Refurbishing wheel centres
 

I have recently purchased some new wheels for my car, they are 2nd had and they do need a refurbish to remove the curb rash it has. but for now as its winter swiftly approaching i'm going to leave that till spring.

for me though the tatty wheel centres were bothering me. the curb rash i can hide easy enough for now but the fact that water had got under the laquer on the whel centres made them look like this

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/IMAG0010.jpg

So i decided to give them a refresh for now. i had a few odds and sods lying around so set about this little project.

firstly i sanded them back with 240 grit wet and dry paper to remove the rough laquer and to give a flat surface to work on.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010523.jpg

it made them look flat and dull and had removed a little of the text. some of the laquer was still on them, but this wasn't an issue as i wasn't painting them. i still had a roll of DI-NOC 3M carbon vinyl lying around in the garage so thought i would put it to good use.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010524.jpg

these were my tools

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010527.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010528.jpg

the first job was to set it into squares about half as large again as the actual centres. i heat boht the centre cap and the vinyl up before i apply it first

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010526.jpg

the next job is to use the heat to keep it soft and then work it around the item. i tend to do the top first, and then stretch and tug the rest down as i go around the edge.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010529.jpg

i then trim up the vinyl and remove the excess waste

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010530.jpg

i then go back round with the heat and several tools and my finger nail, and work the vinyl in between the 2 halves i.e the ally section and the plastic. then just very carefully i run a blade round and trim off the waste.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010531.jpg

which leaves me something that looks like this

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010525.jpg

after about 30 minutes i ended up with these

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010532.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010533.jpg

next job was to run up some new logos for the front, this took alot longer as i had to draw it from scratch, but once done the vinyl cutter made short work of it and i had cut several colour options. i did red, silver, and white. in the end i decided silver was the best option

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010541.jpg

quick application later and the finished articles

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010545.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010542.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010543.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/P1010544.jpg

i'm unsure how long they'll last and it is a temporary measure. if it doesn't work out it will peel off and i can always paint them instead and re logo them.

Tidy job, looking forward to seeing them fitted to the wheels

Great job mate you still doing the vinyls then. I'll have a couple of ideas I will speak to you about :-)

i've not been doing it for the old forum since i sold up, but i'm happy to help out a mate here and there.

Very nice job. Post up some pics when you have them on the wheels.

Nice job.... :thumbup:

Nice job mr. Biscuit.
I love these tinkering threads.

Did the same to mine last year :).

Get a can of laquer spray from halford and coat a few layers on them. It will definately last longer.

Nice looking caps, I prob do mine when I have time.

A joy to note that in this laid back any old thing will do age there are those who can turn in a quality bit of work, with attention to detail.