Wheel refurbishment Retro Look

[keynsham1]

I have a 1978 911SC Targa and I want to make my Fuch wheels look retro by having silver 'spokes' in the centre instead of just black. I know the wheels are anodised around the rim. Mine are in good condition and don't really need refurbishing. Does anyone know if the wheel is anodised all over? I am guessing it is, in which case, can I just paint strip the existing black off and repaint to only cover the areas I want?

[James Brown]

yes you can, there just painted. Do a search on here for painting wheels, it's easer than you think

[keynsham1]

It seems then all I need to do is strip the paint with paint stripper and repaint the bits a want. If the paint stripper strips the anodising, then I will strip the rims as well and polish them!

[moneymanager]

Forget the stripping. Sand very lightly and paint.

[drcoastline]

Keynsham1 , do a search either here or in goggle for DIY RSR finish. There is a lot of information.

Ultimately it depends on exactly what you want the final finish to look like. If you just want a quick RSR look Moneymanager is correct. Mask off so only the part of the petal you want silver is showing, scuff with a 3M pad and shoot the petal with Rustoleum bright silver.

That process will give you this look. The center is Rustoleum rattle can bright silver.



If you want a polished look or a brushed look you will first need to strip the anodize. Use EZ off in the yellow can and or a scothbrite pad in a drill/air grinder to strip the anodize. Once stripped you can finish to your liking. This one is polished.

[Arne2]

Paint stripper won't do anything to the anodizing. The entire wheel is anodized, but the parts of the wheel that were painted (including the face of the spokes) were not finished prior to anodizing to the same degree as the lip. When I tried to strip mine, the spoke faces had many sanding marks and color imperfections, and were not attractive when unpainted.

The Rustoleum paint noted above is #7271 Silver Metallic. It is a bright silver with a fairly fine-grain metallic texture. To get the look shown above, it also needs 2-3 coats of Rustoleum Crystal Clear (#7701). After prepping and painting the spokes, mask and apply the black accent paint using either Rustoleum Satin Black or Wurth. I plan to use the Rustoleum in hopes that all three paints will be compatible. I won't be getting to mine until the weather warms in the spring, unless I break down and buy a garage heater.

[techweenie]

I did a light media blast on the center section and caps and sealed it with flat clear. Not a look for everyone, but I like it.

[Charles Freeborn]

Here's another very clever method:
Restore Fuchs Wheels DIY | Featured Cars | The Motoring Journal
-C

[Arne2]

Originally Posted by Charles Freeborn

Here's another very clever method:
Restore Fuchs Wheels DIY | Featured Cars | The Motoring Journal
-C

That method doesn't work as well on 16" Fuchs, especially the 16x6, due to the different lip depths.