Classic Wheel Restoration "Build Thread"- Old-School 15x7.5 BBS RZ

[cobrawannabe]

Woohoo!

Got an unbelievable deal on a set of RZs (ahem... $60....). They are 15x7.5 ET20 or so. They will get polished lips and painted centers. As of right now, they are in incredible shape metal-wise. Finish-wise, it appears as though they were spray-painted by a 4-year-old. That can be fixed! On the other hand, they do have the old-style centercaps which leave the lugs exposed.

Pics!

[Zic]

awesome! widen them

[cobrawannabe]

I may or may not. Those old SenDels were a lot less valuable than these, so I wouldn't have blinked at ruining them. These are a whole 'nother story

I put about 3.5 hours in today, and took some pics. I'll post them up once I'm done editing.

[cobrawannabe]

Pics!!!

Tools of the trade...


Before...




After stripping, during sanding/early polishing stages...








The result of today's efforts...


Right through the vinyl gloves!

[P78]

aren't those BBS Mahle?
i've had those on my mk2 golf (standard)

[Kielan]

Yeah those aren't RZ's, RZ's had centercaps, these look like Mahle's to me.

[Rav335uk]

Definitly Mahles, 15x7.5j's are worth about £800 in mint condition, so pat yourself on the back for "Bargain of the week"!!

Rav

[cobrawannabe]

aren't those BBS Mahle?
i've had those on my mk2 golf (standard)

You are correct, sir. I was thinking that the Mahle was an early RZ that just had a different centercap.

Yeah those aren't RZ's, RZ's had centercaps, these look like Mahle's to me.

Oops

Definitly Mahles, 15x7.5j's are worth about £800 in mint condition, so pat yourself on the back for "Bargain of the week"!!

Rav

WOWOWOWOOWW!!!!

BTW, could a mod possibly change the title so I can have the right name for these wheels in it?

[boostAbear]

Sick wheels, I have always liked these.

[P78]

BTW, could a mod possibly change the title so I can have the right name for these wheels in it?

just edit your first post in advanced mode

what they could look like

[cobrawannabe]

Sick wheels, I have always liked these.

Thanks!

just edit your first post in advanced mode

what they could look like

Thanks for the help! Mine will most likely have a silver or grey center as of right now.

[cobrawannabe]

Made some more progress today, still not done with the first wheel.

Before:


During:


After:





I have about 12 hours into this wheel, but I probably have another 15 left to do before it's finished.

[sixonefive]

have you thought about using that airplane paint stripper stuff? i feel like that would take everything off a lot faster than all the time youre spending doing all the manual labor..very cool wheels, got a great bargain

[cobrawannabe]

That's what I'm using to strip all the paint. Thanks for the kind words! I will most likely be mediablasting the last 3 wheels.

[cobrawannabe]

Well, the wheels will be on hold for a bit. Had to run to the ER today after getting a rather large amount of aircraft stripper on my face and in my eye. I'm alright, I just have a minor chemical burn on the white part of my eye. The doctors said it was good I acted fast and washed it out properly, otherwise, I would have lost my eye Crazy part is, I was wearing rubber gloves and safety glasses. Things seem to be fine, but the intense burning in my eye sucks.