My $100 Rattle Can Wheel Restoration

jeffnhiscars · Nov 30, 2020

Thanks !! Went for a drive today and I'd swear that between fixing the gouges and the smooth new finish my mpg is way up 🙄

Crispy3 · Nov 30, 2020

Looks great. I know it’s a lot of work but a good result there. Well done and for sharing too.

Thanks.

Pete!

jeffnhiscars · Dec 1, 2020

Yeah so it looks good enough that now I feel like doing the calipers lol. I do have a plan

Crispy3 · Dec 1, 2020

Right, good idea, I did my calipers in the factory blue color for the R50. I am happy with the result. Did them with calipers on the car, lots of plastic garbage bags to tape off the surrounds and brake cleaner to brush and clean them down. Get high temp caliper paint from your local auto store. A range of colors available.

Pete

jeffnhiscars · Dec 1, 2020

Pete,

Having just done a full brake job including master cylinder & fluid flush Im going to do exactly what you did and mask around everything. No way am I going to open up the hydraulic system again lol

Ive done calipers before and have some supplies on hand but was looking for pother options. I couldnt find any caliper paint I liked so I called Duplicolor and did confirm that caliper paint and engine enamel are interchangeable which opened a whole range of alternatives. Fact is, I knew the color I wanted and found it in an engine paint so am good to go.

This is not going to be a typical caliper color or finish but the guy who sold me the paint looked at the wheels I just refinished and insisted I come show it to him when Im done. Stay tuned

volkswagens-for-life · Dec 2, 2020

That looks killer, good job!

volkswagens-for-life · Dec 2, 2020

jeffnhiscars said:
Pete,

Having just done a full brake job including master cylinder & fluid flush Im going to do exactly what you did and mask around everything. No way am I going to open up the hydraulic system again lol

Ive done calipers before and have some supplies on hand but was looking for pother options. I couldnt find any caliper paint I liked so I called Duplicolor and did confirm that caliper paint and engine enamel are interchangeable which opened a whole range of alternatives. Fact is, I knew the color I wanted and found it in an engine paint so am good to go.

This is not going to be a typical caliper color or finish but the guy who sold me the paint looked at the wheels I just refinished and insisted I come show it to him when Im done. Stay tuned

Wait, the Dupli-Color engine paint and brake paint are interchangeable?

Crispy3 · Dec 2, 2020

volkswagens-for-life said:
Wait, the Dupli-Color engine paint and brake paint are interchangeable?

Yes, pretty sure you can use caliper paint and engine enamel for either purpose interchangeably. The heat rating is what you need and both cover that need.

Will see if I can locate a photo of what I used.

View attachment 241343

Pete

volkswagens-for-life · Dec 2, 2020

Good stuff, thank you!

droiler · Dec 2, 2020

jeffnhiscars said:
I was concerned that those gouges actually raised the metal above the surface of the wheel so the first thing I did was take a jewelers file to them and essentially planed them down to flush. I then did a through cleaning with simple green and for once I removed all the old wheel weight mastic that was in the barrel. I then gave the rims a wipe down with IPA (isopropyl alcohol) and started on the repairs. I rough sanded the damaged areas with 150 then started filling. It took a couple of rounds but eventually I felt it was good enough to move on.

Note that I used Bicycle brand cards. I prefer Tally Ho but these were used and I wasn't about to open a fresh box for this. FYI index cards I found to be too soft to work

View attachment 241281 View attachment 241283 View attachment 241285

Awesome. It doesn't look like a rattle can paint job.

jeffnhiscars · Dec 3, 2020

Oh yeah !!!!!

Crispy3 · Dec 3, 2020

Wow, that looks nice!

Pete

jeffnhiscars · Dec 3, 2020

Thanks Pete. I'm rather fond of it myself.

volkswagens-for-life · Dec 4, 2020

Dang, you could definitely charge for that as a service!

My $100 Rattle Can Wheel Restoration

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