DIY Alloy Wheel Refurb

Monocle · July 1, 2017

As we all know the corrosion on the IS wheels is heartbreaking and it couldn't make the wheels look worse. So I decided to refurbish them myself.

Firstly, this was a very unenjoyable job and I made loads of mistakes. I have only done one so far and I'm not looking forward to the other three!

People like @dougie175 should look away now!

Brief summary:

Purchased primer, gun metal base coat and clear coat (spoke to a paint specialist so he pointed me in the right direction for each) all in cans
Bought several grades of sandpaper from 80grit to 600grit
Cleaned the wheel with methylated spirits
Started working on the corroded sections first by hand - I was getting nowhere (only doing the front section of the wheel - not the inside that you never see)
Moved on to an 80grit flap disc which certainly removed the corrosion but was far too aggresive and made the job of smoothing out the marks it left a real chore
I used a hand sander (floor sander) with 160grit - this worked well but could only reach about 50% of the area
Used 160grit paper by hand on the rest of the areas
Used 320grit everywhere before priming
Took 4.5 hours of sanding in total to this point
Masked off the wheel and valve
Sprayed several coats of primer then wet sanded with 600grit
Sprayed several more coats of primer
Allowed primer to dry (not long enough though, enough though I followed the instructions - must have put too much on)
Sprayed several coats of the base coat - noticed some spotting where the base coat wouldn't stick (just layered up in these areas but came up a bit bumpy)
Finished with multiple coats of clear coat
Allowed to dry for 24 hours

Mistakes:

Used far too low a grit flap disc on the corroded areas (however it was needed to remove the kerb rash along the rim). Would use around 200grit next time
Didn't allow primer to dry for long enough - probably due to coats being too thick
I didn't have a ventilated place to do this so I did it outside - wind was a pain when spraying, hence mistake #2!
Should have spent more time sanding every little mark as it all shows up when painted

All in all, it is far from professional and the other wheels will be better. Photos below. Total job time, 6 hours (excluding drying time between coats). Also need to buy new centre caps.

Before (this is actually the other front wheel as I forgot to take a before pic)

Sanded and ready for primer

Primed and ready for wet sanding

Base coat applied - flaws can be seen here

Final wheel on the car

Lines left from initial sanding can be seen

bobmc · July 1, 2017

It doesn't look too bad to me, certainly better than it would have been if I had been trying to do something like this! And now you've learnt from the 1st one you'll get better results for the other three.

Having said that, given the time and effort involved, I still think I would pay to have them done properly - I got mine done recently for less than £40 a corner

Like the painted calipers

Linas.P · July 1, 2017

@bobmcWhere you get them for less than £40?

for 17" it is ~70-80. Kind of good timing of topic as well. Recently, completely ruined one of my alloys - but for my defence I kept them perfect for over 7 months after refurbishment... If not retarded taxi driver it could have been longer.

The Sat Diver · July 1, 2017

I did 20inch Rangie rims a while back as bad as yours .. personally I think you did a good job on this one given the tools you have .. but honest have a serious think about paying to get them all done by a professional .. personally Its a job I would never attempt to do myself again ..

peachy · July 1, 2017

Fair play to you for having a crack. Not something I would take on as its far too time consuming and tricky.

I had all 4 refurbished just after xmas for just £208. £52 a wheel.

They did a cracking job and still look brand new 6 months on.

bobmc · July 1, 2017

I got all 4 wheels refurbished about 3 months ago for £150 all in. Lasted a whole month before I curbed one of the fronts

Monocle · July 1, 2017

Thanks all. I've done a good few jobs on the car at this stage and have honestly enjoyed every one. Not that I have loads of money but it is not really about saving money, just that I get great satisfaction out of completing a job myself. However, in this case, it was just a slog and the end result isn't that great.

In saying that, I am stubborn and will give another corner a go. I plan on buying a few extra tools this time.

I rang around a few repair shops here in Dublin and all bar one said they don't do the Lexus wheels as they are usually so corroded and require specialist treatment. The one that would do it charges 120euro per wheel.

If anyone has any tips on sanding or painting, send them my way!

Monocle · July 1, 2017

1 hour ago, bobmc said:

Like the painted calipers

This was a much easier job and turned out great!

dougie175 · July 2, 2017

A decent attempt mate and the main thing is you have learnt from your mistakes! The next one you do will be much better. The prices people on here quote for alloy wheel dipping and refurbs genuinely shocks me either, either the spots are not doing the expensive corrosion removal work they are just painting over it or they are seriously under charging and devaluing the product, if you can genuinely get wheel dipped blasted and powder coated for £50 a corner then no its not worth getting involved with.

bobmc · July 2, 2017

Well this is the sales blurb from the place I got mine done

"Our full refurbishment involves chemically stripping the wheel in acid back to bare metal, then sand blasting to remove any corrosion, then any kerb damage or lumps and bumps are removed or filled. We then apply a protective undercoat, colour then laquer and the wheels are baked in the oven for a lasting finish."

Mine were quite badly corroded

And after... (they even painted the caps to match)

Twelve month warranty on the work but time will tell I suppose. Three months in and the only marks on them so far are self-inflicted.

Linas.P · July 2, 2017

@bobmc - yet they statement is pretty standard in terms of what all other places do, and actually I believe it is true. Acid dipping is just superior method on so many levels and saves them a lot of time, so not using it would be stupid. Same goes for power coating (undercoat) and the rest. And in terms of warranty you already pointed out - people likely to kerb them before the paint fails. That is partially the reason why I look lightly at Lexus original paint - yes it tends to bubble and fail, but that likely doesn't matter because you would need to refurbish alloys from kerb damage anyway.

What is your colour? Quite similar to what I got for mine, but mine worked out slightly darker.

bobmc · July 2, 2017

@Linas.P I did enquire about getting a colour match to Lexus but the cost would have been very expensive. This was one of their standard colours, Anthracite.

I wasn't entirely sure if I liked it at first but now I think it looks very nice

Spacewagon52 · July 2, 2017

Really need to get mine done, as it spoils the look of the car IMO. Can they get them back to stock or do you have to compromise on colour? I would not want grey but the original finish as near as possible.

dougie175 · July 2, 2017

52 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Really need to get mine done, as it spoils the look of the car IMO. Can they get them back to stock or do you have to compromise on colour? I would not want grey but the original finish as near as possible.

With the correct products and application techniques any factory finish can be achieved by re-finishing it just depends how much time and effort the specialist you choose has gone to, to find the specific match you may require. 90% of wheels are easily matched though so wouldn't have any problems

Spacewagon52 · July 2, 2017

Thanks Robb that is encouraging.

peachy · July 2, 2017

Same wheels as me bobmc. G spiders.

I had mine refurbished and finished in gunmetal. May go for black next time though.

J Henderson · July 2, 2017

And the same wheels that were on my previous IS250.

In terms of cost, my last refurb job (in 2015) cost £72 per wheel for a black-chrome finish on 3rd-gen F-Sport wheels.

dougie175 · July 2, 2017

Those shadow chrome spiders look superb a very nice genuine wheel. Wish they did them in 19"!

bobmc · July 2, 2017

17 minutes ago, peachy said:

Same wheels as me bobmc. G spiders.

I had mine refurbished and finished in gunmetal. May go for black next time though.

I agree, I think black would go well with white bodywork.

Still think the wheel style is officially 'Baransu'

bobmc · July 2, 2017

12 minutes ago, J Henderson said:

And the same wheels that were on my previous IS250.

In terms of cost, my last refurb job (in 2015) cost £72 per wheel for a black-chrome finish on 3rd-gen F-Sport wheels.

That's making me think I should have gone chrome, they look sooo classy.

Rebecca · July 2, 2017

@bobmc @peachy @J Henderson those wheels look absolutely stunning. I don't think I've ever seen a nicer looking alloy wheel. They are so much nicer than my f-sport wheels.

I'm going to buy some 😀

J Henderson · July 2, 2017

Is your car a dark colour like mine was, @bobmc?

I liked the Baransus, but I actually would've preferred the normal "Hoshi" wheels. If I still had that car we could've swapped, @Rebecca !

dougie175 · July 2, 2017

9 minutes ago, Rebecca said:

@bobmc @peachy @J Henderson those wheels look absolutely stunning. I don't think I've ever seen a nicer looking alloy wheel. They are so much nicer than my f-sport wheels.

I'm going to buy some 😀

Yeah it is between these and the 3is F sport wheels for the nicest genuine wheels for me