Rejuvenating Rims

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Cliff R
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Rejuvenating Rims

Post by Cliff R » Sat Nov 07, 2015 1:05 pm

Any advice on rejuvenating a set of original Subaru L series Sunnie style rims ?
I was planning on having them sandblasted back to bare metal but I am unclear on if to have them powder coated (back to white) or undercoat and spray paint with general spray paint (again white).
Does powder coating on rims tend to chip easily or is there a better way to revamp these rims. ?
Is there any reason for or against sand blasting ?
I have gone through using paint stripper on rims before and it is a very messy and frustrating experience (on rims)
Any thoughts ?
While the rims don't have any rust as such they are from 1991 so have general scratches, fading and makes as you would expect.
I will go through the motions of trying to give them a general clean up and polish to see what happens but if this does not produce good results rejuvenation is the next action.

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Silverbullet
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Post by Silverbullet » Sat Nov 07, 2015 2:32 pm

I went with the sand blast and powder coat route for 5 Speedy desert rats, had them done in black. They look real smicko but it is expensive (really expensive, something like $200 a rim) if you get a wheel restoration place to do it like I did. The powder coat chips and flakes off when you do the wheel studs up :roll: but that's only the area under the nut. I've had them more than 12 months like this and still if you spend a minute to wash the dirt off every now and then they still look like new. Nothing wrong with sand blasting.

Another option would be to get the rims blasted at a proper coatings place, or do it yourself then paint them yourself but if you want a perfect finish I would only use a spray gun not rattle cans. Most sand blasting places I've come across also offer a coating service to prevent flash rust in something like epoxy primer.
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Cliff R
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Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:07 am
Location: Muswellbrook/NSW

Post by Cliff R » Sat Nov 07, 2015 4:34 pm

Thanks Silverbullet.
I have heard that Powder coating chips/flakes.
I may just get the rims sand blasted and paint the rims myself.
I will do some local checks and see about pricing.

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