AN IDIOTS GUIDE TO ALLOY WHEEL REFERBING
Products used in this guide:
1, Alloy wheels.
2, Various grit sandpapers from 80 to 2000
3, Panel Wipe (degreaser)
4, Scotch pads medium and fine.
5, Pro XL Etch Primer aerosol
6, Brooks alloy silver aerosol
7, Pro XL clear Lacquer aerosol
8, Compound Polish
STEP 1,
Get an alloy wheel. Might sound simple and pointless to state but, if you look a little deeper you will understand finding THE RIGHT alloys is vital. It is not just a case of seeing a set on eBay and saying "they will fit I'll buy them" take some time find the style you like. Weather it is euro, jap or whatever style just make sure your happy before you get them.
Now test fit them on your car to make sure they fit.
STEP 2,
For the purpose of this guide we will assume that you have no tyre on the wheel as this is the best way to referb a wheel.
If you want to keep your tyre on ask your local garage to break the seal and push the tyres back for you. This will give you access to the complete wheel.
Access the amount of damage you have. The more damage you have the more work you have to do.
Remove the tyre valve. this can be replaced with custom ones bought easily off eBay or
your local tyre fitter will fit a new one when your tyres are fitted.
STEP 3,
Remove any weights that are fitted to the wheel. The wheel MUST be rebalanced once you have finished the referb.
STEP 4,
Check to see if you have a spigot ring fitted to the wheel and if you do remove (and clean) it.
STEP 5,
Clean the wheel off and sand it back using course to medium sand paper.
I used paper from 80 grit to 500 grit in this step. You may want to use a finer paper up to 800 grit is good
Spend a little extra money on the paper as cheap paper will end up falling apart straight away while more expensive paper lasts a lot longer.
STEP 6,
It is important at this stage to remind you that the more you remove from your wheel the more unbalanced it will be.
Please remember to GET IT BALANCED when the new tyre is fitted.
You may choose to fill any deep cuts in the alloy with a good grade body filler. I did not do this as the damage was light enough to sand out
STEP 7,
Once you have sanded the wheel have a very close look around to check if you missed any area.
You are not looking to get back to bear metal all over but you do need to remove any shine in the wheel. This will give the primer a good base.
Now wipe over the WHOLE wheel with a panel wipe. These are sometimes called pre paint wipes or degreaser.
STEP 8,
Now you are ready to primer your wheel. You MUST use etch primer when doing this as it is the best for sticking to bear metal
I used Pro XL Etch primer to do this. Always follow the instructions of the manufacturer or your local paint shop
Once the primer is dry sand the wheel down again using a medium to light paper or scotch pads. I used a medium and light scotch pad.
STEP 9,
Panel wipe your wheel down and your ready to paint.
At this point I must say make sure you spray in a warm and well ventilated area as paint fumes can be harmful.
I used a custom colour made by Leonard Brooks called "BROOKS ALLOY SILVER"
Your first coat should only be a light dust coat. Then apply 3 or 4 good coats making sure you get into all the small areas.
Practice on something first until you confident with the spray pattern and distance.
Spray to close and you will get runs, but spray to far away and the paint will dry before it hits the wheel. You should look to be about 30 cm away at all times.
Remember to keep perpendicular to the wheel as much as possible
STEP 10,
If you get any reactions go back and re-sand that area down, re-primer and then respray
This may only be a very small area but it is worth being very fussy at this stage as not treating the affected area will only cause problems in the future.
STEP 11,
Once you have applied 3 or 4 coats of the colour leave about 45 minuets then apply the clear lacquer
Again not to close or you will get runs and not to far away or it will dry before it hits the wheel. You should look to be about 30 cm away at all times.
STEP 12,
Now you have a newly sprayed wheel wait until it is completely dry (24-48 hours) then check for any runs or orange peel in the lacquer.
If you have this you can use very fine grit sand paper from 1200 to 2000 will be fine enough for this.
Once you have sanded the imperfections out use a good quality compound on it and buff to a shine. I used Meguiars ultimate compound.
Put back any center cap you removed at the beginning and replace the spigot ring if you removed it.
Now fit it to your car.
STEP 13,
Here is the end result along with the original:
ALL DONE!
I will add a picture of the wheels on my car once I have got a new set of tyres
I hope you found this helpful
All the best
Paul
P.S.
I got everything at Leonard Brooks in Harlow to make this guide. There customer service and expertise is invaluable. Also if you do not know what your doing they are always happy to help.
They are based at:
Unit 17
Wych Elm
Harlow
ESSEX
CM20 3ND
Tel: 01279-417501
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[STEP BY STEP GUIDE] How to referb your alloy wheels
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