tires and wheels Alloy wheel refinishing

[davidmcw]

Just purchased a 1976 BMW 2002 with Cromodora "Daytona" 13"x5.5" magnesium alloy wheels. Would like to refinish. What's the best approach? Bead or sand blast? Wurth wheel paint and clearcoat or powder coating?

[eastsidebimmer]

I had my factory alloys blasted with aluminum oxide (I think) and then painted with a self etch primer and painted a current spec Mercedes wheel silver then topcoated with a very dull clear. I'm very happy with the results.

I'd find a reputable blasting shop who is capable on not destroying your wheels with too harsh an abrasive. Also check them for trueness and have any straightening done before they are refinished.

Good score, let us know what you end up doing and post some pics!

-=Ben

[dubois]

I cleaned my Chromos 13X6's with the Harbor Freight baking soda blaster , etch primer, and rattle can gun metal from Duplicolor.

[BLUNT]

I just did a set of euroweaves for a car im bulding and I bead blasted them in my cabinet with black sand. then i used this duplicolor silver wheel coating. Im sure its just silver paint but it really worked great and looks awesome. Its got some fleck in it so it may not be period correct but i dont care about that crap. the clear that goes with it did not darken the silver at all like some clears do.

[Guest Anonymous]

Same great results last year as Blunt on 14" basket weaves with Duplicolor alloy wheel paint and clear.

____________________

Roger

'72 Malaga

RBenson685@aol.com

[ought2]

I've had good luck using ground glass for blasting alloys followed by Duplicolor's self-etching primer, silver wheel paint and then clear.

[Mike Self]

after cleaning/blasting etc use a self etching primer (I used Spees-Heckler in a spray can), followed by Krylon "dull aluminum" and then a Krylon clear coat. Lasts 5-7 years if you don't drive on salted roads...

mike

[c.d.iesel]

..... " 'find a reputable blasting shop

who is capable on not destroying your

wheels with too harsh an abrasive.

Also check them for trueness and

have any straightening done

before they are refinished"

that is the most important point !

find a wheel balancer - mount the bare rims on the spindle,

and just hand spin. If any wobbles are seen - stop there.

You could also mount a bare rim on the front of your car up

in the air and hand spin there to check for run-out.

[Richard]

My understanding is that balancing a magnesium - aluminum rim is near impossible as they are very brittle. You can add weight.... CD????

[c.d.iesel]

"My understanding is that balancing

a magnesium - aluminum rim is near

impossible as they are very brittle"

wow!?!?! dat's a heck of a fishtail if there ever was one!

Balance: find machine/technician that can set the machine

for INSIDE spotting, and use Tape-A-Weight, inside plane only -

you don't deface the clean outside appearance.

[YoungWilliaM]

I recently had my early factory alloys bead blasted, powdercoated (Bengal Silver color), and clear coated by an outfit in the East Bay. One glitch I ran into was I couldn't install the hub caps because of the added paint thickness surrounding the center bore. With a little elbow grease and a small sanding drum, I was able to fit the correct hub caps (Thanks BLUNT).

[penth2o]

I've had good luck using ground glass for blasting alloys followed by Duplicolor's self-etching primer, silver wheel paint and then clear.

Bob,

Those Momo's look great. I have been looking for some background on those since you got them.

I have yet to find any. You???

They turned out very nice.

[02for2]

I recently had my early factory alloys bead blasted, powdercoated (Bengal Silver color), and clear coated by an outfit in the East Bay...

Powdercoating is a no-no for alloy wheels. No major wheel manufacturer does it or recommends it, in fact several recommend against it.

The heat of the oven (often not carefully controlled) can ruin the temper of the alloy. If it ever happens to you, it won't be with the car parked in the carport.

Cheers!

[02for2]

I recently had my early factory alloys bead blasted, powdercoated (Bengal Silver color), and clear coated by an outfit in the East Bay...

Powdercoating is a no-no for alloy wheels. No major wheel manufacturer does it or recommends it, in fact several recommend against it.

The heat of the oven (often not carefully controlled) can ruin the temper of the alloy causing the wheel to break. If it ever happens to you, it won't be with the car parked in the carport.

Cheers!

[davidmcw]

Thanks for all of the input. I'll strip the paint with Aircraft paint remover. I found a European Wheel Refinishing kit at ProperAutoCare.com that contains:

17 oz. Wurth Clean-Solve

10.2 oz. einzett Self-etching Primer

12 oz. Wurth Silver Wheel Paint

12 oz. Wurth High-Gloss Clear Lacquer

I'll let you know how they turn out.