Restoring Wheels

[bsdlinux]

The wheels on my TTA are in need of a refinish job. I guess the salt in Chicago was too much for them. The clear finish is trashed and the aluminum is discolored.

WWW.ThirdGenResource.com has a page that explains how to refinish the TTA/GTA wheels. It involves a special solvent for aluminum , a sanding regime starting at 80 grit then 240 grit and finishing with 420 grit. Then you can apply your protective clear coat again. This sounds tedious.

Wanted to know if any of you have redone your wheels and what you used to get there.

Later...

 

[Donny Lowrida]

I bought a used, but refurbished IROC rim from "Rim Pro" in Tewksbury, Mass. Cost me $110.

I need 2 17" KMC rims refurbished. (Straightened and painted). They quoted me $167 a rim to straighten the rim, weld aluminum alloy where needed, and repaint/ refinish them.

Try rimpro.com, I'm not sure what their E-Mail address is.

Good Luck.

 

[Hardway]

I have seen GTA wheels done this way and for the most part people get really nice results. However if you want to achieve the machine finish lip they will have to restored professionally. Most shops charge $120 to $150 to restore a GTA wheel in any color you like. Check with a tire shop like Discount Tire, they usually work with shops that restore wheels.

 

[Murt TTA]

I just restored 4 front GTA wheels for my GN. I couldn't get that link to work but here is pretty much the process:

Use aluminum aircraft remover on the rim to strip the clear coat paint. Be careful with this stuff it will eat through your skin. After you apply this powerwash the rims to get anything left. I then proceded to start with the lip first. I used a 120 grit to get out the imperfections, then went to a 300-400 grit, then 800, then 1200. I used sandpaper sponges. After this i used a rubbing #2 compound with a high speed plug in drill followed by mag / aluminum polish. I would say it took about 30-40 min per rim for a nice polished lip.

As far as the paint, I went with black centers for the GN. I lightly sanded the front of the center wheel, taped the lip off, then sprayed primer. There are really good spray paints at sherwin williams used for marine use anti-rust primer and paints. I used 2 large cans of primer and 3 1/2 cans of the gloss black marine paint for the rims. I started w/ a coat of primer per wheel, 3 coats of paint, and 2 coats of wheel clear coat from advance auto. I would say the total time invested in finishing one rim is about an hour and 20 min per wheel.

This was my first time refinishing any sort of aluminum rim and it really isn't that hard. I will get some pictures of the finished product it looks great for what was put into it. About $50.00 in paint and 5 hours of my time. I also let the coats set over night before clearing them. If you are going to spend the time and money to do it yourself, get a good quality primer / paint the general primer stuff won't cut it, unless u want to be doing it again soon.

If you were going to refinish the gta wheel, i am not sure where u would get the correct color in a spray can from.. maybe GM?

 

[SouthBaySurfer]

Aztec Gold Metallic. Dupont # 9218. It's in the FAQ section of this site.

 

[89ICBM]

The wheels on my TTA are in need of a refinish job. I guess the salt in Chicago was too much for them. The clear finish is trashed and the aluminum is discolored.


Try wheelcollision.com the fronts are part # 1507 $240.0 ea. and the backs are # 1508 $185 ea. They are listed as metallic gold but the original color I believe was called Aztec gold. I got a set from them and they were perfect. Give them a call to make sure your on the same page 800-292-7467.

This is listed in the FAQ section here. I did not clear coat mine. The clear coat dulls the polishing. If you are asked which gold you want, it is bright gold.