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Thread: M Parallel 19" Replicas - Polished lip & Powdercoat centres

  1. #1
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    M Parallel 19" Replicas - Polished lip & Powdercoat centres

    Hi,


    A set of the now rare to find 19 inch M Parallel replicas that were refinished before collection by their new owner. The wheels prior to the work had the usual very flaky original lacquer that had also faded/yellowed somewhat and the blackened with age moisture and dirt that had got under the cracks of the lacquer. Thankfully, there was very little kerb rash and no bends/buckles. They'd not been previously refinished as still had various stickers on the barrels and the distinctive mold indentations to the rear of the wheel structure. The finish when these wheels are new is a painted centre with machined/diamond cut lip with lacquer over the whole wheel - lips and barrels.


    Before;





    Wheels were stripped and blasted and the customer's requirement was a silver powdercoat for the wheel centres and the lips hand mirror polished. The result looks fantastic!


    After;













    Given the relatively short period that lacquers last in the UK due to the damp climate, then leaving the lips bare means nothing to flake off and deteriorate. The lips need a quick 2/3 minutes per wheel, using metal polish every few days to look like they are here, which beats having wheels that look grotty as they deteriorate over time - see the before pics!


    I'll be getting pictures when they're fitted up to the new owners E39 soon


    Cheers, Dennis!

  2. #2
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    I have the genuine set and these look damn close NICE!

  3. #3
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    Those are beautiful. I keep thinking about doing that to my stock wheels some day. Both cars have a little bit of rash from the PO's that need fixed.
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  4. #4
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    Those are beautiful.
    I'm still trying to replicate the diamond cut machined lip somehow.
    Getting closer, but not that bright crystal clear cut metal look like a lathed finish.
    Anyone have suggestions?
    I always thought factory Mpars were anodized, but after digging into a couple, they have silver with a matte clear finish, correct?

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by upbeatgfx View Post
    I have the genuine set and these look damn close NICE!
    genuines are 18", not 19. and no, they don't look close to genuine, I also have a set I know.
    Last edited by TiesTorN; 05-22-2019 at 06:38 AM.

  6. #6
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    2001 BMW 740I Sport
    I had mine restored professionally with the proper color ( Hyper Silver ) in the correct arias as well as the Soft polish on the face and lips.. there parked on my 2001 E 38 sport shorty that has a 1 1/4 drop.. wish I knew how to post photos...

  7. #7
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    Hi,

    upbeatgfx - The genuine Style 37's are 18 inch only but, were made from Forged aluminium, so much, much stronger than these / unbranded replica type wheels.

    SantaClaus - Washington state has a climate similar to ours - but at least you know you will get a summer! If you do the usual of machining the lips and lacquering, then it's not too long before little stone chips get through the lacquer and the deterioration / milky effect happens again. On my own sets of various Hartge wheels (and others) I get lips polished like this so that it becomes 2/3 mins of metal poloshing every few days on each wheel to bring them back up looking like the above. One set of my wheels lasted about 7/8 years this way and I've retired them to other reasons.

    Wagons Ho - You need to find a higher quality wheel refinishing specialist who know how to machine the lips properly. Another set of my Hartge wheels I had the lips machined but 'no' lacquer - they looked like this;





    I had another set done (subsequently sold on) and customer wanted anthracite centres and machined/lacquered lips and those looked like this;






    OEM Style 37's are forged in terms of manufacture then I believe painted centres and then machined over the lips and face then lacquered all over.

    Cheers, Dennis!

  8. #8
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    A better wheel finisher? Thats funny.
    Nothing locally does what looks like factory.
    Sure, the powder/ paint can be done, but the crystal clear cut that has the factory sparkle is missing. Plus cutting the lips on wheels that are slightly jittery or straightened leaves voids. Unless they cut a bunch off.
    This is a set of crap 42's that i'm fixing.
    I sanded the lips and found if i finished them off with a light polish finish first, then apply the continuous abrasive finish, they are brighter.
    Now style 5 have a finer iridescent machine look, but when the clear flakes off, it looks like the finish is applied to a coating on top of the barrel.
    42 with and without flash.20190524_112348.jpg20190524_112342.jpg
    I'm trying to not take the easy way out and just polish the lips.
    Not enough room for past/present garage

  9. #9
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    Dennis, try Cerakote Aluminum clear, it's especially designed for applications such as protecting mirror polished aluminum. It has a great chemical and mechanical resistence and it lays on very thin which is always a plus for a coating.
    Diehard E39 driver.
    I'd rather die or take a walk before driving an E60 or any BMW made after Y2K.
    ​"Your momma's so ugly she makes Bangle cars look nice"

  10. #10
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    Hi

    Wagons Ho - Like anything, there's different levels of quality when it comes to wheel refinishing and it's great luck if you find somewhere locally that has fantastic work, excellent quality and knowledge and reasonably priced. Different wheels and their condition means things vary, as it happens, I'm most likely never going to have any of my multiple existing wheels and future sets machined/diamond cut again, yet another set of Hartge's I had the place I used took off too much metal and a few weeks later I was left with 4 wheels with lips all wibbly wobbly bent, thankfully not enough to have had the tyre bead seal fail. The finish you have in these pics looks like a 'brushed' effect ! I love it ! no wheel refinishers in the UK can do this, but there's specialists in the US who can. Given the expense of sending them to and back from the US, It's really only high worth/rare wheels I'd ever send to be done like this, so at some point in the future, I'll have one of my sets done with a brushed effect on the centres, lips and/or both !

    jicaino - Over the last few years, there's been more and more specialist coatings to protect wheels and car paint etc. One set of wheels I have are chrome and i love the pure mirror finish. So far, everyone says that putting on a coating like this will 'dull' the mirror or shine a little bit, which is understandable. Having had triple plate chrome wheels from factory on a Ford F150 Harley Davidson truck I imported to the UK, I don't mind having chrome wheels here in the south of the UK, a quick wipe with light soapy water and a dry with a cloth has them looking awesome. I might try some of the coatings on another chrome piece to see if and how much 'dulling' of the finish actually happens.

    Cheers, Dennis!

  11. #11
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    Dennis, very little dulling. I've tried it and it's quite the stuff. I do woodwind repairs as a main job and it's like bare polished metal looks with extra protection against suffs, marring, etc..
    Diehard E39 driver.
    I'd rather die or take a walk before driving an E60 or any BMW made after Y2K.
    ​"Your momma's so ugly she makes Bangle cars look nice"

  12. #12
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    Jicaino,

    I'll have a search for it and pick some up to try it out

    Cheers, Dennis!

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by DennisCooper View Post
    Jicaino,

    I'll have a search for it and pick some up to try it out

    Cheers, Dennis!
    Dennis, the product is the MC-5100

    You can see their clears here: https://www.cerakote.com/finishes/?t...ings&cat=CLEAR

    Hope you enjoy that!
    Diehard E39 driver.
    I'd rather die or take a walk before driving an E60 or any BMW made after Y2K.
    ​"Your momma's so ugly she makes Bangle cars look nice"

  14. #14
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    I'm looking for a set m-parallel, either 18" or 19" will do me fine. Any one care to sell a set?

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by moblawski View Post
    I'm looking for a set m-parallel, either 18" or 19" will do me fine. Any one care to sell a set?
    There's many many.. many sets of 18 inch genuine M Parallel/Style 37 wheels that come up for sale regularly, search the classifieds on this and other BMW forums, Ebay, Craigslist and any local specialist selling sits and Facebook/Instagram groups. You can often see the replica 18 inch sets too. The 19 inch replica sets with the deep lip rear wheels like the ones pictured above are not available new anymore and used sets only come up for sale every so often and many E39 owners want them. If you see a set, jump on them asap.

    Cheers, Dennis!

  16. #16
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    Cerakote is some great stuff. If you want to go the powdercoat route, Prismatic Powders has a clear called Super Clear that goes over polished aluminum quite well.
    Set the controls for the heart of the sun

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