Rva

i would really want to know how to restore my rims. i always hear people talking about how they restored their rims and what not and i see it done. and it looks great, i want to restore mine because i kinda dont like aftermarket rims unless they look really good plus i dont wanna spend all kinds of money on some rims.

any advice would be very apreciated

avro206

you have the factory 15" Z28 rims?

Years ago I sanded blasted a set--primed them and painted bright silver. Turned out pretty good.

I also did a set of 15: Pontiac Ralley rims. Same procedure but I had to mask---thats a bitch!

Had my 16" High Tech Pontiac rims professionally done.

jay_d

those would look killer polished............ruff sand em with 320 and get all the color off, then water sand with 400, then 600, then 1000, then 1500, spray em with clear coat and they should look real good, if they aint any nicked places on them

Rva

so how expensive is all this and what would i need

calamitascamaro

iTrader: (5)

Everything he said is true, except you are going to need an aluminum polishing kit to get them to shine. Those can be pricey so don't jump in till you know what you want to do.

Rva

i kinda wannd just repaint the gold parts on the rim

calamitascamaro

iTrader: (5)

Back to prep work for you then bro. Make sure you prep the parts of the rim to be painted, ie. medium-high grit sand paper wet first, then high-really high grit sand paper wet, then a really extensive cleaning, then tape off, then paint of your choice, not nearly as expensive as polishing, and probably a bit less time consuming. Just rememer if you are rattle canning it, prime with the same company as your base coat color, ie. rustoleum auto primer with rustoleum gold with rustoleum clear. It'll all work better most of the time within the same company because of the chemicals they use to make their specific types of paint.

Rva

so rustoleum would be the best to use?

calamitascamaro

iTrader: (5)

Thats the company for rattle cans I like the bast. See what you like, I just like the mid level thickness of rustoleum.

Rva

so i need what colors of rustoleum

calamitascamaro

iTrader: (5)

Thats up to you man. I would use a gray or white primer if doing the gold over in the same color. Basically this is what I would do. Pick your primer according you your color coat, the lighter the color the lighter the primer, the more vibrant the color, go with gray primer, and of course if you do it black go with black primer. As for clear coat, remember to hit the newly painted and dried surface with like 1200 grit wet paper, clean it, dry it, then LIGHTLy apply coats of clear till desiered shine is achieved.

Rva

so what about the chrome around the gold parts.....????

calamitascamaro

iTrader: (5)

Lots of polishing I guess, thats more out of my league with the chrome and the gold, if it were my rims I'd do black and gold but thats just me.

jay_d

if you sand the polished parts with 1500 itll come out slick and you wont see any scratches

Rva

what if the chrome is faded and have grease stains/brake dust

jay_d

id say it will sand off and look decent after you clear it

stevo the torpe

yea i wet sanded my old rs rims and cleared them i really wish i kept them for drag tires,o well i like my torq thrust

ezysk

My only additional suggestion would be cleaning and degreasing your rims really good first before you start your sanding or you risk embedding some oil or grease into the rims and then possibly ending up with fish eyes when you paint.

Not saying it will happen, just you increase the chance of it, if you start sanding on dirty rims.

Rva

what do you think the rim would loook like if it was all black gloss with gold panels??