Refurbished Ruf "classic" wheels

[tobsam]

I have recently bought a set of Ruf 17" 8 and 9 "classic wheels" for my 911 and I am very pleased with them but being a bit of a perfectionist did not like the couple of slight scratches that they had accumulated over the years on a two of the faces of the wheels. These were very small indeed but were there none the less. So I decided to make a few enquiries about having all four refurbished.

The original finish was painted (very thickly I might add) and then lacquered over the top. After speaking to a few companies about what the best finish would be to suit these wheels I finally found a company that really knew what they were talking about when it comes to refurbishing wheels and they suggested that powder coating would not only provide the best durable finish to the wheels but would also make them look very nice indeed. They also made enquiries as to the exact shade of colour that was applied to an original Ruf wheel so as they could find the exact shade of powder to coat them in.

A lot of powder coated wheels that I have seen looked to have rather a roughish finish to them but I wanted a totally smooth finish so the person I was dealing with at the refurbishers suggested that the wheels should be totally stripped by being dipped in an acid that would remove all of the traces of paint but not affect the wheels in any way. They would then be machined totally smooth, which unfortunately would remove the Speedline Ruf markings on the wheels but as a lot of these genuine Ruf wheels have lost their markings during refurbishment in the past did not worry me too much. By doing this the wheels would be much better prepared to accept a really smooth coating of powder. After the powder coating process had been completed they were then given a few coats of lacquer, a final de nib and then polished.

The centre caps have had the Ruf letters painted black and again given a few coats of lacquer on top and again polished.

I am more than pleased with the end result and now have a very nice set of these desirable Ruf classic wheels even though the refurbishment was quite costly. I would highly recommend this company here in the UK to anyone wanting a first class wheel refurbishment carried out.

I am sure the eagle eyed Pelicans on here will have spotted that there are only three wheels pictured. (No I have not got a three wheeled 911) but one of the wheels after completion had a small bubble appear on the inside of the rim so the company, at their suggestion, are going to re-do that wheel as they are also perfectionists.

At the moment I have Fuch 16" 6 and 7 size wheels on my car and before buying the Ruf's was after 8s for the rears but at the time I could not find a really nice set of 8s. Sods law I have now recenty come across a person who has a very nice set of 8s for sale so I am now undecided as to either keep the Fuchs and buy the 8s for the rear of my car, which will probably mean me selling the Ruf's or fitting the Ruf's. Decisions, decisions.

Anyone else have any thoughts on powder coated wheels at all?

Sorry about the quality of the pictures.

[Nine9six]

Hard anodize is both lighter and as durable, if not more more so than powder coating. It is available in a variety of colors.
I would recommend standards for thick sulfuric anodizing given by MIL-A-8625 Type III, AMS 2469, BS 5599, BS EN 2536 and the obsolete AMS 2468, for wheel application.
Stay away from decorative or architectural anodize finishs for wheels.
P.S. I have always loved those RUF wheels. Although not the lightest in the world, they can take a licking and keep on ticking.
HTH

[tobsam]

I don't think the weight of the powder coating is an issue with these Ruf wheels as the wheels themselves are very heavy and I definately will not be putting my car on the track. Getting too old for that sort of thing. These days the car is used more for pleasurable journeys except at times when the young boy inside me decides to put the pedal to the metal and blow the cobwebs away, just to give the engine a decent run you understand...