great thing about the finish of the sandblasting is that it's READY FOR PAINT. The hi-build 2pac primer will come up nicely. Polishing to follow

[AusScare]

That's about 10 cools. Nice work, looks awesome.

[Mrk_Mickey]

So I started sanding/polishing them by hand with 240grit emery paper. Sanding towards the centre of the wheel (ie, following the direction of the spokes), here's some progress shots:







I didn't have any 400 grade wetdry paper so unfortunately I had to jump straight up to 800..this was the wheel after I finished (not quite though, cos I left a few sanding marks )

[Mrk_Mickey]

So...

Instead of continuing polishing, I went around to my mate's place and showed him what I had. He grabbed keys for his shop and we went over (to Action Motorcycles in parramatta ) to use the machine polisher!!! BEST - TOOL - EVER. It was basically a bench sander with a shaft on one side that has a tapered thread for buffing wheels.

The easiest way to use this machine is to do it in two steps. Use the heavier wheel for starting the process, and try to keep it steady and even (it's not that hard to use). Then, swap the wheel over to the finishing wheel and constantly move it around so as to get a shine without any buffing marks.

Pics (with the finishing wheel on there):


We buffed and finished one double-spoke:


This shot was after the buffing wheel on all the spokes, I think...lol:

[Mrk_Mickey]

After we finished buffing the spokes with the finishing wheel, we did it again using a compound. Unfortunately I didn't get any shots of this happening but basically what you do is put this little block of waxxy compound onto the finishing wheel while it's spinning, and then ''polish'' the surface. It brought it up really well!

We finished using the machine at this point and went over it quickly with a Meguiars All-Metal Polish. Didn't make much of a difference, except that it took out any buffing marks/compound residue that was on the spokes. To polish, all you need to do is grab a rag, spread compound on and buff it around with firm pressure (i used a circular motion because it doesn't swirl like paint does).

Pics:







Here's the finished product, before washing to get rid of the excess compound on the sandblasted areas:


You can see how well the polish process has worked after the wash because it's beading water like my car does! Remember that when you're washing bare polished metal, you don't want to use anything strong. I only used water and a rag, I didn't use any soap or anything because it can potentially dull the surface down.

Here we go, last pics for the update:






Did anyone notice I've polished a lip around the outside too? I dunno how the HELL I'm gonna tape that up for paint but I hope it stays there..

Oh and by the way, I am doing this work, it's my mate in the photo's for the sake of the DIY

Cheers!

[RhysQ]

awesome work there mate, it's come up a treat.

[Manaz]

That's come up better than I expected - hopefully you can keep the paint off the shiny!

[DJSwan]

Just an idea, clear coat what you have. Polished spokes & "bead blasted" for the rest for a bit of contrast.

[Mrk_Mickey]

I thought about that, but I've already got compound residue rubbed INTO the sandblasted areas so I'd rather paint it.

Besides, the inside of the spokes need to be a bit darker to bring out the look methinks....might mix a bit of metallic black or something in the audi silver....