[Twix]

Anyone ever rebuild 3 piece wheels to refinish? Anything I need to worry about?

[Bt12]

I’ve done 3 piece wheels as well as a 2 piece wheelto 3 piece conversion.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...-BBS-Style-5-s

Lots of stuff to worry about but torque around bolts is most important...

[Sales@wheelsdc.com]

Originally Posted by Twix

Anyone ever rebuild 3 piece wheels to refinish? Anything I need to worry about?

I don't recommend you do it yourself if you have not done this before

[dane083]

There is good instructions on Stanceworks under Wheels and Brakes.

[Bt12]

Love stanceworks... been trying to look for some new centers... but nothing yet

[Twix]

I'm lost on whether to try and strip the paint and polish, and how I'm going to strip the clear off the outer barrels without etching the shit out of the aluminum.

I still haven't seen anywhere that says whether or not the anodized outers can be polished or not.

The assembly will be the easy part.

[Bt12]

Originally Posted by Twix

I'm lost on whether to try and strip the paint and polish, and how I'm going to strip the clear off the outer barrels without etching the shit out of the aluminum.

I still haven't seen anywhere that says whether or not the anodized outers can be polished or not.

The assembly will be the easy part.

What’s the wheel look like? Post some pics...
Taking clear off is easy... I think some people use oven cleaner to strip the anodize off.

Btw what are you trying to do...

[Twix]

Just trying to clean up my old wheels to sell them. The clear coat on the anodized barrels has peeled in some spots and its starting to oxidize a bit. I want to pull the centres out so I can polis both inner and outer barrels, reassemble and then sell.

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic, but here's one of the wheels

[Bt12]

Originally Posted by Twix

Just trying to clean up my old wheels to sell them. The clear coat on the anodized barrels has peeled in some spots and its starting to oxidize a bit. I want to pull the centres out so I can polis both inner and outer barrels, reassemble and then sell.

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic, but here's one of the wheels

Looks good, I would just use paint stripper from Home Depot. And get all the clear off using paint stripper... and then use a buffing wheel on it. Harbor freight sells different buffers and buffing wheels for relatively cheap... with the buffing wheel they have the different compounds that come with it. Buffer cost somewhere around $30. The different buffing wheels probably 10-20 with the compound. Watch some video’s on how to buff/polish aluminum.

Much easier and faster than doing it by hand.


What size are whose wheels?

[Twix]

They're 19s. 18" centres with a step lip. 19x10 et 34 and 19x8.5 et 27. They worked on my X1, won't work on the M2 without spacers in the front.

I don't think they quite work with the M2, maybe a black or MG car, but with LBB it looks weird. I also thought about powder coating the outer lips in a glossy bronze or something too, not sure that would look any better.

May as well clean them up and sell them off to a better home.

[Bt12]

Originally Posted by Twix

They're 19s. 18" centres with a step lip. 19x10 et 34 and 19x8.5 et 27. They worked on my X1, won't work on the M2 without spacers in the front.

I don't think they quite work with the M2, maybe a black or MG car, but with LBB it looks weird. I also thought about powder coating the outer lips in a glossy bronze or something too, not sure that would look any better.

May as well clean them up and sell them off to a better home.

Sorry 1 more question. For you do you know how much the front sticks out and how much spacer you need? I Assume it doesn’t clear the big brakes

Also what are the size of lips and barrel in front and rear?

[Twix]

I'd need a 5mm spacer just to clear. I could order a new inner barrel 1/2" wider and run a 12mm or bigger spacer. Lips are 2.5 and 3.5 I believe