GTA wheels refinishing?

[gn87turbo]

Have any of you repainted/restored a set of the GTA wheels? I have a set and would like to start this process. Please let me know what paint you used and the process it involves, did you sand, prime, etc. Pics would be great also. Thanks in advance.

 

[gn87turbo]

Has anyone painted the honeycomb section of the gta wheels? If so what paint did you use

 

[Rich B]

subscribed like to know my self i have two sets waiting to restore

 

[gn87turbo]

Rich B, after doing some research looks like the best paint to use may be VHT gloss black wheel paint!

 

[flbuick]

Mine were powder coated through a member on the board but I can't find the link. I sent my wheels up and he had them powder coated with black centers and clear coat on the lips. they are beautiful. Maybe he will chime in to the thread

 

[Rich B]

Mine were powder coated through a member on the board but I can't find the link. I sent my wheels up and he had them powder coated with black centers and clear coat on the lips. they are beautiful. Maybe he will chime in to the thread

i hope so would love to have nice rims once the car is painted

 

[Rich B]

Rich B, after doing some research looks like the best paint to use may be VHT gloss black wheel paint!

ok thanks i will look in to that color, looking to polish the lips too.

 

[gn87turbo]

Well I started the restoration today. I started with some oven cleaner on the backside of the wheels to get off all of the brake dust off, it was caked on so bad it almost looked like rust on the wheel. I then used aircraft stripper on the front of the wheels and the lip to get all of the clearcoat and paint off of the wheels. Next I started the sandpaper process started with 600 grit and work my way up to 2500 on the aluminum lip area. After that I started polishing the lip of the wheels using mothers mag and wheel polish. The lip looks amazing and I am very happy with it. Now I will begin the masking process and I will paint the center of the wheels using the VHT automotive paint .

 

[gn87turbo]

Before pics

 

[gn87turbo]

After

 

[Just6]

I had a set done and was told that they strip the powder coat off the centre section then cnc the aluminum ring removing all the rash and oxidation. Apply new powder coat to the centre and then clear coat the entire wheel. Cost around $100 per wheel though, not cheap but good results

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[1952ray]

I had a set done and was told that they strip the powder coat off the centre section then cnc the aluminum ring removing all the rash and oxidation. Apply new powder coat to the centre and then clear coat the entire wheel. Cost around $100 per wheel though, not cheap but good resultsView attachment 285251


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Very nice looking

 

[Rich B]

I had a set done and was told that they strip the powder coat off the centre section then cnc the aluminum ring removing all the rash and oxidation. Apply new powder coat to the centre and then clear coat the entire wheel. Cost around $100 per wheel though, not cheap but good resultsView attachment 285251


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Where did you get those done to be honest im too lazy to do my own LOL

 

[gn87turbo]

Those look great! Hope mine turn out half that nice!

 

[1KWIKSIX]

A word of caution!
Just be careful getting these wheels re-done as aluminum material is usually machined off on the flip in the refinishing process.
This material taken away also will reduce your wheel strength in that area and could lead to failure.

Ask me how I know?
I bought a used set of GTA front offset rims years ago that were re-finished and looked brand new. Very nicely polished aluminum outer wheel lips and I while driving, I experienced the aluminum splitting on the wheel lip on one of the front wheels. Could have been disastrous!.
Turned out the material thickness in this area was too thin. Must have hit a bump in the road and that was all it took to cause the failure.
Not sure , but the wheels I bought could have been re-finished several times over their lifetime .
Hence, the resulting too thin area.

Just be careful!
Next set that I had re-finished I instructed them not to remove any material on the lip by machining, just use emery cloth or similar to clean up the wheel lips before sealing with clear coat as I did not want to remove any significant material in this area.

 

[smokingunz]

I had a set done and was told that they strip the powder coat off the centre section then cnc the aluminum ring removing all the rash and oxidation. Apply new powder coat to the centre and then clear coat the entire wheel. Cost around $100 per wheel though, not cheap but good resultsView attachment 285251


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Seems pretty reasonable for that result, looks great.

Before pics

After

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[Pronto]

http://www.rimpro.com
They did a set of second gen t/a snowflakes for me years ago. They were amazing.

 

[Lee_Burough]

Just6, you did a nice job, I'm impressed with the detail.

1KWICKSIX, thanks for the heads up with your experience in refinishing, could be disastrous.

87gnturbo, I like the gold!

 

[blklt1z28]

.

 

[blklt1z28]

I did mine. They were originally gold but they were still is very bad shape. I polished the lips then taped up the polished section, sand blasted the centers, primed them, painted and cleared them. Used regular automotive paint out of a gun.