# DIY Alloy Wheel Refurb



## Phil H

I know when you see DIY you may think oh god, a gash job lol but i have been thinking of either getting my alloys refurbed, or a new set or seeing what kind of job / finish i could get by doing it myself and tbh i am quite happy as i had nothing to loose because if it didnt go to plan then i would send them away to get sorted.

I was quoted around £400 ish to get them sorted but everyone wanted to just powdercoat and tbh i wanted a gloss finish, so hey i thought why not i'm doing one wheel at a time and am happy with the results.

Its not costing me much just in paint really which isnt much but good quality not halfords crap. I have had some experience in spraying plus my old man used to have a garage and sprayed a lot and even used the old methods with a roller! yes a roller! this actually gave a better finish than spraying at the time plus he says the quality of paint back then made a difference.

I know i havnt removed the wheels which is somthing i wanted to do but i dont have the equipment and is hassle. I have removed the wheel weights and they will be re-balanced when finished.

All 4 wheels are being done, only got the fronts left to do. It makes it so much easier being split rims! The spokes are not being touched at all as there is nothing wrong with them, they will just recieve a clay, machine polish and wax.

I got fed up of seeing the corrosion on the inside of my BMW wheels and also a few had corrosion on the outer rim. The pictures here show the best wheel! the corrosion is quite bad on all four but its enough to make me sick lol and the finish i have achieved is much better if i do say so myself as it will probably get chipped again over time plus have saved myself the hassle of posting the wheels and having to find another temp set or having the car on stands etc.

anyway...

Wheel removed









Torx bolts removed









Spokes removed before cleaning









Wheel cleaned









This is the best wheel, you can see the corrosion 


















Wheel sanded first stage (no work was carried out on the floor! or even at my house) 


















The rim had a lot of hours work wet sanding after getting through the old lacquer from 80 grit all the way to 1500 in stages, then machine polishing




































After sanding the inside it was time for primer (no spraying was done outside, i have use of a room)


















Paint was then applied, it takes about a week to do one wheel but i'm taking my time and making sure the primer, paint etc dries. 2 coats of high gloss lacquer was finally applied and left for 3 days. Wheel put back together, bolts all cleaned up, a few drops of threadlock on each bolt and torqued up. Wheel is now ready to be re-balanced with the weights on the inside to they cant be seen.

Finished shots:


























































Thanks all comments welcome! :thumb:


----------



## boxstaman

Wowzers - thats awesome!! :thumb:

Fancy a go on some S4 alloys??


----------



## aceraf

Great job, and makes it more satisfying to do yourself rather than paying someone to do it.

I did the dish's on my borbet t's so know how time consuming it is.


----------



## westie

Really nice job done, with loads of care and attension to detail.
Which paint did you use?


----------



## Phil H

cheers guys, 

i get my paint from Paints4u and use the Upol paints, i'm quite impressed with these for small jobs.


----------



## NKS

That looks stunning mate. The finish on the backs look flawless :thumb:


----------



## HC1001

WOW phil you make it look easy, superb finish on the rims now all you have to do is keep them that way!!...........:thumb:


----------



## Epoch

Nice Job Phil

Worth doing right as you say, so they resist peeling/corroding/pitting for longer.

Clean backs really light up the wheels, especially on something like those. Should be able to keep them spanking easitly now

What is your LSP of choice?


----------



## aceraf

Oh, and make sure that you use a good metal polish (like meguiars NXT Metal polish) as it'll repell water/dirt, and make cleaning them easier.

I've personally found that sealants that work well on the painted surfaces, actually make dirt stick to the wheel more, hence i now only use polish's designed for polishing metal on them, and don't use anything like CG wheel guard. I also found that the CG dulls the finish of the polished surface, and makes it look like it's lacquered, and thus removes some of the mirror finish.

:thumb:


----------



## Phil H

Epoch said:


> Nice Job Phil
> 
> Worth doing right as you say, so they resist peeling/corroding/pitting for longer.
> 
> Clean backs really light up the wheels, especially on something like those. Should be able to keep them spanking easitly now
> 
> What is your LSP of choice?


Thanks again,

They have several coats of 915


----------



## Silva1

thats is amazing !! :thumb:

what was used to machine polish it


----------



## Scotty225

*Wheels*

Stunning job! Took a week each wheel but well worth it. I have 4 in at a wheel refurb centre at the minute. Supposed to be very good at their job but will they make me happy? Hope so, I'll post when I receive them.

Scotty225


----------



## Jules

Looks really good.

Quickie question though, is painting better than powder coating - I thought powder coating was supposed to be more resilient?


----------



## 182_Blue

they do look good, lots of polishing ahead now though ;-)


----------



## ianFRST

Jules said:


> Looks really good.
> 
> Quickie question though, is painting better than powder coating - I thought powder coating was supposed to be more resilient?


powder coating is awesome, but the finish goes dull after a while (after using wheels cleaners etc)

great job phil, wish my wheels were 2 piece so i could do them :lol:


----------



## nicholassheppard

WOW, I am lost for words.


----------



## Paul-T

Very nice Phil, well carried out.


----------



## smbMR2

quick question, did you sand between the primer and clear coat stage at all?

i've been doing my wheels, admittedly using halfords paint and i'm not very impressed with the finish at all. done 2 so far so may do them again using paint from said suppliers earlier.


----------



## Phil H

smbMR2 said:


> quick question, did you sand between the primer and clear coat stage at all?
> 
> i've been doing my wheels, admittedly using halfords paint and i'm not very impressed with the finish at all. done 2 so far so may do them again using paint from said suppliers earlier.


Thanks again guys,

I sanded after the primer just to make it smooth, then applied paint then lacquer. The Upol cans from paints4u and really good and the spray action is similar to some spray guns. The halfords range is crap.

but as its just for the inside of the wheels i am more than happy with the results and the glossy finish as i am fussy about stuff, anythings better than corrosion lol!


----------



## Mark M

Mean job Phil!

I am impressed!


----------



## smbMR2

Phil H said:


> Thanks again guys,
> 
> I sanded after the primer just to make it smooth, then applied paint then lacquer. The Upol cans from paints4u and really good and the spray action is similar to some spray guns. The halfords range is crap.
> 
> but as its just for the inside of the wheels i am more than happy with the results and the glossy finish as i am fussy about stuff, anythings better than corrosion lol!


what grade of paper did you use, about 1200 wet n dry??


----------



## Phil H

i used 1500 wet n dry


----------



## gsd2000

sorry to resurrect an old thread, but how are the wheels holding up? 

Is the finish still okay?

It's just that i have just won a set of BMW style 71 wheels off ebay, which i believe are the same as the ones that you have refurbished to fit to my vauxhall monaro, and i mainly wanted to know what brand paint that you used.


----------



## P4ULT

what polishing kit was used.


----------



## spursfan

That is seriously good work, looks great:thumb:


----------



## Phil H

Finish is still holding up well, The paint i used was Upol primer, wheel silver and Clear#1 Lacquer.


----------



## rover214

:doubleshothats awesome!!


----------



## Planet Man

Great work Phil:thumb:

That is some turnaround.


----------



## DetailedDave

Phil H said:


> i get my paint from Paints4u and use the Upol paints, i'm quite impressed with these for small jobs.


Phil, I have a '09 535 altho I'm not fortunate to have spokes that come off, however, having just paid a huge fee to have my wheels (M Double Spoke 172) refurbed (after hitting kerbs in the snow) and having just dinged two of them again (sigh) I've decided I'm going to learn how to refurb my wheels.

However, got stuck at the first hurdle which is what colour are my _'silver' _alloys. Just visited the Paint4U web site and used the 'wizard' to establish colour but its a bit inconclusive. How did you go about finding the exact alloy colour (BMW code)?

PS fantastic finish on your wheels..!


----------



## Phil H

cheers, 

tbh i dont know the colour code for BMW Wheels. When i refurbed mine i did not do the spokes as there was nothing wrong with them. They where only machine polished. I refurbed the lip and the inner wheels. 

I went for upol wheel silver as all i wanted in the inside was a silver lacquered finish. But BMW must use a generic silver paint as the upol wheel silver was from what i could a match. 
Try some on a inconspicuous area first?


----------



## ALANSHR

Nice job back then Phil, how are they lasting I wonder?


----------



## Phil H

they are lasting very well tbh will be 2 years soon


----------



## SeanCorky

Wow, excellent job. Like brand new wheels again!


----------



## P4ULT

hi could you tell me what was used for polishing the rims please.


----------



## ice200

Hello Phil,

Really great looking result. I'll be refurbishing one of my alloys soon. The lock bolt broke and removing it left a lot of nasty scratches and burns from the welder. 
Could you tell me how much primer, paint and lacquer have you used on one wheel? I migt do all for while I start doing it.

Thanks,
Matt


----------



## pete5570

Great job! And you saved a fortune. They really do look fantastic. Professional quality!


----------



## Motoract

those look really lovely!


----------



## paulmc08

That's a cracking job Phil,and saved a few pound's in the process:thumb:


----------

