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Post by sc397 on Dec 15, 2021 5:25:24 GMT -8
I am restoring a set of late 15x7 Rallye Wheels along with a set of Machine wheels. Man, I had forgot how time consuming and work it is. All 8 wheels started out rusty and nasty so I chipped the big chunks off and took them to International Paint Stripping in Romulus MI to get them acid dipped and e-coated. I used to sand blast wheels which took hours but for $40.00 a wheel they acid dip them and e-coat. It takes like 6 weeks to get done but worth it. Once I got them back from the e-coater then the whole fill the pits and primer process begins. A couple of the Rallye Wheels were so bad that I actually had to fill pits on the rim itself if there was to be any hope of having a bead seal. internationalpaintstripping.com/www.facebook.com/people/International-Paint-Stripping/100057833413113/I will post up some pictures here but I used Evercoat Polyester filler first to fill all of the pits. I found the best way to apply that glorified Bondo is with my finger. The next day I sanded it all down by hand with 80 grit sandpaper. Yea, it sucked. After I got it smooth enough I sprayed a couple coats of filling primer on it. The next day I sanded the primer down with 150 grit sandpaper again by hand. The following day I thinned down some DP90 and used it as a sealer over the primer. Then I painted the rim where the bead seals and back side with gloss black paint from TSC. The Machine wheels are going to take a little more work.... Years ago, I discovered that the late 1990's Jeep Commanche's and Cherokees used the same rim part more or less. IMG_5605 by Rick Jones, on Flickr Mine came out too thin after the e-coat process so I took the machine wheels and Jeep wheels to Weldcraft In Livonia to re-rim the Machine centers with the Jeep rims. They said that it would take 6 weeks and the cost is $175.00 each. weldcraftwheels.com/
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Post by landbarge on Dec 15, 2021 5:38:49 GMT -8
Same deal with the Mopar police wheels on my green car. In the 80's, diplomat cop cars were all over. I picked up a set back then and had them on one of my Eagles. 40 years storage took a toll. Had them stripped and coated. Would have been forever by hand
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Post by spud on Dec 15, 2021 7:18:02 GMT -8
I buy this stuff at lowes called prep and etch. Its pretty strong phosphoric acid. Its like 18 bux a gallon. I got about 15 gallons. You can cut it with water up to 50 percent if you want more. I use it in plastic barrels. Depending in how big the part is. I have a 55 gallon barrel cut in half for bigger stuff. And some 25 and 15 gallon barrels cut in various depths. So i do my own acid derusting. Full strength is pretty strong. It can clean heavilly rust pitted stuff pretty fast, like overnite or a day or two, average surface rust in in a few hours.Its kinda fun actually. When done you can wash it with water. I have used this stuff for a long time and developed different strategies for using it. Its the best stuff i have ever tried. I also wire brush parts before treatment, to get paint and stuff off, to keep the acid clean and shorten treatment time. Its great on steel, but a little more aggressive on iron, and will etch it slightly if you leave it in too long. Anyways i use this stuff a lot, when done i put it back in a plastic barrel, it lasts a long time is your carefull and conservative. But i guess if you got a local industrial company doing it with e coat, you got a great resource there. I like steel wheels, and have used the mopar ralleys for decades, i have reworked many wheels for wider rims and different offsets. The centers are really easy to cut out by simply cutting the weld with a 4” abrasive disc, then pushing the center out ( if you wanna rehoop with a wider rim) or pushing the center to the offset you want, then just put it on the car, using the rear axle and leaf spring as a jig, dial indicator on the rim, tap the rim on center with a small hammer, tack it in place, then take it off and weld it. I built some mopar ralley centers into 15x8 rims ( easy find in pick ups and 4x4’s) with a custom offset for a 1970 mustang ford 9 inch axle. Point being rehooping your wheels is easy, and those rare steel wheels are easy and cheap to rehoop or recenter, or change backspace. I have done a bunch of different sizes , styled steel, magnum 500, ralley, what have you.
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Post by sc397 on Dec 15, 2021 9:29:56 GMT -8
I can't sandblast or dip wheels and and then paint them for $40.00 each. I have re-rimmed a Machine wheel with the Jeep rim before myself but didn't really get it as true as I wanted it. That is why I am paying these guys to do it for me. I figure that the Machine wheels are worth doing and I won't be loosing any money on them at all.
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Post by sc397 on Dec 15, 2021 14:54:54 GMT -8
The paper plate didn't work so good as a mask but the Dog's dish worked great. IMG_5661 by Rick Jones, on Flickr I left the DP90 flat black as is and I used Duplicolor HWP101 SILVER wheel paint and I think it matched the original color perfectly. IMG_5663 by Rick Jones, on Flickr
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Post by fast401 on Jan 15, 2022 15:46:15 GMT -8
Are those the wheels that I had something to do with years ago?😂😂😂😂
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Post by sc397 on Jan 15, 2022 18:05:03 GMT -8
Are those the wheels that I had something to do with years ago?😂😂😂😂 No clue.
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Post by sc397 on Jan 26, 2022 15:22:53 GMT -8
I got my re-rimmed Machine wheels back from Weldcraft. They told me that they came out very true and were a lot of work. He also said that he would charge $200.00 each to do it next time. Now I am trying to decide if I shold take them to the Ecoater again. IMG_5737 by Rick Jones, on Flickr
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Post by n2ojoe on Jan 26, 2022 16:40:29 GMT -8
$200 each isn't that bad. Stockton wheel gets $250 each to re-rim those, and I have 8 that need lovin'. Those look good though, get some paint on them. I just had to move your stack of new tires in my basement again last night 😁
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Post by sc397 on Jan 26, 2022 16:48:29 GMT -8
I didn't know that Stockton had the rims. The last time I looked around no one had them.
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Post by sc397 on May 31, 2022 18:04:11 GMT -8
So I did take the Machine wheels back to the stripper and had them stripped and E-coated black. I filled all the pits with polyester glazing filler (expensive bondo), sanded them down by hand (no fun) then, shot the front with a couple coats if high-build primer. I painted the back with black enamel paint with hardener from TSC. Sanded down the primer by hand (no fun again) then, a coat of rattle can Zincrom Primer, a coat of Krylon Stainless Steel color paint then a dusting of Krylon Glitter Blast. IMG_5351 by Rick Jones, on Flickr I had bought 6-8 different color rattle cans of Argent, Gray, Silver etc. to practice on a junk rim to get the color and texture that I wanted. I could have top misted another coat of the Stainless Steel color on them to better match the original finish but I wanted to leave them a little brighter. And besides, I am sure some of the metal flake will wear off over time. The "yellowed looking" wheel is a New Old Stock one with 52 year old paint on it. IMG_5352 by Rick Jones, on Flickr
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Post by n2ojoe on Jun 1, 2022 5:33:35 GMT -8
That finish looks great Rick.
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Post by spud on Jun 1, 2022 5:45:06 GMT -8
It really does! I too have a wheel refinishing interest. I wish i had a tire mounting machine because the tire shop enjoys fucking the finish up. I hate those worthless bastards.
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Post by sc397 on Jun 1, 2022 5:46:42 GMT -8
Thanks! I have restored like 3 sets in years past but these have come out the closest to original yet. Like anything from the '70's the quality and consistency of the paint and finish was not all that great anyway. No two and especially all four didn't match each other perfectly when new. Most people over-restore them and I think mine are no different.
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Post by spud on Jun 1, 2022 6:01:02 GMT -8
Over restoration is a tribute and its worth it
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