|
I am just about to buy a second hand car which has poor condition alloys. Was wondering what my options were regarding DIY solutions or specialist firms that recondition alloys. Any indications of prices for either solution would be welcome. Cheers.
|
|
Depends whether you are talking about PacMan or just bubbly paint and slight rim scrapes. The latter is quite easy DIY job, but you'd have to do all four or it would be an odd shade of silver.
|
|
They are structurally sound with no cracks or anything - just lots of scratches where someone has ploughed it into the curb. Can you recommend a product for the DIY solution?
|
I used Simoniz 5 wheel silver paint, and white primer, and Simoniz Acrylic lacquer.
The Simoniz Silver was fine on my 1986 car, but looked a little darker than standard on a later 1995 car, you may want to find the best match of silver for your car.
I also used Isopon sandable filler and a sharp wood chisel and sandpaper and steel wool to clean up the wheel and fill the nicks and scrapes,. Once the filler is set, it can be shaped to match the adjascent contours.
Key it all over with sandpaper,
Wash to remove dust and dry.
Deflate the tyre and mask off, use parcel tape and you can use 2p coins stuch between the rum and tyre to push the defalted tyre away from the rim.
lightly wipe with thinners, and use the primer to spray lightly all over, enough to show any imperfections which may need more filler.
Then give a good smooth coat of primer and allow to dry.
Now use the silver paint, and spray all the edges and complicated bits first and finish with the smooth most visible areas, don't put so much on that it runs, but enough to get a smooth sealed surface especially on smooth expanses.
When that's dry, use the lacquer and do the same as with the paint.
Dont worry if the lacquer makes the metallic paint look dark and dull, it settles as it dries, also, if you get a drip dust or a fly in the paint, just leave it,
Drips take ages to dry, but shrink so they are bearely noticeable, and are easier to deal with with wet and dry and cutting polish when dry.
Flies and dist will wipe off the dry paint leaving a barely noticable mark, but if you try and remove when wet, the job will be wrecked!
Good luck,
PS When pumping tyres up, inflate to max pressure as stated on sidewall, then deflate to normal pressure, to ensure the bead is properly reseated!
Make sure you remove the wheels and mask the tyres really well, silver tyres look so amateurish, and you need the wheel away from the car to avoid overspray, and to tilt it back against a bucket or something.
You may need a few cans of the paint.
|
This thread strikes a chord with me. I've just kerbed an alloy on my MINI - glanced it on a left-hander I took too tightly at c40 mph.
There a very localised gouge about half and inch long right on the rim.
I haven't the time for DIY. Is it 'repairable by a professional? Or is it a replacement from a salvage place? Or worse, a new one from a MINI dealer?
I haven't even scratched an alloy in 20 years, let alone whacked one like just now...
|
|
The wheel refurb place at Apsley (see Roger's post) sounds worth a look - promising.
|
|
|
