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  • polishing monoblock wheels

    hi people,

    im new around here picked up a 2005 Black Brabus roadster(46000m) last month and so far so good it does need a small number of things doing nothing a few weeks in my garage wont cure i hope.
    only shes runing well and im currently happy

    ive started to polish the rims on my monoblocks as the lacquar is all coming off and its one of those job you wish you never started lol but will look great when done, im only doing the rims and spraying the rest but my question is this apart from using my fingers with are almost to the bone how do you remove the lacquar from the inside edge of the rim before it meets the vertical alloy parts?

    im not sure just how active this forum is so pls if anyone has any advise pls do chip in

    thanks
    humph

  • #2
    Re: polishing monoblock wheels

    Wheel refurbers use acid dip to remove lacquer & corrosion.

    Powder coating the wheels is a better solution than painting & polishing them as it will last much longer.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: polishing monoblock wheels

      yeah im aware of the acid dip only ive just been made redundant so may is tight and doing it by hand it the only way, i also know the finish will last longer power coated but i really want polished rims.
      just wondered if others had done it and what tips they had

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: polishing monoblock wheels

        Wire wool works well and is easy to get into nooks an crannys

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: polishing monoblock wheels

          I hope I'm wrong for your sake but the usual formula is:

          Money being tight + smart roadster = match made in hell!

          They do tend to be money pits!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: polishing monoblock wheels

            Im in the same boat, luckily mine was only £900

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: polishing monoblock wheels

              Originally posted by 137699 View Post
              Powder coating the wheels is a better solution than painting & polishing them as it will last much longer.
              I disagree. Powder coating is a strong finish but it's not that durable when it comes to stone chips etc.
              Paint is softer and can be easily repaired where powder coating can't.

              You will also get more of a gloss on paint and powder coating scratches are harder to get rid of than scratches in paint.
              Painting you can do yourself though so that's the cheapest option.

              The main problem with powder coating is that the majority of powder coaters don't do the job properly as they don't phosphate the wheels (added time and cost) before powder coating. Alloys are made of an alloy mixture of aluminium. Aluminium oxidises very quickly. Unlike Iron's rust, aluminium's oxidation is the same colour as the base metal. Freshly stripped alloys will start creating an oxide layer immediately and in minutes, the entire piece will be oxidised.

              This isn't a bad thing as the oxide layer is very strong and scratch resistant BUT if you don't iron or zinc phosphate the wheels first, the oxide continues to grow.
              Aluminium oxide is a light, crystal, almost fluffy layer. Not a good base for the powder coat. The phosphate stops the oxide growth and bonds it together making an excellent base for the powder finish. Without the phosphate pretreatment, the oxide layer grows very slowly and eventually you get the powder coating lifting off.

              This is the same problem you get with Brabus alloys, this is what causes the corrosion and lacquer lifting. Because Brabus alloys are a natural colour they can't be pretreated as the pretreatment is grey (zinc phosphate) or blue to grey (iron phosphate) which would cover the natural colour. So, the Brabus alloys are just lacquered and a few years down the line, the lacquer starts coming off.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: polishing monoblock wheels

                thanks for the detailed reply evilution, so enamal painting is the way then, as i said im only goign to polish the rims and jet black everything else.

                im going to try the wire wool method as a poster susjested

                Originally posted by Evilution View Post
                I disagree. Powder coating is a strong finish but it's not that durable when it comes to stone chips etc.
                Paint is softer and can be easily repaired where powder coating can't.

                You will also get more of a gloss on paint and powder coating scratches are harder to get rid of than scratches in paint.
                Painting you can do yourself though so that's the cheapest option.

                The main problem with powder coating is that the majority of powder coaters don't do the job properly as they don't phosphate the wheels (added time and cost) before powder coating. Alloys are made of an alloy mixture of aluminium. Aluminium oxidises very quickly. Unlike Iron's rust, aluminium's oxidation is the same colour as the base metal. Freshly stripped alloys will start creating an oxide layer immediately and in minutes, the entire piece will be oxidised.

                This isn't a bad thing as the oxide layer is very strong and scratch resistant BUT if you don't iron or zinc phosphate the wheels first, the oxide continues to grow.
                Aluminium oxide is a light, crystal, almost fluffy layer. Not a good base for the powder coat. The phosphate stops the oxide growth and bonds it together making an excellent base for the powder finish. Without the phosphate pretreatment, the oxide layer grows very slowly and eventually you get the powder coating lifting off.

                This is the same problem you get with Brabus alloys, this is what causes the corrosion and lacquer lifting. Because Brabus alloys are a natural colour they can't be pretreated as the pretreatment is grey (zinc phosphate) or blue to grey (iron phosphate) which would cover the natural colour. So, the Brabus alloys are just lacquered and a few years down the line, the lacquer starts coming off.

                http://www.evilution.co.uk/434

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: polishing monoblock wheels

                  I once removed the laquer with paint stripper and sanded the lip on my skyline alloys using 1000 grade sandpaper then polished them up using autosol... As long as I kept buffing them with autosol every couple of weeks the shine was great. I've never seen aluminium oxidise super quickly.?


                  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: polishing monoblock wheels

                    thanks for all the replies wire wool sounds like the best bet now i think as the rims are mostly complete just the inside edge where the verticals are.
                    i actually rought this car as a project car then got made redundant..lol

                    the car is sound overall just had a lot of salt go under it so replacing slowing all the bolt on suspension bits, ive undersealed the rear and half the front, i completed one underside today and will knock the other side out tomorrow and she will be alomst fully undersealed
                    Last edited by humph; 31-03-14, 10:47 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: polishing monoblock wheels

                      Originally posted by Andy-B View Post
                      I've never seen aluminium oxidise super quickly.
                      Originally posted by Evilution View Post
                      aluminium's oxidation is the same colour as the base metal.
                      Apart from that, we are talking about Brabus alloys which, to save weight, have a much higher % of aluminium than regular alloy wheels do.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: polishing monoblock wheels

                        I won't disagree with you, you clearly know your stuff! Guess that explains why they buckle far easier than a regular alloy wheel.


                        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                        • #13
                          i attacked my monoblocks with the dremmel and took off all the flaking lacquer etc.

                          i never took it to the next step though and polished them up nicely and lacquered them again.

                          i was going to refurb them but they are so soft ive decided to go for different alloys.

                          oh well - i will miss them as they are superb!!

                          JJ

                          www.forfour.co.uk (tech 454) - www.quidco.com/user/417377/1833011/ (free £)

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