24 replies to this topic

[The_Mistro]

Hi guys, thanks for reading this! my wheels started corroding in the winter, and i didnt do anything about it then because it was just going to keep happening! and now its going to be better weather i thought id sort them out! anyway, i have tried all sorts to get them right, but nothing is working! i have tried fairy liquid and a scrubbing side of a sponge (this was superlites idea by the way) this didnt work, then autosol, this didnt work, and now wet and dry paper(1500 as my friend suggested), and this hasnt worked! well, when i say hasnt work, it takes the white bit off, and then leave a ring where the corrosion was, and a shadow on the rim! i tried autosol on it after i had wet and dryed it, and it still didnt shift! so is there anything else i can do? should i use a rougher wet and dry and then go onto the 1500 just to finish it of? or is there something else out there that does the job better!? thanks, Ollie

[mike.]

Thats moisture getting under the lacquer. Only fix is to strip the lacquer off.

Nitormors does this well, but will take the paint off the inner rim too. Essentially your looking at refurbing the whole wheel.

You could try sanding it all off, but it will take you days! You'd then need to repolish the rim with fine wet&dry, wire wool and polish.

[The_Mistro]

Thats moisture getting under the lacquer. Only fix is to strip the lacquer off.

Nitormors does this well, but will take the paint off the inner rim too. Essentially your looking at refurbing the whole wheel.

You could try sanding it all off, but it will take you days! You'd then need to repolish the rim with fine wet&dry, wire wool and polish.

is this a common thing to happen? so would you just send them back to superlite to be refurbed?

[mike.]

Yeah its really common, I don't think the lacquer adheres to the polished alloy very well, and in a couple of years starts getting moisture under it. The problem will only get worse if you just leave it.

I bought a set of old superlights that were in a right mess:





So i just stripped the paint/lacquer off with nitromors:



Then polished up the lip with some 400 grit wet&dry. This was during:



Thats as far as i got before i just gave up and fitted them how they were. The idea was to keep polishing with 600, then 800 then 1200, following by wire wool and polish to give it a real good shine. But obviosley this would have taken forever.

I plan to get the rim polished up professionally, then respray the centres black.

Whatever you do, just don't lacquer the rim again, you'll only end up refurbing them again a few years down the line.

[The_Mistro]

i might have to give the stripper a go! il just have to tape up the wheels! thankyou for the pics and advice! much apprechiated!

[Pauly]

Ive just finished refurbing my 5x12 supalites on my sidewalk, I sanded the corrosion off with 240 grit (removes the laquer) then just worked up through the grades, 600 grit then 1500 to finsh. Then I used autosol to get the shine back and sealed them with wax. You cant re-laquer them as it will just peel off, the original finish is dimond cut so the laquer can stick to it.

If you use good wheel sealent from when they are new they should never corrode, wish I knew this when I had mine .

Mine before (this was the best one):



After:



Paul.

[The_Mistro]

that is a really nice finish you got! what wax did you use to seal it off with if you dont mind me asking!? thanks for both replies guys

[mike.]

Any decent car wax will seal them nicely. Autoglym HD and collinite 915 are great waxes, depends how much your into car cleaning though i guess. Autoglym also do a wheel sealer spray. About 8 quid a tin so might be worth a try.

Nice job there paul, thats what mine would have looked like but i just didn't have the patience!

[Pauly]

They only took my a week. Just dont the dishes though.

I use 'poor boys wheel sealent' excellent stuff.

Paul.

[mike.]

Yeah its proabably just my lack of patience then

Although the dish is about half the size i suppose...

[rosco454]

As minimadmike says the only thing you can really do is remove the laquer which in turn means a full refurb.They look like quite new wheels which is a real shame though.

If you (or anyone else even) would like any advice on any metal polishing or wheel refurbishment then just give me a shout as i used to do quite a bit as a hobby.

Have a go its surprising what you can achieve with a bit of effort.Plenty of patience needed for a really good finish though.

For example these used to be set of £70 wheels from the breakers yard.

Edited by rosco454, 20 April 2009 - 10:43 PM.

[mini_mad69]

WHat technique did you use to polish those? I want to get my polished rims like a mirror!

[mimi the mini]

I had the corrosion on my superlights similar to yours. I managed to polish off the corrosion by hand and then ended up with a shadowed part, like a different shade on the polished rim. But I bought a polishing mop that fits onto a drill, its about 38mm diameter and is perfect for polishing the rim area & I managed to polish all the rims on mine to a mirror shine, shinier than when they were new, they almost look chrome! Also meguiars all metal polish is the best i've found as it is especially for alloy wheels and leaves a mirror shine. I've found that autosol dulls alloys. I think the only way to get this finish is to use a polishing ball on a drill, it took me about 2 hours on each wheel, but it isnt hard work as the mop & drill does it all.

[The_Mistro]

yeah they are quite new, they are only 18 months old i think, but they started doing them after about 12-13 months!

so just to make sure im going to do this right-

1. get lacquer off - 600 wet and dry

2. quick going over with 1500 wet and dry

3. polish with ball on drill and metal polish

4. wax sealent to protect wheel


just one more question, if i do wax them, how do i clean them after? just like before with some alloy cleaner? and do i need to rewax them again when i have cleaned them!?

[Pauly]

Dont use alloy wheel cleaner, its acidic and just as bad as throwing salt over them.

Just wash them with your normal car shampoo and top the wax up every few months.

I used 240 wet and dry to get the laquer off and rough sand the wheel, as you will be forever and will give it up with 600.

Use 600 then 1500 to smooth the scratches out.

Paul.

Edited by Pauly, 21 April 2009 - 06:05 PM.