Help deciding on a color for centers

[wheelfetish]

Im slowly working on refinishing my style 19s. I can't decide on a color to paint my centers. So I need advice. I don't like black or gold- too overplayed imo. Anyway my E36 is lagunagrun.

Here is my ideas so far:
polished centers with purple bolts and centercaps
off white (mayo-ish) centers

I want some color. So let me know what ideas you have. Heres a picture of what my car basically looks like and the rims I have.

http://i46.tinypic.com/1rp5w2.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/20pq4wx.jpg

[schroedin]

Whhhiiiiiittttttttteeeeeeeeee.

[Purp]

polished centers with purple bolts and centercaps


That idea

[wheelfetish]

That idea

Thats what Im feeling. Your style 5s are polished right?

Any tips on polishing the centers? I already stripped the clear coat off its a rough dark gray steel. Should I just go and buy a polishing kit and do it that way or is there a different method?

[Purp]

Thats what Im feeling. Your style 5s are polished right?

Any tips on polishing the centers? I already stripped the clear coat off its a rough dark gray steel. Should I just go and buy a polishing kit and do it that way or is there a different method?


Mine are the original HRE silver... But I have spent countless hours polishing wheels. The best thing to do is take the faces to a sand blaster and have them blast them and then put them in a chemical treatment where it does a wizard polish. That's what I was told it's called. Then take them home with a polish refinish kit and go to work. I would also recommend getting 2 full size jars of mothers. That stuff is amazing

[00bmw323]

i left mine the color they were...Silver and polished...but in your case go Color matched

[wheelfetish]

i left mine the color they were...Silver and polished...but in your case go Color matched

Im not a huge fan of color matched rims. Not on a green car at least. Still leaning towards the full polish with purple bolts/caps.

[wheelfetish]

Mine are the original HRE silver... But I have spent countless hours polishing wheels. The best thing to do is take the faces to a sand blaster and have them blast them and then put them in a chemical treatment where it does a wizard polish. That's what I was told it's called. Then take them home with a polish refinish kit and go to work. I would also recommend getting 2 full size jars of mothers. That stuff is amazing

Any idea how to make the plastic caps polished? They're not metal so should I just use chrome spray paint?

[Purp]

Any idea how to make the plastic caps polished? They're not metal so should I just use chrome spray paint?

call your local powder coater and see what the process is on getting plastic to have the chrome/polished look. They may also provide the service of doing that. Which they should. I would recommend that before even thinking of spray painting.

and before you think that is a costly process, it's not.

1. to have the wheels sand blasted and be chemically charged, it was gonna cost me 50 something a wheel.

2.A powder coating process shouldn't be much more than that.

Disclaimer: These are prices I was quoted in Georgia. They may differ in your location

[wheelfetish]

call your local powder coater and see what the process is on getting plastic to have the chrome/polished look. They may also provide the service of doing that. Which they should. I would recommend that before even thinking of spray painting.

and before you think that is a costly process, it's not.

1. to have the wheels sand blasted and be chemically charged, it was gonna cost me 50 something a wheel.

2.A powder coating process shouldn't be much more than that.

Disclaimer: These are prices I was quoted in Georgia. They may differ in your location

The only problem I have is that I can't think of any place around here that has those services. Maaco is the only place that comes to mind for sandblasting and powder coating. And im not too found on there "work". Luckly I know some people who majored in autobody/paint that I can ask.

[Purp]

You can also try asking privately owned auto body shops... Motorcycle shops. anything that has a connection to the customizing world.

[wheelfetish]

I just got off the phone with my buddy from college who has a degree in automotive repair. He told me that after sandblasting, to just do the wheel polishing kit. The chemical treatment just polishes them for you, so its the same thing as the polishing kit but faster. So im going to attempt that tomorrow. As for the plastic center caps, he said that powder coat would be the best option but spray paint plus clear coat will be the second.

[wheelfetish]

So I just got done working on my centers. I started stripping the clear coat off Friday. After about 4 or 5 coats, theres about 10% clear coat still on the rims. I ran out of gloves, so I just took the one rim that had about 2% left on and started to work on that.

It looked like dark grey steel. I took a metal brush and started rubbing the shit out of it for a good 20 minutes. There was a layer of what looked to be some kind of rubber. Im not sure what it was but once that was gone, there was shiny raw metal underneath it. I took my sandpaper and and started to get all of the "rubber" off. That took forever so I grabbed my cordless drill and a sanding wheel and just went to town. So one center is ready to be sanded in steps, then polished. Tomorrow hopefully all the centers will be free of clear coat and roughed sanded. Ill post pics up tomorrow.

[Purp]

hell yeah, man. Glad it's coming together for you.

You should snap some before, during and afters.

[Neb]

not to rain on your polishing parade but just sand blasting and hitting it with compound will not get them as shiny as they could be. Ideally you want to sand them totally smooth going up to 2000 grit before hitting them with the compounds.. I've done my fair share of polishing and I've found this to be the best method. Here's the stuff I've done for reference that I know what I'm somewhat talking about..

Polishing stuff (http://ottawa-vdubbing.com/forums/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=38832)

and some pics:

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff54/b_purkiss/Polishing%20jobs/valvecover_5.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff54/b_purkiss/Polishing%20jobs/Porschehandles_3-1.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff54/b_purkiss/Polishing%20jobs/IMG_0072.jpg

[Njdub]

Neb- would you care to give me a more detailed description of what to do after sanding? I have my sawblades polished and I did them up to 2k and then used meguiars billet on them and they came out pretty good.

What compounds are you using to get yours mirror like that. PM me or post here if you would:)

[Neb]

Sure. I'll PM you so i can end the threadjack to the OP (unless you want me to post the info up)

[SeanDub]

Your style 5s are polished right?


Facepalm.

Mine are the original HRE silver... But I have spent countless hours polishing wheels. The best thing to do is take the faces to a sand blaster and have them blast them and then put them in a chemical treatment where it does a wizard polish. That's what I was told it's called. Then take them home with a polish refinish kit and go to work. I would also recommend getting 2 full size jars of mothers. That stuff is amazing

Sand blasting is not the way to get a polished look. A good way for a very pitted look, but not good for polish.

[Purp]

Facepalm.



Sand blasting is not the way to get a polished look. A good way for a very pitted look, but not good for polish.

A lot of sandbasters have many different grain levels they use. And if you're wanting your wheels to be polished, this is also why you get the chemical treatment AFTER the initial blast. Thus the pitts are filled in to an un-noticable look/feel. This may only be available where I live. I don't know. But I was reinsured by the owner of a blasting company near me that it will be smooth and almost completely polished. But recommened to go back over the wheels with a polishing compound.

[Neb]

A lot of sandbasters have many different grain levels they use. And if you're wanting your wheels to be polished, this is also why you get the chemical treatment AFTER the initial blast. Thus the pitts are filled in to an un-noticable look/feel. This may only be available where I live. I don't know. But I was reinsured by the owner of a blasting company near me that it will be smooth and almost completely polished. But recommened to go back over the wheels with a polishing compound.

I stand corrected then. I didn't even know this existed!

[wheelfetish]

Sure. I'll PM you so i can end the threadjack to the OP (unless you want me to post the info up)

Please post here. I am also curious on what compounds you used.

hell yeah, man. Glad it's coming together for you.

You should snap some before, during and afters.

Ill take a few pics tomorrow with the clearcoat stripped off and a rough sand. Im working on them while im at home from college, so its going to take me awhile to have them completly finished.

[mpower5266]

Sand blasting is not the way to get a polished look. A good way for a very pitted look, but not good for polish.

This x 100000000000

I usually start at 420 grit sand paper after stripping, then work my way up to 600, etc etc to 1500 or 2000.

I use nuvite chemicals but the chemicals arent the most important part, time is. A few things I have polished.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh122/740idriver/covers3.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh122/740idriver/covers2.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2562/3744921006_4338864188_b.jpg

[Neb]

Please post here. I am also curious on what compounds you used.


I start sanding from 60-200 up too 800 dry. Wetsand 1000,1500, 2000 grits.

I use brown (or black or black followed by brown) compounds mated up to a sisal buffing wheel. From there I use white mated to soft cotton buffing wheel. Followed by red mated to soft cotton buffing wheel. After that I use Happich Semichrome as the final metal polish mated to a soft cotton buffing wheel. I'm also using a buffing motor with a snake attachment for ease of use but you can get good results with a power drill.

[wheelfetish]

I just finished sanding the one rim. The others are free of clearcoat. Ill post pics up once I find out how to get them from my phone to the computer

[Stolzy]

i kinda like the off white idea...imo

[wheelfetish]

Sorry for bad cellphone pics, I need to invest in a camera. First one is a close up of stripping the clearcoat off. You can see the dark metal underneath.

http://i45.tinypic.com/2vv16b4.jpg

After a good 2 hours of sanding, I started to reach the good stuff. Just a basic low grit sand for now. There's still some dark metal around the inside corners that I couldn't get to. Still need to go up in steps (120-2000) and wet sand before I start to polish them.

http://i50.tinypic.com/2348rr.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/15zfgk8.jpg

Now, 3 to go :(

[schroedin]

Sandblasting would save so much time :rofl

[Neb]

what are you using to strip the paint/clear?

[Natedogg]

bronze centres, polished dishes, bronze/gold bolts.

[wheelfetish]

what are you using to strip the paint/clear?

Jasco premium paint & epoxy remover.

[SeanDub]

Sandblasting would save so much time :rofl

Anyone who's polished something will tell you sandblasting wont work right. :rofl

[Effin' Euro]

not using aircraft stripper?

i think shotpeened centers, polished lips, and colormatched bolts.

or, purple faces, with the flat spoke parts polished, as well as the lips, then gold/purple bolts

[wheelfetish]

Anyone who's polished something will tell you sandblasting wont work right. :rofl

I found a sandblaster that I can use, but wouldn't that put tiny dents in the metal from the sand? "Purp" said about sandblasting then chemically treating them, but I cant find anyone around my area that does chemically treatment.

So am I going upon polishing them right? Getting down to untouched metal, sanding up to 2000 grit, then polishing kit?

not using aircraft stripper?

i think shotpeened centers, polished lips, and colormatched bolts.

or, purple faces, with the flat spoke parts polished, as well as the lips, then gold/purple bolts

I tried finding aircraft stripper but the hardware store didn't have any. So I just went with Jasco. Its doing its job so im not complaining.

The lips are already polished and im already set on polishing the centers. I can't decide on color matching the bolts/hex part of the center cap or painting them purple. The ideas keep popping around in my head between the two.

[Daytona M]

How are you going about painting or refinishing the bolts? Im getting ready to start refinishing my wheels but I am having the hardest time with the bolts. I have had a few shops quote me on prices for the wheels, but no one will touch the bolts. I would really like to have them anodized but apparently only aluminum can be done, and of course my bolts are steel.

[wheelfetish]

How are you going about painting or refinishing the bolts? Im getting ready to start refinishing my wheels but I am having the hardest time with the bolts. I have had a few shops quote me on prices for the wheels, but no one will touch the bolts. I would really like to have them anodized but apparently only aluminum can be done, and of course my bolts are steel.

I let them sit in a jar of vinegar for a week. Rinsed them off and took a scrubbing pad to each bolt/nut. That broke off the dirt/old paint/loctite. Then dried them individually. For painting, im just going to do a few coats of wheel paint and clearcoat.

[wheelfetish]

Update. After bouncing some other ideas around in my head while trying to sleep, and countless photoshoping, I ruled the polished idea out. To plain and simple for me and I want something that jumps. So im either going to go with color matching my rims (lagunagrun) or this

purple faces, with the flat spoke parts polished, as well as the lips, then gold/purple bolts

Opinions are welcome.

[wheelfetish]

Heres some quick photoshops. I used a e36 from on here that was lowered the way mine will be and just changed the color:

Stock silver polished lip
http://i49.tinypic.com/35k49q9.jpg

Color matched
http://i46.tinypic.com/2rc7amc.jpg

Purple/polished
http://i50.tinypic.com/15r15zp.jpg

[wheelfetish]

bump. any opinions?