What have you done to your car today?

Cookeh said:
I used just sandpaper too.... The latter comment doesn't make things *that* much quicker, just gives a better finish and saves your fingers.
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No idea then, but even with 240 grit, it was taking a while to get the finish to haze over. They're also not the easiest alloys, lots of curves etc.

Are you rubbing it back till its dull or just a quick scuff up?
 
Amos91 said:
They are looking good! I started a set of track wheels last night, what a mistake lol...

3 hours later I've nearly sanded one alloy face down...
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Cookeh said:
In 3 hours I'd sanded down, prepped and fully painted 4 wheels. What on earth are you doing?

Get a wire wheel/cup for your angle grinder/drill and a rotary tool with a flappy sanding disc - the latter will sort out any curb rashes/curbing and the former will blitz the surfaces and take most of the old paint/rust/whatever off.
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I've taken a set back to bare metal as the corrosion was so bad, used a paint stripper wheel and wire brush attachments. Then filled any kerbing and i've primed 2 of them.

It's taken me longer than 3 hours, but then who cares? It's not a competition and it's my time. I work at my own pace.
 
Gayjin said:
I've taken a set back to bare metal as the corrosion was so bad, used a paint stripper wheel and wire brush attachments. Then filled any kerbing and i've primed 2 of them.

It's taken me longer than 3 hours, but then who cares? It's not a competition and it's my time. I work at my own pace.
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Having never done it before, I was making sure I'm taking the most efficient steps.
 
Amos91 said:
No idea then, but even with 240 grit, it was taking a while to get the finish to haze over. They're also not the easiest alloys, lots of curves etc.

Are you rubbing it back till its dull or just a quick scuff up?
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Depends on the condition. If, like the gentleman who posted above, they have terrible corrosion across the whole surface then it will take quite some time as they will need to go back to metal. If the overall surface is quite good and the main concern is some minor curbing, then all you really need to do is address the curbing and then either strip or just mostly remove the clearcoat before proceeding with your own paint.

Another consideration is the type of primer you'll be using. If its a filler primer then you can get away with leaving some scratches/marks in there as the primer will fill them and you'll get a smooth surface after you sand back the primer.

The wheels I did had some minor curbing and some equally minor corrosion, they took about twenty minutes of sanding each. Started with 300 grit, then 800, then 1200. 300 took the corrosion and curbing off, 800 took the worst of the rest off and then the 1200 removed the scratches caused by the 300 and 800 grit stuff. There was one wheel - oddly the spare - that was corroded pretty badly and that one did require the use of a wire wheel and about forty minutes of sanding to get it back to metal.

I'm not criticising your process of work, just trying to help your approach to save you and your fingers some effort!
 
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Cookeh said:
Depends on the condition. If, like the gentleman who posted above, they have terrible corrosion across the whole surface then it will take quite some time as they will need to go back to metal. If the overall surface is quite good and the main concern is some minor curbing, then all you really need to do is address the curbing and then either strip or just mostly remove the clearcoat before proceeding with your own paint.

Another consideration is the type of primer you'll be using. If its a filler primer then you can get away with leaving some scratches/marks in there as the primer will fill them and you'll get a smooth surface after you sand back the primer.

The wheels I did had some minor curbing and some equally minor corrosion, they took about twenty minutes of sanding each. Started with 300 grit, then 800, then 1200. 300 took the corrosion and curbing off, 800 took the worst of the rest off and then the 1200 removed the scratches caused by the 300 and 800 grit stuff. There was one wheel - oddly the spare - that was corroded pretty badly and that one did require the use of a wire wheel and about forty minutes of sanding to get it back to metal.

I'm not criticising your process of work, just trying to help your approach to save you and your fingers some effort!
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Thanks for the info, I'm genuinely looking for advise as there are many different guides and bits of info out there. As these are just cheap alloys I got with decent tyres its more of an experiment!

ECT7Ws9.jpg


This was where it started, so not too bad, bit of rash and a small chunk out of an edge. unfortunately I don't have an after sanding pic, but in most places its down to a flat grey colour / bare alloy. For these bits I have etch primer, not sure if I can base coat over that directly or not though (the instructions on the back suggest I can but once again there is conflicting info out there).

Based on your words, I'm probably 'over sanding'
 
Sorted the tyre pressures on the hire car

Checked them yesterday and they were set to 54psi all round!!!! Recommended pressure is 34psi!
 
It entirely depends on the wheels but I have a set in need of a refurbish at my own pace. These will be stripped with paint stripper first then built from the ground up. I did the ones on my Saab by simply sanding and filling the kerbing. I was keeping the same colour and wanted them done over a weekend. Finish was not perfect but a million times better than before.
 
After doing my wheels the best tip I can give if they really bad is have them shot blasted -- sooooooo much easier. sod the expense :eek:

The £28 multitool from Lidl has paid for itself,
 
adam cool dude said:
It entirely depends on the wheels but I have a set in need of a refurbish at my own pace. These will be stripped with paint stripper first then built from the ground up. I did the ones on my Saab by simply sanding and filling the kerbing. I was keeping the same colour and wanted them done over a weekend. Finish was not perfect but a million times better than before.
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I hope you have access to some DCM based industry grade stuff (Starchem etc.). Because the consumer grade muck (Nitromors etc.) is next to useless now they banned the good stuff for us mere peasants.
 
Gaygle said:
?!

Jebus, it must have been like driving around in a car with no shock absorbers.
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You were not wrong about sticky calipers potentially damaging discs.

I need new front discs (and pads naturally).

Such is life :p
 
Amos91 said:
Thanks for the info, I'm genuinely looking for advise as there are many different guides and bits of info out there. As these are just cheap alloys I got with decent tyres its more of an experiment!



This was where it started, so not too bad, bit of rash and a small chunk out of an edge. unfortunately I don't have an after sanding pic, but in most places its down to a flat grey colour / bare alloy. For these bits I have etch primer, not sure if I can base coat over that directly or not though (the instructions on the back suggest I can but once again there is conflicting info out there).

Based on your words, I'm probably 'over sanding'[/QUOTE]

I'd say so, as the for the most part the finish on those still looks pretty good. If you have a rotary I'd make use of a flappy sander to address the curbing pretty quickly, and then I'd just make sure the rest of the wheel was smooth with 300 grit (or a wirebrush attachment for your drill/angle grinder) and then move up to something like 1000/1200 grit to just get the scratches from the 300 grit out. The example you have doesn't look like it needs to go back to bare metal (unless the pic doesn't show all!), so you can save yourself some time there - and materials... You could even just save the 300 grit for any imperfections and then use 1000 grit to 'scuff' the surface.

Regarding etch primer, yes you can basecoat straight over it, but I would still use normal or indeed filler primer first; you want to be putting base onto a wheel that is all the same colour, or the final product may well end up having patches of slightly different shades.

I also really quite like the look of those wheels - any ideas what they are?
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I bought some Gunk the other week and it was pink - not a patch on the old black/brown stuff I remember from 40 years ago - these greenies have a lot to answer for. :eek:
 
Cookeh said:
I'd say so, as the for the most part the finish on those still looks pretty good. If you have a rotary I'd make use of a flappy sander to address the curbing pretty quickly, and then I'd just make sure the rest of the wheel was smooth with 300 grit (or a wirebrush attachment for your drill/angle grinder) and then move up to something like 1000/1200 grit to just get the scratches from the 300 grit out. The example you have doesn't look like it needs to go back to bare metal (unless the pic doesn't show all!), so you can save yourself some time there - and materials... You could even just save the 300 grit for any imperfections and then use 1000 grit to 'scuff' the surface.

Regarding etch primer, yes you can basecoat straight over it, but I would still use normal or indeed filler primer first; you want to be putting base onto a wheel that is all the same colour, or the final product may well end up having patches of slightly different shades.

I also really quite like the look of those wheels - any ideas what they are?
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Cheers, I've got a DA so will see how that works with some sanding discs, although I'm not sure how well it works being random orbital...

I've also picked up a set of wire brushes from toolzone which will be useful for tackling bad / tight areas.

They are Speedline Vega's, so quite a heavy old alloy! I got them with R888s which was the main reason.

It's a good excuse to have a go but I certainly need to remove the kerb marks having never kerbed an alloy in my life!

I'm looking forward to get the others prepped a little faster with your tips.
 
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