# My Alloy Wheel Refurb



## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

Hi, thought this maybe worth a write up, bought a set of winter wheels for the Clio I had at the time with the intention of seeing how hard it would be to refurb them, I got 5 alloys and the first one was a practice rim and easily the worst condition out of any of the remaining 4 but was good to build my confidence and iron out my mistakes.

Here's a link to the guide I used, probably will cover things in more detail for anyone who's considering having a go.
http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=427081

First off had to give the wheels a good clean with APC and get them to a respectable standard. Wheel weights remove, Tar remover etc

Sanding was the next job, ranging from 400 to 600 initially, on the back side I used much lower to remove any surface corrosion.

After Sanding the inside and outside smooth I used Body Filler to fill the remaining imperfections and allowed it to set, then back out with the 400-600 grit to sand it smooth to the shape it should be.

Next up was spray filler (bright yellow) really don't get on with this stuff and didn't use it on the 4 final ones, I believe it's to fill sanding imperfections from the filling and sanding process.

Painting was done with Halfords Grey Primer, 3 coats, first very light and heavier on the remaining two, 15 mins between coats. After 24 hours the primer was lightly sanded smooth with 800 grit and plenty of water.

Colour Coat was Halfords 'Graphite Grey- Peugeot' on the practice rim and the final alloys are 'Gris Metal Froid' which is the Renault Sport Colour From AlloyPaints, the latter has a much better nozzle for painting. Painting was same as the primer, 3 coats etc, etc.


At least 24 hours after the colour coat I used Halfords Lacquer, not the best as the nozzle is round and found it doesn't get into the tighter spokes as well or so it seems. Would definitely try to find one with a nozzle to direct the product if I ever did any more.








Spray Filler

Centre Cap Sprayed with Wheel

Starting to sand the spray filler


Primer




Could See some minor imperfections so know there was a bit more filling and sanding to do before re priming


Paint




Clear Coat






Bit too dark for what was my car... (think I had the wheels off for painting callipers and hubs)


Flattened with 1500 / 2000 Grit, possibly too agressive and hadnt wet sanded before and struck through in a few places on the edges but all goes towards getting it right on the final wheels. 


and Polished up with Meguiars UC






Now onto the 4 that were in reasonable condition, not as many photos but learned a lot and was able to complete them a lot faster and without the mistakes.





Paint...






Clear Coat















Just need to let the Clear set for a few weeks and lightly flatten the clear coat and polish.


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## kabs (Apr 14, 2014)

Excellent result. 
Please update on durability of the Halfords lacquer, some say it's good others not so.


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## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

Half way through I was going to suggest laying the wheels down, although you have to tilt the can its a lot easier to paint and less chance of runs. 

But looks like you noticed that after the trial run


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

ill keep you updated on how they hold up, but only if they end up on my mates car as i now have a fiesta


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## Langballen (Apr 12, 2015)

How much time did you use for the four wheels?
Not including drying time?

Very good write up btw


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

Langballen said:


> How much time did you use for the four wheels?
> Not including drying time?
> 
> Very good write up btw


Thank you, check out the link in the write up to the mg/rover owners club, it goes into much more detail. Primer/Paint/Lacquer take about 90 mins each if you can paint all 4 at the same time but the recommendation is to leave 24 hours between the different paints, other things that add time is the prep at the beginning cleaning them and rubbing the paint down, filling and re-sanding then sanding after primer, the last optional stage if to wet sand the lacquer and polish to reduce any peel effect in the clear coat.

Being my first time i dare not think of the time taken as mistakes where made and learned from etc but id say a lot. if i was off work id guess 4 days minimum is what id want after doing it once. Very rewarding to be able to do but ive learned is probably easier to get it done professionally.


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## Mugwump (Feb 17, 2008)

Christian6984 said:


> .....Primer/Paint/Lacquer take about 90 mins each if you can paint all 4 at the same time but the recommendation is to leave 24 hours between the different paints.....


Between primer coat and colour, yes.

Lacquer ideally needs applying soon after the final colour coat (probably not much longer than you would leave for the colour coats to flash off as you build them up). This allows the lacquer to bond properly to the base/colour coat and reduces the likelihood of lacquer peel in the future.

You look to have achieved a good final finish :thumb:


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## Harry_p (Mar 18, 2015)

I've never seen aerosol lacquer peel off aerosol base. Usually the solvents in the lacquer will soften the base coat enough to bond regardless of when it was painted.

The main danger I have found is lacquering a metallic base too soon, it can soften it enough to affect the appearance of the flake under the lacquer and leave patches or streaks.

As for halfords lacquer, it's ok. As good as most other aerosol lacquers, but it's not as resistant to chips as a proper spray gun lacquer or powdercoat. It also tends to cloud over time and need repolishing with a mild abrasive polish to brim the gloss back.

A 2pack lacquer will be much tougher, but is more expensive, harder to get hold of, and you need to be more careful when using it.


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