# ST170 alloy wheel refurb



## Tiggs (Feb 28, 2007)

I bought a set of VERY cheap ST170 alloys as a DIY project for the SWMBO car, I wanted to use my compressor and spray guns as in the past I used rattle cans and wanted to try this method.

Reason for cheap wheels and our starting point.......






*This one the guy I bought them from had already had a go at re-furbing them, and got fed up.*




*I bought a fifth wheel and will use the above one as the spare, and also my trial wheel for each stage.

I bought some starchem paint stripper and with this and a drill attached wire brush the paint removal started. I did think about getting them blasted but I was in no hurry to get them done.(hindsight is a wonderful thing)

So after a loooonnngggg time we ended up with this, all five wheels done......*







*I filled the enormous amount of kerb marks marks using an alu filler, but for some reason never took any pics of this bit.

I used a 3M spot putty to sort any missed bits and get the edges perfect.

Next up de-grease etc and acid etched with ProXL.*












*Once I was happy with that, I set up my make shift booth and primered the wheels. The spare wheel done first as a tester, once I had the gun set up it sprayed on lovely*






*After a week, the wheels were flat back with 600 wet, washed and wiped over with tac cloths ready for base coat. Up went the spray booth.*









*Only 24hrs this time, wiped down again with tac cloths, lacquer applied. Although not easy to see in these pics as the sun has long since gone at was about 6pm when taking the pics.*








All that is left to do is flat a few parts and polish. Then find some decent rubber.:thumb:

To my eye they are not perfect, and I have learnt many things doing these wheels which I would do differently next time, but they are in a very good condition now. 
Painting with a gun was a real learning curve, my hats off to painters in the job there is an enormous amount of skill involved.

If you got this far, thanks for looking.:wave:

Carl.


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## AGRE (Sep 25, 2008)

They look great :buffer: Thanks for sharing :thumb:


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## Natalie (Jan 19, 2011)

Massive improvement there, good work :thumb:


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## Guru (Aug 28, 2013)

They have turned up a treat!

One question - if they were so bad in the beginning, are you sure none of them is actually bent?


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## Tiggs (Feb 28, 2007)

Guru said:


> They have turned up a treat!
> 
> One question - if they were so bad in the beginning, are you sure none of them is actually bent?


I had them tested before I started, I thought the same as you.


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## Chris_911 (Jul 31, 2013)

Well done!


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

Great job looks really good.

On another note, your lawn looks great too


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## Tiggs (Feb 28, 2007)

Kiashuma said:


> On another note, your lawn looks great too


Its fake grass, the wife hoovers it instead of mowing. :lol:


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## craigeh123 (Dec 26, 2011)

Wheels look awesome , would you say you found the gun easier than cans ? You've done bloody well they were a mess !


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## Tiggs (Feb 28, 2007)

craigeh123 said:


> Wheels look awesome , would you say you found the gun easier than cans ? You've done bloody well they were a mess !


Thanks for the comment. yes using a gun is much better, you get consistent output from it and you can control fan pattern for different areas. It took some practice to get it correct for me, it's also cheaper for materials as well. I would say though the pro xl tins were excellent.


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## craigeh123 (Dec 26, 2011)

Liking the spray booth to ! What did you use 1k or 2k ?


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## craigeh123 (Dec 26, 2011)

Also where they cheap guns or dear ones ?


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## Miguel Pestana (Feb 16, 2012)

really nice work on the wheels, they look pretty good :thumb:


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## Tiggs (Feb 28, 2007)

craigeh123 said:


> Liking the spray booth to ! What did you use 1k or 2k ?


Solvent based 1k. But may buy some 2k clear and spray them at work.

Ive tried on a previous project to use a couple of the 2k in a can.....they are ****e.


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## Tiggs (Feb 28, 2007)

craigeh123 said:


> Also where they cheap guns or dear ones ?


For the primer i have this one, a kestral
http://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/product.php?tid=&products_id=4974

For the base and clear this Devilbiss one, its okay and does the jobs I need although I can't for the life of me get the air cap off. I just assume it doesn't but make cleaning a right PITA.
http://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/product.php?tid=79&products_id=6399


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## Jody 4444 (Mar 12, 2009)

Great turn around mate they were quite bad but now look like new :thumb:


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

Tiggs said:


> Its fake grass, the wife hoovers it instead of mowing. :lol:


:lol: cool better make sure you dont get any overspray on it :thumb:


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## luca (Mar 3, 2012)

They seems brand new! Great job!


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## James Bagguley (Jul 13, 2013)

Lovely turnout, impressive result :thumb:


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