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john84ie
25th May 2010, 10:45 PM
just got a set of mesh rims,lookin at painting the centers,want ta do a good job that is gunna last awile! so whats the best way ta prep the centres for paint?will be hard to clean inbetween the mesh,anyone do it before?thanks in advance:right:

Sam-Q
25th May 2010, 10:52 PM
have you considered powder coating?

also for the cleaning part consider visiting an "acid dip" place. Although I am guessing it's not technically acid they would use on aluminium it should strip just about everything off your existing wheels.

john84ie
25th May 2010, 10:55 PM
the centers dont come out so dont know if either of the above would be possible?was hopin ta get it done asap aswell

Sam-Q
25th May 2010, 10:59 PM
stripping should be a definate option as for selective powder coating I will send an expert in here ok?

bigm
25th May 2010, 11:01 PM
if the wheels do not separate sand blast the centers,

Tape up with outer and inner part of the wheel to prevent the sand from hitting where u dont want it to go..

Then good clean over and spray them

john84ie
25th May 2010, 11:05 PM
ok boys,i'll see can i find someone local ta sandblast them,was hopin ta have them finished tomorrow but wanna do it right so sandblast is best,thanks!

svenmate
26th May 2010, 10:20 AM
Sand blasting would be the way to go. If, for some reason, you don't sandblast - try using a tub of paint stripper and a small paint brush. I did a full set of meshies that had 3 coats of paint on them and they came out alright. Let us know how you go :)

john84ie
26th May 2010, 10:37 AM
there isnt any paint on the mesh,it was never painted,just want it all clean to put the paint on,so sandblast yeah?

Sam-Q
27th May 2010, 12:20 AM
you have to be verty carefull with a sandblast, it can be hard to aim and the leftover shot marks will not come off in an area you want to polish without a decent amount of work.

44GTE
27th May 2010, 01:28 AM
Best way thank won't damage the polished rim surface is walnut blast or plastic media blast, but good luck trying to find a shop that has this setup as it is used in aviation etc.

cheers

tristybomb
27th May 2010, 06:25 PM
try washing them with degreaser an high pressure washer!! then scratch up the mesh with red scotch brite so that the paint will stick better. make shore to prime them up first as panit doesnt stick to metal. 2 pac paint would be the best option. but if u want them to last try powder coating them..

evil86
27th May 2010, 06:27 PM
you have to take the centers out. i got my center sand blaster then powder coated, still waiting to get them back from wheel shop to fit them up with new bolts n nuts and a polish. will post pics when i get them back

takai
28th May 2010, 12:17 AM
If you want them clean (and even to remove paint) buy a few cans of oven cleaner. Its not as nasty as paint stripper for the aluminum (paint stripper can pit the alloy) but will do a right job on the paint. Plus its easier to get into the mesh to clean in there.

Just spray it on, wait half an hour or so and then high pressure hose it off.

john84ie
3rd June 2010, 09:53 PM
got these back from the sandblaster,he didnt powder coat them,was gunna work out expensive so just gunna paint them!so just give them a good wash,dry,spray can of primer,then paint,do i need to laquer?

svenmate
3rd June 2010, 11:50 PM
I did what you just said without laquer. Seemed to work fine..

driftke70
4th June 2010, 12:56 AM
i wouldnt get in the habit of powder coating wheels, kinda wrecks any heat treating the rims already had.

also powdercoating is very over rated.

i would mask off outers, get them bead blasted and paint yourself using an etch primer prior to final coat.

if you have trouble finding someone to do it they are under abrasion in the yellow pages.

Slimer86
4th June 2010, 11:23 AM
I've recently had mine dipped (at Minus Paint SA), then primered with 2 coats, and then followed with 2 coats of wheel paint.
Probably put another coat on though, or until I run out of paint.
All done with the centres out.
New nuts, bolts and washers on re-assembly. (Cost $58ish)

ke70dave
4th June 2010, 11:51 AM
i wouldnt get in the habit of powder coating wheels, kinda wrecks any heat treating the rims already had.



got any proof of this?

not having a go, just curious.

i used to work at a powerder coating place, we did wheels all the time. amungst plenty of other things.

this is an interesting read

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/wheels-tires/164494-powder-coating-wheels-pros-cons.html

driftke70
4th June 2010, 02:53 PM
what applies to an oem wheel is different from what applies to a aftermarket rim.

my volks are powdercoated and I kinda regret it. They are a good colour and stuff but I seriously doubt powdercoating ability in australia, they all use cheap shit and the processes
are always pretty far off.

Your place might have done wheels together and kept temps low, i dont know.
But say your getting a generic colour and they chuck them in a batched group with other things the same colour they arnt going to give a fark.

Also most wheels that are going to be powder coated such as mine are over 20 years old.

ke70dave
4th June 2010, 03:12 PM
what applies to an oem wheel is different from what applies to a aftermarket rim.



how so? alloy is alloy.

especially the wheels talked about in that thread, they are talking about porshe wheels from what i gather, which are prolly gonna be the same, if not "better" than the SSR/volks we are playing with.

the issue has go to do with the phases of the alloy that are present/created with heat changes.

i did all this stuff back a few years ago at uni, dont remember much unfortunately. and what we did was mostly steal/iron related.

the place i worked at was pretty dodgy, but there isnt much to powerder coating. spray on the powder electrostatically, then just heat it up. but the heating part is the crucial part for alloy. i would have to study the phase diagrams again....gives me bad memories of exams this stuff!

driftke70
4th June 2010, 03:27 PM
because oem wheels are deliberately made well over their strength ratings.

ive seen a standard skyline wheel take a 2 foot section out of a curb and have only a few abrasion marks, and ive seen someone pull into a driveway a bit quick with a dished wheel and flat spot it.

Wheels are hardened not for an hour or two in manufacture, sometimes days. At very specific temperatures and a very specific climb in temperature.

Alloy as a metal, is basically always just chilling waiting for an opportunity to change. Compared to iron which will stay the same for years and years and years.
Im not one to give alloy that opportunity.

There might not be that many cases on the internet of failings as they probably fail when they hit something and 99.9% of the time people will assume it broke because of what they were doing. If you have a look in a few racing series like jgtc and gt3 cup and the hard core euro hill climbing stuff they dont allow wheels to be powder coated unless from the factory.

In which case the factory would have allowed certain tolerances within their design or hardening process to accept the temperature effects of powder coating.

But what I was saying earlier, is all this aside, i think it gives a shit finish.

driftke70
4th June 2010, 03:31 PM
how so? alloy is alloy.


not quite, some alloy is almost like chalk, some is more pure.
hence if you get a new volt shitty 21 inch chromed wheel and sand it back, the likelihood of being able to get a mirror finish polish is essentially zero.
if you bang it, it will chip and show a rough surface.

something like a bbs or ssr or rays will dent and if torn show a smooth shiny surface.

not only are their make ups different (there are literally thousands of alloy variants) but the way they respond to heat treating dependent on nickel contents and the likes will vary greatly.

ke70dave
4th June 2010, 03:41 PM
hmm you make some valid points. and yer i am well aware of the varients of aluminium alloys.

good point about the oversized OEM wheels, id not considered that.

all interesting stuff.

i wonder though, what the difference is between the material used in the centre of the wheel, compared to the "rim".

since we are only talking about powder coating the centres. the centres would have been cast like that, where as im not sure how the rim bit would have been made. possibly forged?

driftke70
4th June 2010, 06:43 PM
dry forged outers most likely with some rotary forging to get them true.

You can tell when they are machined as they have those groves in them, like a really fine zig zag shape over the surface.

the centers would be cast and machined.

driftke70
4th June 2010, 06:50 PM
also im not saying noo never do it id rather die than powdercoat my wheels,

i did it once, and can see why people do it.

but I personally would never do it again.

john84ie
8th June 2010, 08:54 PM
heres the finished product anyway,before and after..

http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/dcimages/3/0/2/45013.jpg
http://www.ae86drivingclub.com.au/dcimages/3/0/2/45944.jpg

Sam-Q
8th June 2010, 08:56 PM
looks great, well done