SupraDan24 Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Well, to cut a long story short a few months ago i was pretty much ripped off on a set of wheels. They were too far away for me to go view so i trusted the guy was open and honest about them and turns out he wasnt...not even remotely. I have them now so thats all that matters. I have been trying, unsucessfully, to resell them on Driftworks but haven't been able to as of yet, probably because i was trueful about the condition. Yesterday i decided to bite the bullet and give it a go at refurbing them myself, herein lies the problem. The centres of the 2 rears are perfect, the front two, not so much. There is some chrome peel/lift around the centre near the bolt holes. Now from say 6-10ft away its hardly noticeably, but pretty obvious from any closer. Also, when i masked up the wheel to spray the inner lines black in an effort to make them blend in better with the wheel, piece of the chrome came off with the masking tape. I knew this was a risk before i did it but i didnt have any other choice. I've included a photo of the chrome lift. It seems to me i have a couple of options, i'm just not sure which to go with so this is where i would like peoples opinions. 1.) Carry on refurbing them, and just put them on the car with the chrome peel present and ignore it. 2.) Take the plunge and totally remove the chrome (no going back once i start though) and hope i can polish up the metal underneath. Judging by the weight of the centre, i'd say it was Steel and not alloy as it's quite heavy. There's a chalky white residue under where the chrome was, it doesnt appear to be rust. 3.) Spray the centre in white with Plastidip and see how it comes out. I can always remove it if i dont like it. 4.) Any other suggestions?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Edit: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
listy Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Either carry on refurbing yourself, remove the chrome and see how it goes (you can always paint the lip if it goes wrong or send them to ibrar to sort out) or get them refurbished profesionally from the off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Either carry on refurbing yourself, remove the chrome and see how it goes (you can always paint the lip if it goes wrong or send them to ibrar to sort out) or get them refurbished profesionally from the off The actual refurbing isnt the problem, ive already removed the curbing and mirror polished the barrel, i'm just not sure what to do with the centre. I'm trying not to waste more money on them which is why i'm doing the work myself. I really like the chrome look on the centre's which is why i'm umming and arring about removing it. I'm thinking i may have too though, as i'll never be happy with the finish if i dont, it just seems like a massive waste to remove the chrome off the two wheels that are perfect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbryant_knight Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Depends what colour you want the wheels to be in the end. You could just do away with the chrome all together and spray the outers silver. Halfords do a Chrome spray paint too which is pretty decent for what it is. Obviously it's nothing like real chrome but it is pretty shiney. I painted the hexagon in the middle of my centrecap with the chrome paint. Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Cheers fella, yours look pretty decent so maybe the spraying them wouldn't be the end of the world. I think i would go either white or gunmetal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Can you post full size picture of your wheels, i can possibly get them re chromed for you Did reply in the chatbox thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 It's just the centre piece i need re-chromed Dunk, i'll go take a photo now. Tbh though, i imagine it will be more money than i am willing to pay so i may just go all out and strip the chrome and see if i can polish up the metal underneath using one of the methods i found on the internet. If i can't then i have the option of painting them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin-mkiv Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 They're ally. You can get them chemically stripped for around a tenner each, then either paint them (cost of paint) or get them powder coated (around £40 each). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh42 Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 As above! Chemically stripping them will be a much tidier way to dress them back. Id give ibrar a call dude:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 A lot depends on what you find after you've got the chrome off, there will be nickel under the chrome and possibly copper under the nickel. I will make a copy of the pic you posted above and show the chromer i use, he has done some top quality work for me and wasn't crazy expensive but it depends what you call expensive i guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David P Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Dnk, is that front tyre on backwards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Dnk, is that front tyre on backwards? I dont think so, i will check but im pretty sure thats how they go on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Did you get a quote off Ibrar? Reason I say, by the time you buy the stripper & paint etc then the effort in getting it right (which is going to be quite difficult by the looks of it). The last thing you want to do is spend a load of time, money & effort then for it not to be 100%. That would be enough for me to drop them in the bin (then again my patience is very thin). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamboyello Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 To send the wheels off to ibhar and then to pay for them to be done......and then spend the money on to deliver them back to dan would be a lot more expensive then buying some stripper and putting some effort into it. If you have the time dan before you go offshore again just strip them right down and respray the lot in that chrome look paint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 I doubt you'll be able to by the stripper and will need to go to a specialist that has some fairly serious chemicals, you also need to be very carefull as the chemicals req are strong enough to attack the aluminium. Speak to Ibrar is a very good idea and i'll also chat to the chap i use and see what he says. Stripping chrome and nickel isn't a diy job you do at home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin-mkiv Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 What he said, the guy I used made the recepticle/tank for the chemicals out of stainless steel....after 4 months it ate a hole in it! They had to make a new tank from a different grade and 3 times the thickness. If you were to dip a finger into this stuff, even for a split second, it would remove the skin...no questions asked!I doubt you'll be able to by the stripper and will need to go to a specialist that has some fairly serious chemicals, you also need to be very carefull as the chemicals req are strong enough to attack the aluminium. Speak to Ibrar is a very good idea and i'll also chat to the chap i use and see what he says. Stripping chrome and nickel isn't a diy job you do at home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 What he said, the guy I used made the recepticle/tank for the chemicals out of stainless steel....after 4 months it ate a hole in it! They had to make a new tank from a different grade and 3 times the thickness. If you were to dip a finger into this stuff, even for a split second, it would remove the skin...no questions asked! Yes indeed. I helped Ibrar when he first set up his business and i got a tank made for him and used to help out stripping the wheels and then media blasting them etc. We only used Phosphoric acid for stripping powder coat and thats bad enough and it wont touch nickel or chrome. Im reading up on this and you can use a Muriatic acid to remove the chrome but apparently this is Hydrochloric acid so not nice stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin-mkiv Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Apparently, the gasses given off by that stuff cause serious brain damage, as we can see....... haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Apparently, the gasses given off by that stuff cause serious brain damage, as we can see....... haha Now if i was a tad over sensitive that comment could be very hurtfull and unkool only kidding Yes it stinks and breathing it in for any length of time isn't a good idea, we had the tank outside so it wasn't too bad and i didn't spend too long putting the wheels in it or removing them. The plus with phosphoric acid is tap water neutralises it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Ibrar is very good at what he does, but he also isn't very cheap so he's a last resort at the moment. The whole point of me refurbing the wheels is so that i can either get them to a point where their useable, or sell them back on and not be out of pocket. So far all i have used is electricity, some wet and dry and some cutting pad, all of which i had in my garage. There's a place down the road from me called Aerocoat that strip and refurb wheels, i'm going to take the centre down there and see what they can do for me. They're also pretty cheap I'm also looking round my house for a magnet so i can see if whats underneath the chrome is stainless or not. If it is then i can just polish it to a mirror shine and be done with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 Here's a couple of before and after pictures of the first barrel i've started. It's not finished yet as i'm waiting for some higher grade flapper wheels to arrive so i can go over it again, then hand sand it up to around 800grit, then try again with the compounds and finishing wheels. The after pictures are the finished i got with an 80grit flapper wheel, ive ordered up to 320grit. Before After Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 The aluminium lips will be easy ish to get looking pretty good and nice job so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazz1 Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 I'd say sell them, the design looks better on a mercedes or Nissan, try their forums? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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