Black Knight Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Ok, so first things first, my wheels are not great! I know it, you know it, several of you have pointed it out , but I just don’t have the money to replace them at the mo. So it’s a case of make the best of what I got. Now they all have a small amount of pitting or bubbling to the surface but the worst part of each is the centre cap. One in particular was so bad I knew I had to try and do something with it or loose it altogether. So what follows is my attempt: I would like to just stress that I have NO previous experience of doing this sort of thing and used only what I had in the garage already, i.e. this whole process has cost me £0. Day 1. First the offending cap. Remove the flakes with the wire brush then rub down the worst with hard sandpaper, then lighter sandpaper, then smooth off with the wire wool. On rubbing down the central black dot I discovered the Toyota name underneath. Some muppet in the past had painted it out!?! Oh well, its too far gone to recover now, maybe I can get some new ones made up? Mook if your watching... Next mask up the dot and take the shine off the rest of the surface with the wire wool. 3 thin coats of Metal Primer and leave over night. Day 2. 2 thin coats of Metallic Silver. Paint the dot again with some Black Gloss, non-drip And leave over night. Day 3. The finished item back on the wheel. Ok so its not a completely perfect match, just the merest hint of a shade lighter, but frankly you don’t notice it unless you’re looking for it. So for a free repair I’m well happy. I should also mention that after spraying with the metallic I tried a coat of clear paint to a) seal the top coat and bring it down a shade to match the wheel. Unfortunately this did not work as it took all the shine off it completely and gave it the look of dull primer again! Nothing like a match, so re-sprayed with the metallic again, much better. Now its your turn, what do you all think, how could I have done it better etc etc… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Red Celica Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 If you'd sprayed it with hi build primer and flatted down you could have reduced the pitting a lot. It does make you feel better when a job has been done though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cait Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 well for a free (this will surfice till I get some spare cash jobby) .. I think you did a damb Good job for No pennies .... looks alright from a distance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maizey Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Hi . . . First attempt . . . No experience . . and at £0! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Knight Posted November 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Awww cheers guys, nice to know ones efforts are appreciated Think I may go on to do the other three now as well if time allows. None of them are as bad as this one was though, just need patch work really to seal up the metal again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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