Refinishing Brabus Monoblock IV

[siopaolover]

Hey guys, I'm a noob when it comes to refinishing wheels. Picked up a set of Brabus IVs last year and got them for cheap because the clear coat was peeling. It's peeled more over the last year. I really want to keep the original finish of the wheels, but I don't know how to just handle the clearcoat problem without completely stripping the wheels down and polishing them. I don't want to polish them though because the poilished sets seem too common.

Here are the wheels:

Untitled by fbaladad, on Flickr

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

[KyleAnderson]

Are the windows painted too? If not, you could use aircraft stripper and simply re-clear them. If they are painted, there's not going to be anything easy. Stripping, painting the windows, then re-clearing is probably the easiest way in that case. Another option is to have someone with a lathe cut the face again, leaving the windows intact, then clear them.

First time seeing those wheels... it's scary how close they are to my BMW style 26's.

[siopaolover]

Yea, everything's painted. It's just when the sun hits it, it has kind of a diamond cut finish. Will I lose that look if I strip them?

and that's pretty awesome how they look like style 26's! Maybe that's where Brabus got the idea for these... lol

[siopaolover]

and here's how the wheels look dirty, not in direct sunlight


DSC_0979 by fbaladad, on Flickr

[skiierman]

Aircraft stripper should take it off, and if the inner silver paint is powder coat it wont come off. Just use weak paint stripper, and wet sand the powder after you stripped the clear. also remove the clear and wipe off the stripper before 15 to 20 min so it doesn't start to take off the powder coat. Since powdercoat is oil based it wont come off very easily with stripper.

[siopaolover]

Aircraft stripper should take it off, and if the inner silver paint is powder coat it wont come off. Just use weak paint stripper, and wet sand the powder after you stripped the clear. also remove the clear and wipe off the stripper before 15 to 20 min so it doesn't start to take off the powder coat. Since powdercoat is oil based it wont come off very easily with stripper.

it's not powdercoated though

[KyleAnderson]

Yea, everything's painted. It's just when the sun hits it, it has kind of a diamond cut finish. Will I lose that look if I strip them?

Can you get better pictures? Looks like a machined face (diamond cut) with painted windows. Stripping the clear off wouldn't affect the machined portion but would likely damage the finish of the windows.

Since powdercoat is oil based it wont come off very easily with stripper.

It is? Might want to read up on powdercoat.

(hint: it's plastic)

[siopaolover]

Can you get better pictures? Looks like a machined face (diamond cut) with painted windows. Stripping the clear off wouldn't affect the machined portion but would likely damage the finish of the windows.

The windows are the same finish as the face. Here's a few more pictures to clarify a little:

Untitled by fbaladad, on Flickr

fitment by fbaladad, on Flickr

(lol various stages of low)

[siopaolover]

Here's how they're supposed to look:



There's so little information on painted sets that it's really hard to find out how these came from Brabus. Is it some kind of diamond cut? I'm lost

[Mike36]

Aircraft paint remover. Looks like they are machined finished.

[siopaolover]

Aircraft paint remover. Looks like they are machined finished.

I was planning on doing that when I finish up my other set. Will I ever be able to get the machined finish back? lol

[skiierman]

The machined finish should stay, it looks as though the face was cut on a lathe. As for the inside of the arches that are painted or whatever, it would be hard to repaint without having to sand and polish the face of the wheel again.

And I was wrong about powder coat being oil based, thats just what someone told me. but what I said previously should still work if the inner arch is powder coat.

[siopaolover]

Thanks man! I think I'll go full polish on these once I finish up my other set. Is there any way to clear coat or clear powder over polish?

[skiierman]

Thanks man! I think I'll go full polish on these once I finish up my other set. Is there any way to clear coat or clear powder over polish?

Its hard to clear over a perfectly smooth surface, but I think that if you rough it up a little the clear will fill the valleys and make it look smooth and polished. I would just keep them polished, cheaper, and its not to bad to maintain.

[siopaolover]

Its hard to clear over a perfectly smooth surface, but I think that if you rough it up a little the clear will fill the valleys and make it look smooth and polished. I would just keep them polished, cheaper, and its not to bad to maintain.

ok, I'll just keep them polished then. So I'd be able to keep the machined face even if I polish these? I just wanna make sure before I strip everything. lol