Wheel refinishing

jhjacobs

jhjacobs

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I'm planning to refinish my original E9 wheels in the near future and I am looking for advice. I found a local company that does great work - they fixed a wheel from my 540i that my wife managed to bend severally, apply extensive curb rash, and destroy the tire is a single move. It looks like a new wheel. The options that this company can provide include:

1. Sand blast and polish
2. Sand blast, polish and clear coat
3. Sand blast and powder coat (single and multi-tone)

I like the look of the silver powder coat wheels BMW ships on cars today. I am not sure but I think the original wheels had no coating at all. So, advice, experience, stories and suggestions on cleaning, coating and painting will be appreciated.

Also important ... my E9 body is getting a fresh coat of factory silver with clear coat. And, if all goes well, I'll be sporting a stylish like-new chrome exhaust tip as a crowning jewel. :wink:
 
I sent my wheels to this company and was very satisfied, I was impressed when they called me after receiving the wheels to discuss the center color:

http://www.wheeltechnologies.com/Default.htm

They check for trueness and repair any cracks / curb rash, their welder has over 20 years of experience welding aluminum aircraft parts - the website has an excellent overview of the process.

They charged $125.00 per wheel which included return shipping - they also have a lifetime warranty.
 
1. Sand blast and polish
2. Sand blast, polish and clear coat
3. Sand blast and powder coat (single and multi-tone)
Click to expand...

4. None of the above. The wheels were painted. Powder coating will work ok, but it's kinda expensive and has a thick body to it.

I had a set of e9 wheels media blasted and wasn't too pleased with the pitting that resulted. Acid etching will take care of that but it's another step. A really good acid etch primer (see your local body shop supplier) with good fill characteristics will sort it out as well.

If you're interested in DIYing it and saving some cash, hardware store grade paint stripper (I like Jasco) or aircraft stripper scrubbed with coarse steel wool will take the existing paint off and leave the alloy nice and smooth.

Use a good primer. There are two schools of thought on paint. The upscale and trickier paint to use is Wurth Silver Lacquer (in rattlecans, google it) followed by Wurth clear. It takes a little practice to get it to lay down consistently. The other, and more common method, is with Kylon Dull Aluminum rattlecans, which Kylon used to supply to hardware stores, but is now more difficult to find. You may have to order it. If you want a shinier finish when it's done, you can apply a Kylon clear afterwards.

Having tried both ways, the expense and learning curve of the lacquer is worthwhile.
 
In general my wheels are true and in good shape but they are covered with impossible road tar and burn in brake dust. This is why I have no idea about the original finish which is now either gone or hidden.

I do have a bit of curb rash on two wheels so I will need to send them off for repair regardless. The idea of DIY is interesting but from past experience I know that, unlike a wrench, I should never be allowed to touch a paint can let alone use it.

The company I used for my 540i wheel was Wheel Refinishers out of Maryland. They have a local office in Rockville (where I live) and they do the work in Annapolis. They charge about $130-$180 per wheel depending on what you want and they offer standard 48/72 hour service. They also will pick up and drop off the wheels and deal with tire removal, re-install and balance. I'll have a look at WheelTechnologies since they seem to have a better price but I suspect they'll want bare wheels to I'll need to handle the tires separately.

I suppose I could try my hand on the spare using stripper and Wurth lacquer / clear coat as suggested - I can always send it out for professional stripping if I do my usual embarrassing paint work.
 
For what it's worth, I was speaking to a Wurth salesman this week and he said they are discontinuing the silver paint.They are looking for a new source?!
 
I went search and basically found the same thing: no Wurth Silver.

The people at Wheel Refinishers where able to match my 540i wheel perfectly. I'm trying to get a quote from them so I'll ask what they use.
 
It seems Wurth recalled all their Silvers due to clogging cans/nozzles, which was good of them. I still have have 2 full, clogged cans in the basement that have yet to be returned. There are other choices if you want to go the lacquer route such as this one:
http://www.properautocare.com/wusilasppa.html

The Krylon Dull Aluminum option is a good one, too. Art Wegweiser is forever carrying on about its merits. For coupe wheels, it might actually look closer to the stock finish than the shiny lacquer. If you're not too handy with a spray bomb, The Krylon will be less frustrating to apply than lacquer.
 
I DIYed some E9 wheels a couple of years back using Argent Silver Wheel Paint from The Eastwood Company. Painted, then clear coated. Came out great!!!!
 
After considerable research and input from this board I have decided to have the local Wheel Doctor restore my wheels. DIY with a wrench is fine for me but, as I indicated, I have banned myself from rattle cans. I am allowed to brush and roll so I my try the $50 paint job on my 85 Nissan truck.

The Wheel Doctor will fix the road rash, clean the wheels, and coat them with the appropriate silver and clear coat. He will also pick them up from the bodyshop where the car is right now and deal with tire mounting / balancing. Being local there are no shipping issues. He charges $150 per wheel normally but I figure I can beat him down a fair bit on a set of 5 (spare too!); if I can't get the price down he'll have to deal with my wife and that could result in him paying me to get her off his back. I knew I married her for a reason! 8)
 
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