Restoring the Wheels

[CarGuy]

Well, after all the work I put into these wheels so far – I figured I’d post a few pictures. As you can probably see, my wheels were pretty bad off. I was quoted between $250-350 to have them done by a shop. I was unsure of how many imperfections they would actually take out, so I decided to go ahead and do them myself. Well, I’m currently $35 out for materials and I have logged many hours. I was able to complete one wheel this past weekend – and two others are 80% finished. If anyone is interested in taking on this job, I’ll give you an idea of the time frame – I’ve estimated 8 hours to complete one wheel, maybe less if you don’t have an angry wife pestering you

The first picture is one of the wheels straight off the tire.

[CarGuy]

Here is a picture of the first wheel I started on. This was the worse one – I took a shot of the curb rash that I had to repair.

[CarGuy]

Here is a pic of the wheel complete – and also me taking the shot

[CarGuy]

...And the curb rash fixed. You should be able to see a small mark on one side. The gash was to deep to fully remove – IMHO

Hopefully one day I’ll get them all finished, and I’ll post some before and after shots of the car.

[SVOeric]

The club has a deal with wheel worx, for $75 each wheel (includes return shipping)--

The wheels I have seen them do look imaculate!!

considering the amount of time you have invested, I think $75 per wheel is cheaper!!!!

I started doing this once -- but after about 3 hours on the first wheel, I said DANG -- This is too much like work!!!!

They will polish them to a chrome like shine, or make them look like brand new from the factory for that price---

I'm looking for a cheap set of waffle stars to put on my car so I can send off my original wheels to get them re-finished sometimes this summer....

[CarGuy]

Yeah I considered the wheel worx deal (which sounds terrific BTW). I think the bottom line for me is - I'm just too cheap to have someone else do it. Plus, after I completed the first wheel, the self-gratification was unbelievable (hence the post )

BTW - what prices have you found or expecting on the waffle stars. I'm interested in getting a set later for racing.

Thanks

[GAboySVO]

Eric & Carguy,

You might try MPS at:

http://www.stangparts.com/home.cfm?s...products/index Look under the Wheel & Tire button.

They have some decent deals. I bought a set of these '99- 5 spokes for ~200.00 three years ago and love them. They really look good on my beater and are a breeze to clean. The set in the picture is going for $225.00.

[SVOeric]

those do look really good,,, you do have something to be proud of there!!!

looking for waffle stars, all I can say is I'm CHEAP!!!! when it comes to stuff like this --

[RodneyH]

Restoring the Wheels

For what it's worth....

I talked to a Wheel Collison Center rep at Carlisle and he mentioned the first thing they do is check to make sure the wheel is 'true'. He said it's not uncommon for these wheels to be out of round. The do-it-yourself method he mentioned was to put the wheel on a balancer and slowly spin it while checking for run out. If you're going to spend a lot of time refinishing, it might pay to check this first.

By the way, your results are fantastic... please share your methods or list an address where we can send our wheels to have you finish them!

[SVOeric]

Look at the members deals section on the website -- but the price is $100 per wheel for non club members.

[CarGuy]

Thanks - I really appreciate the compliments. Rodney, you have a very good point. I did roll the rim around on a tarp to check for noticeable out-of-roundness or warpage. I didn’t see anything that was out of the ordinary – I’m always worried about the tires more so. I’ve bought new sets of tires that you could fill the out-of-rounds with your hand

As far as the polishing method, I searched the internet and read a few things in some books, and IMHO the webpape below is a one stop place for everything to get a great rim. I also took some of the other things I read about polishing and applied them. I will go ahead and give a break down of my process (I’ll try and keep it short).

http://www.fierofocus.com/articles/Tech%20Tip%20-%20Fiero%20Wheel%20Polishing.htm

First, safety first I used chemical resistant gloves when messing with chemicals and such – duh, right?

Materials – Everything was available at ACE hardware
1. ACE Paint Stripper, SEMI-paste spray can $7
2. 1 Sheet each 3M wet/dry sand paper, 220,400,600,& 1500 grit $1X4=$4
3. ?-brand buffing wheel, 2 Sprial Sewn, 1 Loose Section (I don’t have the loose section, will have to update the post when I remember the name of the one I have, anyway the idea is to have a wheel with long threads – longer than the Sprial Sewn) $4X3=$12
4. ?-brand compound tubes, 1 Stainless, 1Tripoli, 1 White Rouge $3X3=$9
Total $32

I had to buy some gloves and a mandrel for my drill – so I had to add about $7 to mine

To break the wheel down as much as possible before wet sanding, I scrubbed with simple green and then applied the paint stripper. Then I used a bucket of water and a rag and wiped the wheel down (finger scrubbing the slots was pretty painful ). This took me between 45 mins to an hour for one wheel.

Then, I used a small tapered file to smooth out any nicks or scraps in the wheel’s edges. This can take between 5-20 mins. The curbrash took me a little longer.

Next I started the wet sanding. With a bucket of water and a little soap added for lubrication, I just went to town with 220 grit. I started by using a rubber block with the sand paper – but I found that if sanded by hand the results are a lot better. Be prepared to spend most of your time with 220. Get everything out of the rim – including those cutter marks which almost seems impossible. After I was done with the 220, I went to 400 paper and worked a while with that. Again, a lot of time was spent with these two papers, because these are the papers that remove the imperfections. I’ve gone for an hour with the 220 and then an hour with the 400. The last wheel I did, I spent 1 ½ hour with the 220 and 30 minutes with the 400.

Next I wet sanded with the 600 and then the 1500 grit papers. This will smooth the wheel out and remove all the scratches from the coarser papers. This took me between 15-20 mins per paper.

Finally the polishing. I applied the stainless with the Sprial Sewn – you should see the wheel starting to take on a shine with this. I applied this compound about 2-3 times on the wheel. (FYI – I covered the drill chuck by using a rag so if the buffing wheel thru the drill against the edge it wouldn’t ding it ). When I saw a good reflection of myself, I stopped with the stainless. Total time is about 45 mins to an hour with this compound.

Next I applied the Tripoli with the other Sprial Sewn. This compound goes on pretty thick and it almost seems to mess up the gloss finish. After I applied about two coats – I just kept going over it with the wheel till the compound looked gone. The finish was a little fuzzy, but all the fine sandpaper scratches were gone at this point. I then wiped the wheel down with paint thinner. This made a mess and smeared the compound all over the place. I kept wiping till it is gone and the wheel shined again. Total time is about 30 to 45 mins.

To complete, I applied the white rouge with a loose threaded wheel. I just polished to my satisfaction and stopped after about 15-20 minutes. Done – I’ll take a nap now

[louverandy]

I am also currently refinishing a set of wheels. I used mothers and a lot of elbow grease alone on 1 original wheel and was pretty pleased with the results, however the machining marks were still there.

However last night I took 600 grit Dry sandpaper and did a portion of the wheel, then I took the mothers and polished that portion of the wheel by hand. I had completely removed all machining marks and had a mirror finish. This has also led me to begin to refinsh my wheels myself. I think I can do it in less time and with fewer steps than were listed above.

I am going tonight to get sandpaper for my DA sander, 300-400 grt. Remove all machining marks.

Switch to 600, then 1200 to remove all deep sanding marks. Then as a last step wet sand by hand with 1500 if needed.

I do not think all of the polishing compounds are needed, mothers seems to work extremely well alone. Between the 2 of us we shoud find what works and what doesn't.

From my practice patches it seems easier than 8 hrs per wheel, more like 2. However I am also only polishing the machined surface not the cooling holes. I am not sure if he is. Also I have no areas to repair.

It really is all about personal satifaction. If your wheels are not too hurt than doing it alone is cheaper and more satisfying. I will post pictures as I progress. Also I am doing this with the tires mounted!

[CarGuy]

I also have some of the mothers stuff. I used it quite a bit on my other vehicles. Very good stuff - however, due to the condition, I figured I'd need more than just the mothers to get the results I wanted. Altho - as mentioned in the link, I plan to maintain my finished wheels with the mothers.

Thanks

[CarGuy]

Originally posted by CarGuy
Hopefully one day I’ll get them all finished, and I’ll post some before and after shots of the car.

Well, I finally got a day that wasn't raining. The only problem, I took these pictures in the middle of the afternoon and the sun made a lot of shade on the car. And it was too blasted hot to mess with it too much Anyway - you can sure tell in the after shots the wheels are reflecting nicely I am really pleased with how everything turned out. When I took the rims to the shop to get remounted - all the shop guys were asking me if I could do their wheels. I told them it'll be a decade before I'd want to see another buffing wheel or sanding strip

[SVOeric]

Dang -- those are sweet --