Todays Lesson: Alloy Refurb

[Mat]

Right then, today started with a lad and his Corsa and correcting some paint fade (like the blue one I posted the other day).

Afterwards, I was bored. Luckily, mother (or step dad), have tidied down the side of the shed, so I could now get access to the back, and dig out an old alloy.

These have been hidden around the back of the shed for 2 years or so. one of the wheels is almost beyond repair (baddly scuffed) 2 have light scuffs. The one I chose had a couple of raised areas, curbing around about 80% of the wheel, and the odd scratch/scuff here and there.

So here we are:

Check em out! These are off my old 1.4 Ibiza. They are a huge 13" lol

Rinsed down and wiped over with Tardis and dried

So then, here's some of the "damage"

 

[Mat]

After a bit of sanding with some coarse paper.

I used 60 & 100 grit dry sand paper. Something very coarse should make it easy work. Take your time, keep blowing the dust away and feel the area. Once it's as smooth as you can get, move on to another area.

I tried my best to avoid using any filler etc. But some areas just needed it. So here's a few more pics of after filler and sanded down.

The filler I used was something called P38 (found it in the shed). Any old body filler should be fine. Anyway, mix some filler and hardener together. (golf ball sized filler to a pea size of hardener). It will begin to set within 5 mins, so work quick, and don't mix too much up like I did, or you'll just waste it as it'll dry quickly.

Then apply the mix into the areas you couldn't fully smooth. I used an old plastic blade I found. Later found that hands/fingers are better.

Leave for it to set fully. Should be no more than about 15mins. Then smooth down the areas. Again, I used about 100 grit to remove any raised areas of filler. After that, give the whole wheel a going over with some finer wet & dry. 1200 grit should be ok, and can be purchased from Halfords. 1500 grit is also available, but always out of stock when I go there.

And finished for today. I realised I had no primer. So out of boredom, I sprayed em white, and ran out of that. So a thin coat of red next lol

Should look ok once done....





The spraying process is the same as spraying anything else.

Spraying Process

Here's a quick guide to spraying:

Always spray in thin coats.
Sand between coats if it feels rough. Any imperfections in the early stages will only look worse at the end.
Firstly is primer. About 4 thin coats. Leave about 15mins between each coat. Remember to check and sand if required
Leave 24hrs to fully cure & dry
Repeat process for Colour and also Lacquer.

 

[Boo]

Good start What did you use to fill with ? And did you use a high build primer or a basic primer ?

 

[Mat]

Gonna edit 1st and 2nd post and make it more of a "how to" guide...

Not actually primered it yet. Was messing around with leftover paint lol.