My wheel refurbishment

[The Big G]

My wheels were looking terrible and corroding badly. They needed attention quickly to prevent any further damage and I thought you all may be interested in the results.



Having read a few threads and speaking to refurber's I decided that re-diamond cutting was not for me. The finish may not last for very long and I would end up in the same position again. In the end I decided to have them powder coated black then painted in a finish that they called "Silver Bling."



It had a good shine and a bit of sparkle. Not as good as real metal but getting somewhere close. The wheel just didn't look quite right without the black parts, too chunky. So that was my next job.




A mask and a paint with some gloss chassis black and here is the result




Looking quite good, just needing to touch up the edges to get them pin sharp now.

Next project is to somehow get power to my garage so that I can complete a body lift so the chassis can be painted. Way to much powder coat peeling off revealing virgin steel. Surface rust is beginning to set in so best get it sorted quickly! Expect to see another body off thread with me asking for help, I've never tried anything as in depth as this before so could be interesting and more than a bit fustrating!

[FARKIT]

Nice finish!

[tinks v8S]

well done they look great. what did you pay for them compared to diamond cut

[Barkychoc]

They look great, nice job.

If power is a problem into your garage I can tell you generators are dirt cheap on ebay, especially the higher powered ones. Just buy a decent one - a Honda or something, not cheap chinese rubbish.

Alternatively get an offcut of armoured cable off ebay.

[PYNEY]

that does look good , have you any close up of the silver bling it look as good as a polished finish in the photos
well done on the masking up must have taken all day lol

can i ask how much for the 4 wheels and where did you get it done

cheers keith

[phillpot]

Looking good

[The Big G]

If you open the following Thumbnails, they are as big as I am able to upload to thumbsnap. If you wish the originals then PM me and I'll email them to you. I would be able to take additional photos too if required. Click on the image twice then right click, open image. That'll show you the full sized picture. I've added a before and after for comparison.

Before


After





The refurb and silver finish was done by Wheel Works in Crawley. If I remember correctly it was about £250.

Thanks, for the suggestion of a generator. That's the same conclusion that I'm coming to as its the simplest way to resolve the problem, teamed with a bit of DIY electrical work. Just hope that I can find one thats not too noisy so I don't annoy to many of my neighbours. Getting power to the garage via the mains is looking very expensive due to me living in a flat 3 floors above the garage and on the wrong side of the building. Off to trawl ebay

[techbotics]

Your wheels look v cool I've just had mine in smoke chrome.

What are you doing with the centre caps?

Cheers Damian S3

[The Big G]

My centre caps are badly faded and de-laminating combined with quite a few broken locating tangs. They are back on the wheels at the moment but I have a plan to resolve it. I purchased replacement M-075 centre caps, which I found a nightmare. Managed to buy a set on ebay from California and have them shipped to the UK for just over £30. I also purchased the laminated centre stickers for the later wheels, but in a smaller size that will hopefully be correct.

All I need to do now is drill the reverse of the caps to push out the metal MSW part. Fill the hole with plastic filler so that its flush to the top, then stick on the new TVR stickers. No idea if its going to work or be a lasting finish though.

Anyone else have any ideas???

[db800]

The centres on my s1 wheels were pushed out and the faded metal part popped off and i just filed the plastic flat and glued on the plastic domed centre 3years later and still ok.

[Barkychoc]

The Big G said:

Thanks, for the suggestion of a generator. That's the same conclusion that I'm coming to as its the simplest way to resolve the problem, teamed with a bit of DIY electrical work. Just hope that I can find one thats not too noisy so I don't annoy to many of my neighbours. Getting power to the garage via the mains is looking very expensive due to me living in a flat 3 floors above the garage and on the wrong side of the building. Off to trawl ebay

I have one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/honda-ex1000-generator-/...

and its pretty quiet - but only gives about 800 watts - if that sort of power is enough I can recommend something like this. I personally wouldn't look at anything other than Honda but they do tend to come at a premium.
The newer stuff is really very quiet indeed but very expensive.

Make no mistake though - it might look nice and portable but its bloody heavy.

Edited by Barkychoc on Thursday 25th August 14:24

[phillpot]

Barkychoc said:

Make no mistake though - it might look nice and portable but its bloody heavy.

but that won't stop it being very nickable !

Keep it as "secret" as you can

[techbotics]

Some pics of mine.. just waiting for some centre cap badges from eBay to finish them off. I decided on black with a chrome logo, although was tempted by purple..

I have also given these a good coat of wheel wax to help keep the brake dust at bay.. and make general cleaning easier.



Thanks

Damian

[Longers]

Great job. The black bits have come out well,but how long did it take you to apply all that masking tape...?!