DIY Wheel Refurbishing

Ok so here goes.
 
Started with this; they had been painted in cheap black paint

 
I used paint stripper and high pressure water to remove paint. Then used a kitchen scourer dipped in soapy water to clean up the outer rim. This is abrasive so I rub in the direction of the wheel to reduce work later and give a better finish.

 
After the scourer I used some 800 grit wet and dry sand paper, again dipped in soapy water. This step is to remove all the little marks and small scratches that are in the wheel making all surfaces that will be polished as flat as possible. I sand in the direction of the wheel again on the outer rim. On the spokes I use a cork block to keep the surface perfectly flat and I sand the spokes lengthways.

and another photo

 
So thats what I am up to after today, the next post will have photos of what the wheel looks like after wet sanding with 2000 grit paper. I will paint after the 2000 grit sanding, and then do a final polish with a polishing wheel in a drill after the paint has dried completely.
 
Cheers,
Ryan

Thanks Len, yea a bead blaster would have made things a lot easier and less messy
 
Ive finished wet sanding 2 wheels to a point where they have no fine scratches in them. Ready for paint and then a good polish.
 
I spent a lot of time cleaning up the outer edges, as the gutter rash wasn't very deep I was able to eliminate almost all the marks. I'm glad I took the time to do it as it lifted the overall look quite a bit. Used a file first to take off the high spots then 400, 600, 800, 1200 and 2000 grit wet and dry.
 


 
Cheers,
Ryan

Great job, when can I drop mine off?
 
Matt

GOOD WORK. QUITE SATISFYING DOING IT YOURSELF.
Oh sorry not yelling but not going back to retype it which would have taken less time than this sentence.
 
JP

Matt75
Great job, when can I drop mine off?
 
Matt

Haha thanks Matt, was actually thinking of doing them for people but I dont know whether the quality would suffice or whether it would be worth the time. They look wicked but if you look really close there is still some slight oxidation marks which I couldnt get out unless I cut even further into the alloy. Pics look slightly better than in real life
 
Whooligan, they were bought second hand here in adelaide, the corolla (ke70/ae71) scene is quite big here so there are a lot of cool wheels in 4x114.3 floating about. Would love to put some on my escort
 
Thanks for the good words guys
 
Cheers,
Ryan

They look real sharp mate