Restoring vert rims?

JustJeff · 10-20-2010, 11:45 AM

I've got 2 verts that I'm thinking about doing work on the lips. Mesh is fine on all of them, but the lips are all in some degree of wear. One has the clear coat flaking off and other have simply gotten tarnished. I've never done work like this before so I have questions.

Do the tires have to come off the rims to do the work? I had assumed yes, but was on a Carmara site where a guy did what looked like a good job with tires on the rims.

Is it possible to only do work on the lips and leave the mesh untouched? That seems unlikely, but would be ideal. Can I strip the clear coat off the lip and leave the paint and clear coat on the mesh? I'm assuming if I'm stripping clear coat off the lip that I'll have to strip the whole rim, repaint the mesh, polish the lip and clear coat the whole rim.

My5ABaby · 10-20-2010, 02:38 PM

Talk to FC Zach, he polished his vert lips and they look fantastic.

JustJeff · 10-21-2010, 11:10 AM

^Thanks, sending him a PM

FC Zach · 10-22-2010, 01:22 AM

First thing you will need is a LOT of patience and some free time

"Mesh is fine on all of them, but the lips are all in some degree of wear."
-Exact same as mine so I left that alone.

"Do the tires have to come off the rims to do the work?"
-I suppose you could keep them on although it will of course be easier without them mounted.

"Is it possible to only do work on the lips and leave the mesh untouched? That seems unlikely, but would be ideal."
-It is very possible and I will explain how I did so. Keep in mind that it's not going to be "perfect" and there will be some rough spots but that all depends on how well you seal the surface you want to keep in tact.

First thing I did was thoroughly clean the spokes/mesh (very important step since the tape will need a CLEAN surface to adhere to), don't worry so much about the lip since that will be stripped.

Buy a good quality automotive masking tape like the blue 3M type in both the 1" and 2" sizes. Starting with the 1" masking tape, start taping over the outer layer of the painted surface (i used the 1" first because it's easier to manipulate). This is what I would consider to be the most important process because as I stated earlier if the tape isn't completely covering the surface then your results may vary. Next, overlap the 1" tape with the 2" tape and when all that is done for added measure you can do another layer. Now you'll have what looks to be like a blue ring surrounding the outermost area of the spokes and just for safety you may want to cover the inner section. You could wast more tape but that stuff is expensive so what I did was be resourceful and use a plastic bag like the ones your groceries are placed in at the shopping center, just tape that to the "blue ring" to completely cover the exposed surface.

Now you can start to remove the clear coating from the lip. Buy an aircraft paint stripper in a container that can be brushed on. I found the spray on stuff to be more expensive and you will use more than one can so just buy the bigger container. Follow the directions on the container and once done you can proceed.

If you want a polished billet look:
Buy an assorted pack of Wet or Dry 3M sandpaper and start sanding the machining lines off, I wouldn't use anything too aggressive (I think I started with 220). Work your way down on the coarseness till you get a polishable surface. Use water to keep the paper from getting clogged up and take your time. This may seem like a lot of work at the time but when it's all said and done you will be happy!

If you just want a clean untarnished surface:
Use whatever cleaner/polish of your choice, and scrub away. Simple enough.

If you're not going to "seal" the surface with a clear coat or whatever keep in mind that you will need to keep the wheels clean since aluminum oxidizes very easily. Mine are left uncoated since I prefer to polish mine. I will show pictures as soon as I find/make some. Hope this helps

FC Zach · 10-22-2010, 01:35 AM

Here's two different pics, I'll get some closer pics later.

JustJeff · 10-22-2010, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FC Zach

Here's two different pics, I'll get some closer pics later.

I'm curious the source of the rear rim? That one isn't a Mazda OEM. It looks like you've got Mazda OEM on the front is the rear rim wider? What's the specs on the rear rims?

turboed13b · 10-22-2010, 02:14 AM

what i did was put the wheels on the rear of the car. i then jacked up the rear end ran the car in first at idle. i took 800 grit sandpaper and wetsanded the rim while it was spinning i did this all the way up to 2000 grit. i then dried them off and used nevr dull to polish them to a mirror finish.

JustJeff · 10-22-2010, 04:21 PM

Thanks for the feedback

I'll definitely be polishing them and clear coating them. A friend is going to teach me how to paint and do some light body work. He's setup with all the tools. No sense doing the work if I'm not gonna go all out. Plus one of the verts is likely going up for sale, making it look pretty is easy way to bump the sale a little.

Two of the eight tires need replaced so I'd do those rims when the tires were off. The work isn't important enough to pay for mounting on all the rims...not if I can do the same quality work with tires on. I had assumed that I'd want the clear coat to extend under where the tire mounts. Seems that would be most durable. Gonna take the friend out for lunch or drinks one night so we can talk about it.

I had assumed that the chemical stripping agent would be caustic enough that it would eat through masking tape. I've got a bunch of 3M blue tape already. I've been painting engine parts and I do custom work on computer cases. That stuff is great for cutting metal panels and keeping the jigsaw from scarring the panels. I'll take a trip to the store to make sure, but I believe that's the same stuff.

I'm assuming that the area that won't be quite perfect is where the lip meets the painted mesh. I like Turboed13b's idea of spinning the wheel. The opposite of using a polishing or sanding wheel! I'd be worried that I'd scar up the area where the paint meets the lip.

I just started using Nevr Dull, I cleaned my RB mufflers while they're off the car. I don't think they were that shiny when they were new?? Gonna use it on the top of my Koyo radiator. I bought a sanding polishing multipack for my dremel and had polishing bits left over. Got bored one day and polished the top of my Koyo. Might as well hit it with Nevr Dull too!!!

JustJeff · 10-22-2010, 04:51 PM

My radiator was stained from a leaking hose. I had polishing bits for my Dremel that were never going to be used. I also had some buffing compound.

Junkyard find on the electric fan. Don't even know what it came out of. I found it lying on the ground in the domestic section. I'm guessing it's Ford.

10-20-2010, 11:45 AM	#1
JustJeff RCC Contributor Join Date: Mar 2008 iTrader: (1) Posts: 505 Rep Power: 17	Restoring vert rims? I've got 2 verts that I'm thinking about doing work on the lips. Mesh is fine on all of them, but the lips are all in some degree of wear. One has the clear coat flaking off and other have simply gotten tarnished. I've never done work like this before so I have questions. Do the tires have to come off the rims to do the work? I had assumed yes, but was on a Carmara site where a guy did what looked like a good job with tires on the rims. Is it possible to only do work on the lips and leave the mesh untouched? That seems unlikely, but would be ideal. Can I strip the clear coat off the lip and leave the paint and clear coat on the mesh? I'm assuming if I'm stripping clear coat off the lip that I'll have to strip the whole rim, repaint the mesh, polish the lip and clear coat the whole rim.

10-20-2010, 02:38 PM	#2
My5ABaby Sigh..... Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Murfreesboro, TN iTrader: (6) Posts: 2,377 Rep Power: 19	Talk to FC Zach, he polished his vert lips and they look fantastic. __________________ 1986 Sport: 132k miles, 5A (Sapphire Blue Metallic), Tokico Blues, Racing Beat Springs, Custom LED tailights (only S4 LED tails in the world), SSR Mark II, Racing Beat exhaust, S5 black interior, Rotary Resurrection rebuild at 120k miles Community Service Manual RotorWiki "Imagination costs nothing; we could build square locomotives or fly to Mars" - Felix Wankel Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present."

10-22-2010, 01:22 AM	#4
FC Zach RCC Loves Me Not You Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eagleville, TN iTrader: (2) Posts: 2,267 Rep Power: 19	First thing you will need is a LOT of patience and some free time "Mesh is fine on all of them, but the lips are all in some degree of wear." -Exact same as mine so I left that alone. "Do the tires have to come off the rims to do the work?" -I suppose you could keep them on although it will of course be easier without them mounted. "Is it possible to only do work on the lips and leave the mesh untouched? That seems unlikely, but would be ideal." -It is very possible and I will explain how I did so. Keep in mind that it's not going to be "perfect" and there will be some rough spots but that all depends on how well you seal the surface you want to keep in tact. First thing I did was thoroughly clean the spokes/mesh (very important step since the tape will need a CLEAN surface to adhere to), don't worry so much about the lip since that will be stripped. Buy a good quality automotive masking tape like the blue 3M type in both the 1" and 2" sizes. Starting with the 1" masking tape, start taping over the outer layer of the painted surface (i used the 1" first because it's easier to manipulate). This is what I would consider to be the most important process because as I stated earlier if the tape isn't completely covering the surface then your results may vary. Next, overlap the 1" tape with the 2" tape and when all that is done for added measure you can do another layer. Now you'll have what looks to be like a blue ring surrounding the outermost area of the spokes and just for safety you may want to cover the inner section. You could wast more tape but that stuff is expensive so what I did was be resourceful and use a plastic bag like the ones your groceries are placed in at the shopping center, just tape that to the "blue ring" to completely cover the exposed surface. Now you can start to remove the clear coating from the lip. Buy an aircraft paint stripper in a container that can be brushed on. I found the spray on stuff to be more expensive and you will use more than one can so just buy the bigger container. Follow the directions on the container and once done you can proceed. If you want a polished billet look: Buy an assorted pack of Wet or Dry 3M sandpaper and start sanding the machining lines off, I wouldn't use anything too aggressive (I think I started with 220). Work your way down on the coarseness till you get a polishable surface. Use water to keep the paper from getting clogged up and take your time. This may seem like a lot of work at the time but when it's all said and done you will be happy! If you just want a clean untarnished surface: Use whatever cleaner/polish of your choice, and scrub away. Simple enough. If you're not going to "seal" the surface with a clear coat or whatever keep in mind that you will need to keep the wheels clean since aluminum oxidizes very easily. Mine are left uncoated since I prefer to polish mine. I will show pictures as soon as I find/make some. Hope this helps __________________ 1993 Yamaha GTS1000 1992 Celica Turbo AllTrac 1987 RX7 Sport 1979 Yamaha G1, KM24 powered 1975 Dolmar KMS4

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10-21-2010, 11:10 AM	#3
JustJeff RCC Contributor Join Date: Mar 2008 iTrader: (1) Posts: 505 Rep Power: 17	^Thanks, sending him a PM

10-22-2010, 02:14 AM	#7
turboed13b Rotary Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2008 iTrader: (1) Posts: 116 Rep Power: 17	what i did was put the wheels on the rear of the car. i then jacked up the rear end ran the car in first at idle. i took 800 grit sandpaper and wetsanded the rim while it was spinning i did this all the way up to 2000 grit. i then dried them off and used nevr dull to polish them to a mirror finish.

10-22-2010, 04:21 PM	#8
JustJeff RCC Contributor Join Date: Mar 2008 iTrader: (1) Posts: 505 Rep Power: 17	Thanks for the feedback I'll definitely be polishing them and clear coating them. A friend is going to teach me how to paint and do some light body work. He's setup with all the tools. No sense doing the work if I'm not gonna go all out. Plus one of the verts is likely going up for sale, making it look pretty is easy way to bump the sale a little. Two of the eight tires need replaced so I'd do those rims when the tires were off. The work isn't important enough to pay for mounting on all the rims...not if I can do the same quality work with tires on. I had assumed that I'd want the clear coat to extend under where the tire mounts. Seems that would be most durable. Gonna take the friend out for lunch or drinks one night so we can talk about it. I had assumed that the chemical stripping agent would be caustic enough that it would eat through masking tape. I've got a bunch of 3M blue tape already. I've been painting engine parts and I do custom work on computer cases. That stuff is great for cutting metal panels and keeping the jigsaw from scarring the panels. I'll take a trip to the store to make sure, but I believe that's the same stuff. I'm assuming that the area that won't be quite perfect is where the lip meets the painted mesh. I like Turboed13b's idea of spinning the wheel. The opposite of using a polishing or sanding wheel! I'd be worried that I'd scar up the area where the paint meets the lip. I just started using Nevr Dull, I cleaned my RB mufflers while they're off the car. I don't think they were that shiny when they were new?? Gonna use it on the top of my Koyo radiator. I bought a sanding polishing multipack for my dremel and had polishing bits left over. Got bored one day and polished the top of my Koyo. Might as well hit it with Nevr Dull too!!!

10-22-2010, 04:51 PM	#9
JustJeff RCC Contributor Join Date: Mar 2008 iTrader: (1) Posts: 505 Rep Power: 17	My radiator was stained from a leaking hose. I had polishing bits for my Dremel that were never going to be used. I also had some buffing compound. Junkyard find on the electric fan. Don't even know what it came out of. I found it lying on the ground in the domestic section. I'm guessing it's Ford.