# JDM EP3 Enkei wheel refurb



## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

got the tyres taken off my wheels so i can start to refurb them in the original championship white. decided against powder coating them after i had my dc5 wheels done and the finish wasnt really up to my standard! also as i do painting it wasnt costing me much to paint them anyway.

first job was to inspect the wheels properly, as you can see from the pics, plenty of scrapes, the odd chip around the wheel and lots of chips near the bolt holes.










































i then set about removing all the old wheel weights and any old foam tape left over from old weights.










then had a look at the centre caps. my original plan was just to polish them up, as they didnt look bad. when i ordered the paint i had it matched to the centre caps as they were a slightly different shade from the wheel itself. but on closer inspection i found some of the red H areas had lacquer flaking. so a quick hunt on ebay found the correct decals to replace the red H and i've decided to paint these along with the wheels.


















wheels were then taken outside, and meguiars hot rims wheel cleaner applied and left to soak for ten mins. then washed the wheels with scotch brite pad to remove most of the dirt and grime, then rinsed off.


















wheels back inside, you can see the scrapes to be fixed. out with the da sander and some 180 grit discs, and they started looking like this.

before










after










then the rest of the rim was gone over by hand to remove all the little chips and key the surface for etch primer.


















and the finished wheels and caps ready for panel wipe and etch primer tomorrow


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## Mister-Jimbo (Nov 29, 2006)

subscribed! 

looking good so far :thumb:

jim


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

i forgot to write "part 1" in the topic title :lol:

tomorrow morning i'll be applying etch primer through my devilbiss mini gun in the morning, let it dry off and tomorrow night flat everything with 800 and painting them in lovely shiny championship white 2 pack  can't wait.


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## schaeffs (Mar 27, 2009)

Mister-Jimbo said:


> subscribed!
> 
> looking good so far :thumb:
> 
> jim


+1!


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## tim (May 2, 2006)

Looking forward to this, looks like your doing it right anyway!

Would you not have considered getting them Beadblasted?


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Nice work so far :thumb:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Looking good fella :thumb:

Have you got the new decals for the centre caps ? what is the quality like ? and if they are ok and the red is the right red then can you send me the ebay link via pm please. Need some for the S2K when I redo my centre caps.

Looking forward to part 2


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## Buzzsaw (Nov 4, 2007)

Subscribed :thumb:


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

tim said:


> Looking forward to this, looks like your doing it right anyway!
> 
> Would you not have considered getting them Beadblasted?


wasnt any need to. there was no corrosion on the wheels, the only parts needing repaired were the scrapes and chips  the rest of the paint is fine to reapply over.


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

ads2k said:


> Looking good fella :thumb:
> 
> Have you got the new decals for the centre caps ? what is the quality like ? and if they are ok and the red is the right red then can you send me the ebay link via pm please. Need some for the S2K when I redo my centre caps.
> 
> Looking forward to part 2


i only ordered the decals last night so they're not with me yet. i'll be posting up pics hopefully tonight of the wheels painted, then probably saturday fitted to the car with the decals in place. here's the link for them, there are a few different ones available on ebay but i chose these as they were the correct size.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200329569127&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:UK:11


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## DNZ 21 (Feb 10, 2009)

not sure if they look like the right decals mate?

if they come and are no good try here http://www.skewer.co.uk/

iv had some off him and they are spot on and a great service


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

i only got those ones because they were the correct size, the pic on the ebay ad looks a bit photoshopped. if they aren't spot on i can always leave them off until i find good ones.

all the wheels are now etched primed, updates later


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

Part 2!

started off today by degreasing all the wheels and centre caps with UPOL degreaser panel wipe. this is the state of a clean white cloth after doing one wheel and shows why its necessary.










all the wheels were then laid out on my custom made stands (paint tins with a rag over them :lol:










this was my weapon of choice, upoxy super etch primer.










all the wheels and centre caps were then done inside and out, given a mist coat then another 3 coats of the primer using my devilbiss primer gun.


























the centre caps and wheels were all wet sanded with 3M 800 grit wet and dry until uber smooth. this took alot longer than expected but preparation is the key kids.


























i then scraped off any excess primer from the hub face of the wheel and masked them up, to keep the surface flush and stop the centre bore of the wheel getting clogged with paint.










and laid them out, and again througholy degreased them.










and some finished, but still wet, painted shots.


























































quite happy with the finish, got a nice balance between a wet smooth finish without causing any runs (believe me its better to have a little orange peel on wheels than have to try and rub out runs!). the finish should level out a bit once they harden and dry.

next jobs on the list are let them harden completely, probably until the weekend as i want to make sure they are 100% hard. then apply some coats of poorboys wheel sealant, apply stickers to centre caps, and take them to have tyres refitted and hope and pray they dont scrape the paint off!! more pics at the weekend, thanks for looking


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## alan burnett (Aug 21, 2007)

nice write up wheels are looking good


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## toni (Oct 30, 2005)

They look great!

Nice write-up also :thumb:


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## LukeA (Oct 6, 2008)

Martin_C said:


> ... and take them to have tyres refitted and hope and pray they dont scrape the paint off!! more pics at the weekend, thanks for looking ììtì


I would be crapping myself about that after all your time and effort you've put into them. My wheels were damaged last time I had a tyre fitted. :wall:


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## fil_b (Oct 24, 2007)

what paint you use to paint them??

looking good mart

did like the euro bucket and the other civic


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Awesome work mate, they look like a cracking finish on the wheels.........:thumb:

Reckon you could do this as a sideline if you wanted too..........:lol:

Top work and fair play for attempting this........


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

fil_b said:


> what paint you use to paint them??
> 
> looking good mart
> 
> did like the euro bucket and the other civic


i used championship white 2 pack top coat 



Baker21 said:


> Awesome work mate, they look like a cracking finish on the wheels.........:thumb:
> 
> Reckon you could do this as a sideline if you wanted too..........:lol:
> 
> Top work and fair play for attempting this........


i've painted a couple of set of wheels before, but never my own or to this detail. theres too much work involved to make it viable really! cars are easier :lol:


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## Stevie---Boy (Mar 21, 2009)

Nice finish mate


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## lando77 (Mar 10, 2009)

Sweet! The wheels look amazing


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## Tomm (Jan 14, 2009)

> using my devilbiss primer gun


Pha!! Its alright for some hey!

ace turn around there, top work :thumb:


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

Tomm said:


> Pha!! Its alright for some hey!
> 
> ace turn around there, top work :thumb:


well, its a bit like washing your car with fairy liquid and an old sponge...or using the best of gear :buffer:

the wheels are now sunning themselves behind my patio windows baking in the sun  stickers arrived today, look alright but i dont want to take the backing paper off just yet.


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## Andy Bray (Apr 3, 2008)

I do not know much about paints etc but why put the stickers on after the spray job. Why not lacquer over them.:thumb:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Superb part 2 matey :thumb:

Fantastic finish. Looking forward to seeing them all done with centre caps/tyres then back on the car


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

Andy Bray said:


> I do not know much about paints etc but why put the stickers on after the spray job. Why not lacquer over them.:thumb:


normally i would, like these brembo calipers for a 350z i painted (they are red, just the flash was bright!)










but the paint i'd bought for the wheels was single stage top coat, which you dont lacquer, its the same finish thats on the car itself. if i was going to lacquer them i've of got a base coat instead. once i'd started i then realised the centre caps needed painted and i didnt want to lacquer over a top coat already. alot easier in this case to just use the decal itself.


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

got some black aluminium wheel nuts for refitting these today, i really dont like the honda chrome ones. also the sun was making them look rather bling so couldnt resist!


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## scotty26 (Jan 20, 2007)

Having tried to do this before with mixed success, I can really appreciate the work and effort gone into that - the result is awesome!


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## dbaillie (Apr 6, 2009)

nice finish on them mate


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

thanks


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## mathyou78 (Mar 12, 2007)

Very nice. I love white EP3s


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

finally went and got my tyres fitted today, was absolutely bricking it that they'd scratch the wheels! before i went i put 2 layers of poorboys wheel sealant on to make sure they stay clean and shiny! when i got the wheels back i decided silver wheel weights wouldn't do so i hand painted them championship white :lol: fitted the wheels with the black lightweight nuts and i think they look stunning! well pleased!

also managed to get time to fit the sfs induction hose, spoon rad cap, spoon oil cap and skunk2 gearknob i'd been waiting on.


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

Fantastic work! Hat's off!


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

Excellent turnaround there - thanks for posting :thumb:



Martin_C said:


> finally went and got my tyres fitted today, was absolutely bricking it that they'd scratch the wheels!


So would I have been. I'm surprised that air-drying paint (even though you "baked" them in the conservatory) is tough enough to withstand the force of dragging the tyre over the edge of the rim.

Also, you don't appear to have masked the bore in the centre of the wheels. Do they not fit over spigots on the hub? :confused?


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

parish said:


> Excellent turnaround there - thanks for posting :thumb:
> 
> So would I have been. I'm surprised that air-drying paint (even though you "baked" them in the conservatory) is tough enough to withstand the force of dragging the tyre over the edge of the rim.
> 
> Also, you don't appear to have masked the bore in the centre of the wheels. Do they not fit over spigots on the hub? :confused?


well... the paint used was 2 pack paint, which was a top coat, so its white with no lacquer. its mixed 2:1 with hardener. its the hardener which "dries" the paint and eventually turns them hard. an automotive oven purely bakes the paint to speed up the process for a quick turnaround in a bodyshop. given enough time helped along with heat it should be as near as damn it as hard. it gets damn hot through the big glass doors with the sun beating in and they were solid after 5 days 

i take it by not masking you mean the previous pics where i left the face of the wheel unpainted? if so, i didnt want the centre bore being clogged with any extra paint or the face to possibly become uneven as i utterly detest wobbly wheels!


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## parish (Jun 29, 2006)

Martin_C said:


> its the hardener which "dries" the paint and eventually turns them hard. an automotive oven purely bakes the paint to speed up the process for a quick turnaround in a bodyshop.


Ah, I see. Thanks :thumb:



Martin_C said:


> i take it by not masking you mean the previous pics where i left the face of the wheel unpainted? if so, i didnt want the centre bore being clogged with any extra paint or the face to possibly become uneven as i utterly detest wobbly wheels!


I meant this pic - you've masked the mounting face on the inside of the wheel but the bore is unmasked and appears to be fully painted which, I would expect, make it hard to get the wheels back on.



Martin_C said:


>


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

ah i see what you mean. i wasnt going over the bore heavily and they slipped on fine


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## .Martin (May 2, 2007)

That looks amazing!

Love the whole car!

Only thing that lets it down is the union jack on the back


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## impster (May 2, 2007)

Top job mate. Good effort.


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

the amount of people who comment on the union jack :lol:

its because the jdm ep3 civic type r's were built in swindon alongside the uk cars, shipped to japan minus engine/box and finished off and sold there, its just to mark the cars place of manufacture as the japs are just as fascinated with british culture as we are with theirs.


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## Sp3no (Jan 4, 2009)

I too have in the past re-furbished one set of wheels and i have promised myself NEVER to do it again, it was a mamoth task, so well done and what a great result. Stunning


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## swiftflo (Jul 28, 2008)

Have noticed that the inside of the wheels on my BM have patches of rust on them, so I am going to have to paint them. From the ouside the wheels look as if they are alloy, but the inside is def. painted. This will have to be done by brush as I don't have the time to have the tyres taken off and refitted.
What paint would you recomend for this ?.


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

by brush..er...really not sure to be honest. you'd maybe be better sanding back the corrosion, masking up to leave the inside of the wheel and getting some primer and paint rattle cans and doing it that way. i cant imagine brush painting leaving a good finish.


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## swiftflo (Jul 28, 2008)

Martin_C said:


> by brush..er...really not sure to be honest. you'd maybe be better sanding back the corrosion, masking up to leave the inside of the wheel and getting some primer and paint rattle cans and doing it that way. i cant imagine brush painting leaving a good finish.


Realise I am not going to get a spray type finish, but I have only got the spare wheel, so can only do one wheel at a time. As it is only the inside of the wheels I need to do, these will hardly be seen. lol


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## MadOnVaux! (Jun 2, 2008)

They look fantastic mate, well done


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## swiftflo (Jul 28, 2008)

Were did you get the devilbiss primer gun from ?. 
Having second thoughts about brush painting.


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

usa ebay. do you have a compressor? if you used rattle cans you'd get a reasonable finish, and its alot less powerful and controllable than using a proper spray gun. if its just to tidy them up inside i'd go with rattle cans.

remove the corrosion using something like 180grit paper, etch prime, sand with 600/800 paper, then apply the paint/lacquer.


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## swiftflo (Jul 28, 2008)

Martin_C said:


> usa ebay. do you have a compressor? if you used rattle cans you'd get a reasonable finish, and its alot less powerful and controllable than using a proper spray gun. if its just to tidy them up inside i'd go with rattle cans.
> 
> remove the corrosion using something like 180grit paper, etch prime, sand with 600/800 paper, then apply the paint/lacquer.


Thanks just googled for devilbiss and see that it needs compressor, will not be going down that road. As you say - rattle cans best bet.lol


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## Martin_C (Jun 28, 2006)

Devilbiss is very expensive also! A trip to halfords is what you need.


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## grant_evans (Mar 2, 2008)

swiftflo said:


> Thanks just googled for devilbiss and see that it needs compressor, will not be going down that road. As you say - rattle cans best bet.lol


you can get a pretty decent result with rattle cans, i done my saxo wheels with them and the results were probably 8/10, certainly better than you will do with a paint brush. just dont rush the prep work


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