Refurbishing wheel centres
10-04-2010, 11:57 PM
#31
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i bought them off a bloke on ebay, but never found out if he was actually a member on here.
down in brighton. had an awesome custom bike in the garage.
down in brighton. had an awesome custom bike in the garage.
10-05-2010, 03:18 AM
#32
if they're black makes em easier to touch up the kerbing, all you need is a sharpie.
you can go a touch lower without too many problems but if you were trying to hellaslam then you need all the other bits on the pre 04 cars.
you can go a touch lower without too many problems but if you were trying to hellaslam then you need all the other bits on the pre 04 cars.
11-16-2010, 09:27 AM
#33
Hi, I recently got a set of refurbed wheels from pxwheels in Blackpool. They did a great job on the wheels I was sent, so thanks to pxwheels.
My original wheels were silver, so when I got the refurbed ones in anthracite the centre caps were going to need sorting out. I decided to cover them as per the op with vinyl in as close a match as I could find at my local sign shop. The following pictures are a quick "how-to" for anyone who's interested!
Firstly lay out the vinyl and place your centre cap on it. The hair dryer pictured wasn't needed in the end, as this vinyl is so thin it easily moulds to the edge of the cap!
Next cut a square out with around 10mm more than the width of the centre cap.
Make sure the centre cap is completely clean and smooth. If any small bits of grit are imbedded you can gently go over it with a very fine sand paper, like the stuff used for model aeroplanes etc. Next peel the backing from the vinyl and press the centre cap face down onto it. I used an old mouse mat to put it on as it makes it easier.
Now turn the cap over and gently pull down on the vinyl at the edges working your way around the edge, using your thumb to press down the outer edge to smooth out any rippels. Keep checking that there are no air bubbles forming on the smooth side. If any small bubbles appear, you can usually get them out with a thumb nail working out towards the edge, otherwise you need to lift the vinyl back to that area and smooth it back out again.
Using you thumbnail press the vinyl right against the centre of the inner ring on the back of the cap. Take a sharp craft knife and cut against that inner ring as neatly as possible, which in my case wasn't neat at all! Peel away the access vinyl.
After that just smooth out those cut edges on the back with a firm press using your thumb nail all the way round. What you should be left with is something like this.
Tried it with flash on!
On the car
HTH somebody!
Cheers.
My original wheels were silver, so when I got the refurbed ones in anthracite the centre caps were going to need sorting out. I decided to cover them as per the op with vinyl in as close a match as I could find at my local sign shop. The following pictures are a quick "how-to" for anyone who's interested!
Firstly lay out the vinyl and place your centre cap on it. The hair dryer pictured wasn't needed in the end, as this vinyl is so thin it easily moulds to the edge of the cap!
Next cut a square out with around 10mm more than the width of the centre cap.
Make sure the centre cap is completely clean and smooth. If any small bits of grit are imbedded you can gently go over it with a very fine sand paper, like the stuff used for model aeroplanes etc. Next peel the backing from the vinyl and press the centre cap face down onto it. I used an old mouse mat to put it on as it makes it easier.
Now turn the cap over and gently pull down on the vinyl at the edges working your way around the edge, using your thumb to press down the outer edge to smooth out any rippels. Keep checking that there are no air bubbles forming on the smooth side. If any small bubbles appear, you can usually get them out with a thumb nail working out towards the edge, otherwise you need to lift the vinyl back to that area and smooth it back out again.
Using you thumbnail press the vinyl right against the centre of the inner ring on the back of the cap. Take a sharp craft knife and cut against that inner ring as neatly as possible, which in my case wasn't neat at all! Peel away the access vinyl.
After that just smooth out those cut edges on the back with a firm press using your thumb nail all the way round. What you should be left with is something like this.
Tried it with flash on!
On the car
HTH somebody!
Cheers.
11-16-2010, 09:46 AM
#34
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looks good; i always use heat when apply vinyl like that as it helps the adhesive to go off and stick better.
if you want any wheel centre logo's let me know
if you want any wheel centre logo's let me know
11-16-2010, 10:01 AM
#35
Also consider removing the aluminium skin of the caps before you do this - corrosion comes from behind and will make the vinyl bulge.
Looks smart though!
Looks smart though!
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