Repairing Corrosion On Alloys

[Funky_Monkey]

Hey guys,

Looking for some tips and tricks on repairing alloys, mainly corrosion. I've attached 2 pics of the worst wheels/areas.

I know I can send them off to get refurbed professionally but looking to do it myself to save a bit of cash and give me something to do on the weekend (hoping its still sunny :D )

Thanks in advance

-Adam :)

[lexus loon]

Adam,have them powdercoated as its very hard wearing and the paint finish with aerosol cans wont be as good,its harder to do than i thought when i tried it,you can exchange your wheels for ones done so you wont have to wait.

[Funky_Monkey]

If I could afford to then I would Ian =/.. Doing them myself will probably just be a temp jobs anyway until I can get them done properly, and if I can get most of the work done myself then hopefully will bring the cost down a bit when I get the properly refurbed.

[ColinBarber]

it takes quite a bit of work to manually refurb a wheel.

It's unrealistic to try and get all the paint off and get the wheel back to the bare metal so you can really only do it around the blistered areas by rubbing down. You then end up with height differences which you need to built up using layers of a primer/filler. For the nicks you can just fill and rub smooth. Then run down the whole wheel, clean and spray paint. It is difficult to get the silver spray to look nice and shiny without getting runs and it tends to end up with quite a matt finish. This can be polished up using just a cloth and elbow grease to get it glossy before adding the lacquer, otherwise you just lock in the matt finish.

Once hardened for several days, polish and wax as you would the bodywork which adds another layer of protection.

You can end up with a good result however it doesn't tend to last. A year or two and you will be doing the same again. Get them professionally refurbed and they will last for years, certainly longer than what the factory finish lasts.

[Funky_Monkey]

Surely paint stripper will blast it straight off? Like I said at some point when I can afford it they will be done properly, if I can get them to last even a year looking better then they are now I'd be a happy bunny. Atm I can't stand the sight of them xD

[matt-c]

Alloy is porous. I wouldn't be using paint stripper on it. If you don't want to pay for refurbs, at the bare minimum, take them to a shot blaster and get them media blasted. At least that way you'll have a clean, smooth, and even surface to work with.

[Funky_Monkey]

Ah thats out of the questions then. Found a sand blasting company close by.. will that work?

[Lance]

Nitromors is perfectly fine for wheels. Just paint it on and scrape off when the paint bubbles using a hose and paint scraper, usually it takes about 45mins keeping it well saturated. Wash off really well with lots of water removing all traces of paint and alloy to dry.

Fill any dents or deep scrapes with P38 Isopon. Allow this to cure properly before continuing. 24-48 hours minimum

Get busy with the sandpaper, start about 180 and finish up at around 1200. Ensure a smooth finish all over. Clean with white spirit.

Prime with one coat of etch primer, another two or three coats of filler primer. Allow to dry at least 24-48 hours. Rub down with 600.

Paint. Lots of light coats 10/15 minutes between. A good tip is to gently warm the surface with a hot air gun or hairdryer if you are doing it inside (recommended as to avoid dirt getting in). Aim for at least five coats.

Allow paint to dry and as with paint, apply laquer in light coats allowing to dry.

Leave for a week to dry. If you don't the first thing to hit your wheels will peel the paint off undoing all your hard work. It needs at least a week to cure to give it a chance to harden.

Apply a good coat of wax and finish with sealant such as Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection.

Easy! B)

[Funky_Monkey]

Wow thanks Lance, Nitromors will work without destroying the wheel then?

[Lance]

Yeah, Nitromors is no longer the nasty stuff it used to be since the mummy brigade had dichloromethane removed, that was the stuff that made the original Nitromors the nasty stuff it once was. It'll hardly more than make the paint bubble and a bit soft so a bit of scraping is still required.

[Funky_Monkey]

Thanks for the advice guys I will post up pictures and stuff of how I get on :)

[lexus loon]

Adam ,another alternative is to spray wheels with foliatec or plastidip ,have a look on the internet .

[Funky_Monkey]

Yea I was thinking of plastidipping them Ian but that wouldn't cover up the corrosion to well so I'll strip them down as best I can then get them smooth and spray them for now. I''msure in the future I'll dip them though :)