I decided to restore my rally wheels. I used 0000 steel wool, masking tape, razors, degreaser, and some rust preventive glass black paint. They turned out great. I never knew steel wool could do this much! Thanks to the threads i found from this site on how to restore them!
L@@king good - amazing what time and a little paint will do ! Don't forget the centre caps - they can be refurbished too. What colour is that, blue or grey ? :beer :TU:
I live and die by 0000 steelwool!!!!! I also gave up on the taping drill and just spray away with a quick careful alcohol wipe on the spiders, works good, is fast, but not for show.
WOW:shock: Nice Job!:beer You are giving me new deas for the winter. How much time did you invest in each wheel? I need to restore 2 of mine.
dude! looks kick-ass! i gotta do mine this winter too. hope mine come out lookin as good as yours! :beers2:
Yea man I love steel wool. Stuff is a life saver. Works great on all the chrome and aluminum. Each rim took roughly about 1 hour. Here are the steps I took for each rim: 1) remove the rim and tire from the car 2) sprayed the rim with WD-40 (so the rust and dirt can soak and be easier to remove) 3) rubbed the 0000 steel wool on the rim, trying to get into all the crevices and angles 4) took 150 grit sandpaper to the black painted areas (to get the old paint off and give it a better surface for the paint) 5) wiped the entire rim with degreaser 6) masked off all areas that are going to be painted 7) used new razor blades to trim the tape around the soon to be painted areas 8) sprayed 3 light coats of gloss black rust preventive paint enamel (from kragen auto store) 9) let the paint to set for 10 mins then removed all the masking tape 10) waited about 20 more mins then mounted the rim back on to the car I haven't applied the brasso metal polish, only because I didn't want to mess up the fresh paint. But today since it has dried fully, I will apply the polish for a better shine. The only parts that was time consuming was making sure all the grease was off and the laying down of the tape. After that everything is easy. Good luck on cleaning up those rallys u guys. Just take ur time and it will turn out good. All the rims took me about 5 hours to do. Thanks for all the great support you guys give me.
Thanks for reminding me about the caps. The center caps are going to be cleaned up too. Only thing is that I only have 2 CAPS!! So I got to find 2 more so it will be complete.
I used a 80 grit media in my pressure blaster to remove the paint. I covered all the spokes with 2 layers of duct tape to protect the chrome. Then, I blew the wheels off with compressed air, and degreased them with laquer thinner. 2 coats of etching primer and 2 coats of Eastwood Rally Wheel black.
Randy, the color is actually a bluish-gray color. I'm goin to be painting it probably by the end of next year when I can afford it. Its going to be painted a dark maroon cherry color with a black top. I'm not sure how I'm goin to do the paint scheme yet, but I'm coming up with a couple of good ideas
The caps are easy real easy to do - 0000 steel wool on chromed surfaces, a good scrub between the ribs with soap 'n water, and a stiff brush. Blow dry the centre and just mask the outer ring - coupla coats from the rattle can between the ribs, and a laquer thinner wipe on the tops of the ribs. Insert plastic centres and replace any damaged retainers while your at it, and your good to go. Almost brandy new ! :beer :TU: (. . . what colour is your car, looks like a fresh repaint ?)
After completing the process would spraying the wheel in clear coat be O.K.? Hopefully making it less maintance in the long run? Or is it a really bad idea?
I did mine last weekend. Also from past threads on this site!:beers2: They turned out great. used 1/8'' masking tape was alittle tedious but well worth they effort:TU: Can't wait to show them off some day when the car is done Jim
Stupid question time... would it be O.K. to use this process on these wheels? Thats not my wheel by the way but, its the same style.
yes! this process should be perfect for these wheels, just take your time with each wheel and make sure if your painting the middle sections to mask off all the chrome areas. good luck!
Ol skewl 67 did a great job of restoring the big car wheels. I found this link to GStage1's method of refinishing the A and G body Rallye wheels. http://www.buickperformance.com/rfinish.htm
Thats an excellent guide!! :TU: What about clear coating the wheels when finished??? Anyone done this??
You can also use wire wheel acid from eagle . I use to take off heavy brake dust and 0000 steelwool once dry . Cuts time in half and really shines :TU:
Thanks for the detailed steps. I think you just gave my son and i a new project for the weekend. Since we did the repaint on the car the wheels have looked kind of old. Would i be better of with Semi Gloss back or gloss.
Great job on the rallys! I just got some and plan on restoring them as well. So far I cleaned one up a bit, but need a stronger steel wool pad to cut through the stronger rust. I just used soap, nothing to penetrate through the rust. I didn't paint the black area either. But it was a quick clean and looks good so far. Aluminum foil would have worked on the tough rust spot, but I ran out of foil for cooking. Before and after.
