Anodising Wheels Rims - Any good
Discussion
I'm looking at the options for getting my Mk1 GT3 wheels refurbished.
I had considered that anodising the outer rims might give a more durable finish than painting or polish / lacquer, but I'm worried that stone chips or scuffing will take the anodising off & leave unprotected ally which will quickly corrode.
Does anyone have any experience of this?
I had considered that anodising the outer rims might give a more durable finish than painting or polish / lacquer, but I'm worried that stone chips or scuffing will take the anodising off & leave unprotected ally which will quickly corrode.
Does anyone have any experience of this?
Andy
I have just had 2 sets anodised. One set I dismantled and got anodised myself. The other I had someone who refurbishes cars do on my behalf. The former cost £240 for the 4 and the latter £440. These costs included having the Centre's powder coated and the rims anodised. I can supply contact details if you need them.
You need to be careful with the rims and make sure they are highly polished before anodising otherwise they tend to turn battleship grey(ask me how I know). My first set have silver rims/black powder coated centres and the one's I did myself have black rims and black powder coated centres. I have a black GT3 and so the black rims make the car look a bit like a stealth bomber. The silver rims also look fantastic with black centres but I believe the black one's will weather far batter in the long run. Either way, the dreaded corrosion is now a thing of the past. I would highly recommend anodising as a long term solution.
I have just had 2 sets anodised. One set I dismantled and got anodised myself. The other I had someone who refurbishes cars do on my behalf. The former cost £240 for the 4 and the latter £440. These costs included having the Centre's powder coated and the rims anodised. I can supply contact details if you need them.
You need to be careful with the rims and make sure they are highly polished before anodising otherwise they tend to turn battleship grey(ask me how I know). My first set have silver rims/black powder coated centres and the one's I did myself have black rims and black powder coated centres. I have a black GT3 and so the black rims make the car look a bit like a stealth bomber. The silver rims also look fantastic with black centres but I believe the black one's will weather far batter in the long run. Either way, the dreaded corrosion is now a thing of the past. I would highly recommend anodising as a long term solution.
Anodising requires a special grade of aluminium to work or they turn grey. The old fuchs wheels could be anodised but many later types won't. I believe its down to the content of magnesium in the aluminium. To much and it goes grey/black. Talk to the guvner at LHT anodisers in Uxbridge, do not know him but he has totalled 2 965 3.6 turbo's both in yellow on track trays and the last I heard he has a yellow GT3 so he might be receptive.
I also have a set of speedlines which suffer from the dreaded corrosion. I had to replace one of the outer rims, which I ended up paying a hefty price for from Jasmine as they are pretty much unobtanium from Porsche or anyone else. Unfortunately the rim had been repolished and laquered by Jasmine and the quality of the laquer was in a word poor. It lasted less than a year of very light use before it started to dull and now stands out like a sore thumb compared to the originals. The other rims have some curbing, so I am going to rebuild them myself and am very interested in the anodising. I was going to get the centers powdercoated, but the results of the Jasmine outer rim have put me off using the standard polish and laquer process.
Does anyone of anywhere that can build up the curbed parts of the outer rims with ally weld and then re-turn the rim so as not to lose any of the outer lip of the rim which is an important part of the wheel....? I dont want it just turned down as it will take too much off the rim.
Does anyone of anywhere that can build up the curbed parts of the outer rims with ally weld and then re-turn the rim so as not to lose any of the outer lip of the rim which is an important part of the wheel....? I dont want it just turned down as it will take too much off the rim.
The Fuchs used on early Porsches were forged and used a low silicon alloy hence can take a good level of anodising. The split rims used on Porsches tend to be cast then spun and, having a higher silicon content, go grey when they are anodised. I did a set of 2 part GT3 rims for DanofEsher, they were stripped, the rims machined to ge rid of curbing, then polished and lightly anodised. The centres were powder coated. Pics at www.early911.co.uk/html/fuchs_rims.html
Over the winter I shall be doing the same process on my own 993RS Speedlines.
Over the winter I shall be doing the same process on my own 993RS Speedlines.
Edited by nick-moss on Saturday 28th October 10:39
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff