rim refinishing and painting

[fordrule]

I picked up a e36 and I have slowly been trying to polish it back to life

I am not sure on what style these rims are

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs733.ash1/162709_1705764799158_1089154121_1909882_2557331_n. jpg

the lip is polished but it looks like there is possible cracking and pitting in the polished lip. I was thinking of painting the centers aluminum another color other than the silver. any suggestions.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs058.snc6/168817_1705764999163_1089154121_1909883_1225790_n. jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs015.snc6/166505_1705765199168_1089154121_1909884_1495008_n. jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/hs013.snc6/166322_1705765799183_1089154121_1909891_7854530_n. jpg
if there is a way to save the polished lip and just paint the stars i will try that.





here is a pic of the e36 for an idea. as of now I have already swapped over to the smoked corners, sides and fogs. I am also going with blacked out kidneys after i get my new header panel back from paint
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs734.ash1/162868_1705764039139_1089154121_1909878_2290375_n. jpg

[pbonsalb]

Here is a link to one refinishing thread:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1201300&highlight=powdercoat

Plenty of people have used aircraft stripper (available at Advance Auto Parts and other shops) to strip the clearcoat off the polished lips of wheels like yours and then polish the lips until they are shiny. Some just use polish and an electric or battery polisher or do it by hand. If the wheel is damaged, you can remove much damage with a file or by sanding using successive grades of wet sandpaper (like 600/1200/1500/2000). Most leave the wheel unprotected, but it will tarnish. Ideally, it should be clearcoated to protect the polished finish, but often the clearcoat takes away a little of the shine.

Stripping the painted centers can be tough. They are powdercoated and the paint will not come off as easily as with normal spray paint. It can be done, but be prepared to spend some time.

You can buy spray on clear coat and spray on silver wheel paints. People vary as to which product they recommend. Wurth makes good paint, but there are some others as well. Consider using a self etching primer for any painted surface (as opposed to polished) to help the paint adhere.

The best refinishing method is chemical stripping followed by powdercoating (either paint or clearcoat). This is also the most expensive. Figure on $100 to $200 per wheel.

Some shops can straighten bent wheels, so this is an opportunity to check and fix yours if necessary. Might as well if putting a lot of labor into them.

I disassembled, stripped, sanded, polished, reassembled and clearcoated a set of five two piece Style 5 wheels (something like 34 bolts per wheel). They came out very well, but I had a lot of labor into this job -- probably three days of hard work.

Sometimes buying a set of new wheels is the better way to go if you can find a set at a good price. Use your old ones for snow wheels or sell them.

[fordrule]

I have been meaning to get a powerball adapter for my drill. i guess O can finally breakdown into getting one and see if i can save the polished lips. if they arent i will think of stripping off the clear and the colors and then repolish the lip and paint the stars.
I am still undecided on what color

thanks for the link on redoing the wheels. a lot of good info

http://carbodywork.blogspot.com/2006/11/paint-your-car-rims.html
http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1356908
http://www.trinituner.com/v3/forums/viewtopic.php?t=282057

[pbonsalb]

Also search Bimmerforums for something like "refinish style 5" or "polish style 5" since that is a popular BMW wheel with a polished lip.

[fordrule]

I did some work on them to see how they will look. I used the mag cleaner and polish and also a wire brush...i know i know bad, but it got a lot of the black off but scratched the polished lip. I am just unsure if its a clearcoat finish that is covering it.

If I used the aircraft stripper on the wheels and put it around the lip, will it just eat the clearcoat off and not damage the finish? I want to use it on the stars also.

Is the rim finish powdercoated or just painted on

also what style rim is this called.

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5117/img00217661255.jpg
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/8360/img00227673243.jpg

what color should I paint them, should I leave the polished lip. I dont see a lot of bmw's with this style of rims..

here is what she looks like now
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/892/img00307748860.jpg

[whitebeast]

They came out really clean.

Just cause they have the bmw center cap doesnt mean there oem bmw, itd help if you took the wheel off and look behind the wheel too see what brand they are and where there made.

Goodluck!

[3MPowered]

I really doubt that's an OEM BMW wheel, but it looks like you've cleaned them up nicely!
It doesn't look like there's any clearcoat on the lip because the finish is quite bright (usually clear will give it a milky finish). Putting stripper on the face of the wheel will eat through the paint and leave you with bare metal if you use enough coats.

The wheels look pretty good as they are. Try taking a Mother's polishing ball to the lip to get rid of the hairline scratches and you'll be set! (Plus if this does take out the scratches then you'll know there's no clearcoat).

[fordrule]

I will check the backside of the rims tomorrow and post some pics..I just got a power ball

[2000mkoop]

I believe those are Voxx MG wheels; I had a set on a car a few years ago

[fordrule]

thanks for the name..I can do more research on them ...If I am able to clean them up anyone willing to trade?

Voxx Mg
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/product/wheels/voxmg.sml.ang.jpg

[MDirtySix]

Nice job