Nebula BBS split rim project

[Redbrick]

Made a start stripping down my Nebulas ready for a refurb later this week.

Came apart very easily, thought the individual bolts holding the two pieces together would be delicate, no chance. Surprised there was no thread lock on them. The two pieces came apart with a well placed foot and a pull.

Main body will again be an anthracite colour.

Should I do the rim in the same colour or a contrasting silver?

Wife thinks it might look a little chav!

What do you think?
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/Volvo/3.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/Volvo/2.jpg

[pangster]

i thought BBS rims were sweat fitted? i.e. you had to heat the outer rim to remove the insert??.,. obviously not though!!

i would recommend getting new bolts to put them back together again though.. just to be on the safe side..

as for colour - what colour is the car they are going on?.. if they are black the black centres with a polished lip would look the nuts in my opinion! :)

[kyebosh]

I reckon the contrasting silver would look good.

[Redbrick]

i thought BBS rims were sweat fitted? i.e. you had to heat the outer rim to remove the insert??.,. obviously not though!!

i would recommend getting new bolts to put them back together again though.. just to be on the safe side..

as for colour - what colour is the car they are going on?.. if they are black the black centres with a polished lip would look the nuts in my opinion! :)

Yeah I heard the same! I've also heard that BBS have gone bust??? Might be tricky getting new bolts. To be fair the bolts are mint, with a little polish of the threads they should look like new. Need to find out what torque they should be done up to.

Hope it will look a bit like this but not so dark (Daves wheel):
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/Volvo/VolvoBBSwheels006a.jpg

[pangster]

Yeah I heard the same! I've also heard that BBS have gone bust??? Might be tricky getting new bolts. To be fair the bolts are mint, with a little polish of the threads they should look like new. Need to find out what torque they should be done up to.

Hope it will look a bit like this but not so dark (Daves wheel):
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/Volvo/VolvoBBSwheels006a.jpg

there's a thread on Volvospeed about suppliers of new bolts and what the torque should be.. i'm pretty sure you can find it with a quick search.. i think i might ahve it in my favourites though.. give me a sec..

[Redbrick]

Seconds out.... lol

Well I've searched and found nothing.

You had any luck?

[pangster]

Seconds out.... lol

Well I've searched and found nothing.

You had any luck?

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?showtopic=98373&hl=

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?showtopic=98448&hl=

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?showtopic=97473&hl=

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?showtopic=95974&hl=

and can't seem to find the one i was looking for though as it did detail the torque... hmmm

[pangster]

spoke to soon! - here you go:

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?showtopic=95132&hl=pangster

:)

[PNuT]

so..... why do red bricks have no thread lock???????


we need scooby to investigate

[pangster]

so..... why do red bricks have no thread lock???????


we need scooby to investigate

pass??..

all i know is i'll be sending mine away to get refurbished instead of DIY'ing.. i've read too many horror stories about bolts snapping etc..

[siamblue]

That's why i did split mine, heard too many bolts breaking, and with 4 alloys that is one hell of a lot of bolts to drill and retap,

[The Flying Banana]

Its only a sweat fit if the middle goes in from the rear and the bolts which go in the front face draw the centre in. I took apart my BMW BBS the same way and they went together easily. Not one bolt issue either.

Tip for you RB...put the bolt on the head of a drill ( not too tight as to damage the thread) , push it into a cloth with autosol on it, 1 its easier on your finger and 2 its much quicker. The stainless bolts come up like chrome !!

[Redbrick]

Thanks for the links and tips :)

They were 'refurbed', read tarted up, by a company in Swindon. A cosmetic job that lasted about six months before the paint started to peel as they had not stripped them... to$$ers. They did split them though. This is probably why the bolts come out so easily.

Looking at the general condition of the bolts and the low torque needed there is no way I am going to spend more money on new ones. None of the refurb companies said they would replace the bolts- only if they broke them on removal. Fingers crossed I don't screw any up torquing them back up.

I'll post some photos of the process.

[mike k]

i have the same wheels, and mine need a refurb. i will just nip them back up with a spot of loctite on each. i like the two colour think, whats would go with a silver car well?
________
SAMANTHAXOXX (http://camslivesexy.com/cam/samanthaxoxx)

[Redbrick]

Spent three hours trying to paint strip one centre, what a PITA! Took them down to my Father in Law who produced a compressor and sand blasting kit from Aldi!! :)

Made a box up and all rims and centres are now blasted clean, ready for some paint.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/P1000732.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/P1000724.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/P1000728.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/P1000730.jpg

[woz]

[QUOTE=Redbrick;175451]Spent three hours trying to paint strip one centre, what a PITA! Took them down to my Father in Law who produced a compressor and sand blasting kit from Aldi!! :)Nice one RB - thanks for that. I bought one myself for my Bday present from lovely wife.
May I ask as I have not used the blast kit yet -
What grade of abrasive did you use?
And how long did it take per wheel??
Cheers
Woz

[Redbrick]

Hi Woz, used this stuff: <LINK> (http://www.sealey.co.uk/PLPageBuilder.asp?gotonode=ViewProduct&method=mViewProduct&productid=6296)
Took about 45 mins per wheel, took longer building the blasting box. Using the box we probably only lost about 1kg of grit overall.

[Alan M]

I'm looking at getting some of those Nebula rims which will be in need of a refurb so I may be bugging you in the near future about any problems I have when I stip them RB.

[Redbrick]

This is turning into a bit of a 'mare'!
Sometimes you should just say 'that is good enough' and learn where to stop.
Its been a steep learning curve- thanks to Craig (Tomcat) for his help so far.
I have enjoyed it and I would be quicker next time. Some learns:
Use a water trap in the air line
Grit blast the paint off- don't use paint stripper
If the prep isn't spot on the end result will be poor.
You can't cover up blemishes with paint.
BBS bolts come up like new with a bench polisher.

Some photos:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/Volvo/002-1.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/Volvo/004.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/Volvo/006.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/Volvo/007-1.jpg

A minor blemish that we thought we could perfect by putting a spot of paint over the sanded back bit. I thought I could sand it back and blend it in:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/Volvo/008.jpg
Ended up like this, needless to say I've given up for today- maybe the alloy wheel mice will come in the night and make it better.....:doh:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/Volvo/011.jpg

[Tomcat]

Looking good so far (all bar the last photo....Eeeep!).


A water trap in the airline is a must, especialy on a warm day. If you don't have one then you'll just have to drain the compressor periodicaly through the day.

Paint stripper is a nightmare to remove before painting, even a tiny trace can wreek havoc on a paint job.

Good luck sorting it out, although it's been a pain in the rear you've done it all yourself and you'll be able to use the knowledge you've gained to paint other stuff(maybe even the car)..

[Redbrick]

Quick update.

I've just paid for the centres to be stripped back to bare metal, bloke used an acid bath that stripped them in about 5 minutes.

Shot blasting removed the paint but not the primer- think that's where my problem started we think.

Going to have one final go at painting them before I hand over my hard earned and get them done professionally.

Thanks to Tomcat for his words of wisdom- much appreciated mate :)

Would I try it again........ NEVER lol

[dave stew]

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?t=17202

Just don't let my wife anywhere near it once your Nebs are refurbed!

[Redbrick]

She ruined one of my mint Volans on my 855R many many years ago- I never let her forget it until I did one of her brand new BBS 17'' VW wheels and then she went to town on me... lol

Can't you just get the one refurbed- bloke down here charges £90 for a split rim. He knows his stuff as well, his name is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. After seeing some finished wheels there is no way in hell I'm going to recommend this bloke now! Did talk a good refurb though! lol

[dave stew]

I'm going to be a professional minge bag and do it myself. As the wheels were split and then repainted inside a couple of months ago, I don't think corrosion will be a problem. Plus, as this is the only car we have - it won't be the last time she whacks them either!

[Redbrick]

WE DID IT! :)

This has taken weeks and has been a massive learning process. Huge thanks to Tomcat for help and advice.

First thing we did wrong was thinking grit blasting the wheels and then filling and sanding the imperfections would be a good basis to start from. What I thought was as low as I could go was in fact the original undercoat- the paint I used reacted to this undercoat and we were doomed to failure.

I paid a pro to acid strip them- he did one while I waited, only took five minutes to remove the paint I had put on and take them back to silver base metal. That was a bit soul destroying as I had spent a few hours trying to strip one with paint stripper.

Once we had the bare metal we sanded them down with wire wool and filled any blemishes. Two layers of undercoat were then sprayed on and sanded back each time- all coats of paint have to be very slight and not piled on. The undercoat was a 2k product and required a hardener, four parts paint to one part hardener.

Two costs of basecoat were then applied and allowed to go off. This was another 2K product, two parts paint mixed with one part 2K thinner.

Once we were happy with the basecoat we applied the clearcoat lacquer. Two parts clearcoat to one part hardener. Two coats were applied and the wheels left in the sun to dry.

Products used are in the links below:
Wheel Paints Lacquer pack (http://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/category_Special_Offers_1.htm) This is enough product to probably do twelve wheels!
VF Silver (Solvent) (http://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/product_details_9.htm) 0.5L will do four wheels easily.
Anthracite Silver (Solvent)
(http://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/product_details_11.htm) Ended up using 1L of this as we have ended up doing them all twice.
2K 4 1 Primer (http://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/category_Primers_and_Degreasers_1.htm) A very quick drying primer that sands back very smooth. The Pre-Clean (Solvent) was a good product for removing greasy finger prints.
Superfine Pads Pack of 10 (http://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/category_Sundry_Materials_Dry_Goods_1.htm)
These were very good for sanding, not too abrasive.

You may be thinking the above adds up to a lot of money and it probably does but saving money wasn't my main reason for going DIY. I'd previously paid a lot of money for a refurb that lasted six months before the paint started peeling off. I just wanted the job done properly and I knew my Dad and I could do it if we tried hard enough.

I re-used the BBS bolts after cleaning them up and polishing them- not a mark on them. No I don't Xray vision and can't see the internal fractures or molecules separating. Seriously do you think refurbers replace the bolts or re-use the originals? lol Torqued them up to 18ftlbs- thanks Pangster for your help there.

Here are the finished results- to say I am chuffed would be an understatement!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/001.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/002.jpg

I am confident that once a set of wheels were acid stripped we could get them finished and dry in two days- not that I am looking to do another set anytime soon.

Andy

[pangster]

WE DID IT! :)

This has taken weeks and has been a massive learning process. Huge thanks to Tomcat for help and advice.

First thing we did wrong was thinking grit blasting the wheels and then filling and sanding the imperfections would be a good basis to start from. What I thought was as low as I could go was in fact the original undercoat- the paint I used reacted to this undercoat and we were doomed to failure.

I paid a pro to acid strip them- he did one while I waited, only took five minutes to remove the paint I had put on and take them back to silver base metal. That was a bit soul destroying as I had spent a few hours trying to strip one with paint stripper.

Once we had the bare metal we sanded them down with wire wool and filled any blemishes. Two layers of undercoat were then sprayed on and sanded back each time- all coats of paint have to be very slight and not piled on. The undercoat was a 2k product and required a hardener, four parts paint to one part hardener.

Two costs of basecoat were then applied and allowed to go off. This was another 2K product, two parts paint mixed with one part 2K thinner.

Once we were happy with the basecoat we applied the clearcoat lacquer. Two parts clearcoat to one part hardener. Two coats were applied and the wheels left in the sun to dry.

Products used are in the links below:
Wheel Paints Lacquer pack (http://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/category_Special_Offers_1.htm) This is enough product to probably do twelve wheels!
VF Silver (Solvent) (http://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/product_details_9.htm) 0.5L will do four wheels easily.
Anthracite Silver (Solvent)
(http://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/product_details_11.htm) Ended up using 1L of this as we have ended up doing them all twice.
2K 4 1 Primer (http://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/category_Primers_and_Degreasers_1.htm) A very quick drying primer that sands back very smooth. The Pre-Clean (Solvent) was a good product for removing greasy finger prints.
Superfine Pads Pack of 10 (http://www.wheelpaints.co.uk/category_Sundry_Materials_Dry_Goods_1.htm)
These were very good for sanding, not too abrasive.

You may be thinking the above adds up to a lot of money and it probably does but saving money wasn't my main reason for going DIY. I'd previously paid a lot of money for a refurb that lasted six months before the paint started peeling off. I just wanted the job done properly and I knew my Dad and I could do it if we tried hard enough.

I re-used the BBS bolts after cleaning them up and polishing them- not a mark on them. No I don't Xray vision and can't see the internal fractures or molecules separating. Seriously do you think refurbers replace the bolts or re-use the originals? lol Torqued them up to 18ftlbs- thanks Pangster for your help there.

Here are the finished results- to say I am chuffed would be an understatement!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/001.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y132/apurnell1970/002.jpg

I am confident that once a set of wheels were acid stripped we could get them finished and dry in two days- not that I am looking to do another set anytime soon.

Andy

looks mint!! - get some pics up with them on the car! :)

[thebadger]

Stunning stuff! I'm truly jealous!

My pegs need a good strip & re paint, the edges are going & one has peeling on the lovely, lovely R!

tsk!

Nice tho, good project to cover!

roll on the tiebars!

[Tomcat]

Glad to see you got them finished, they look great. In the end it's not about how much it's cost, it's the fact that you've learned a new skill that you can use again if the need arrises.

[Redbrick]

Posted some piccies on this thread:<CLICK> (http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?p=184217#post184217)

Hope my write up will be useful to someone in the future.

Nebula refurb... DONE.

[Murphy]

The wheels look fantastic, and look even better on!

[pangster]

The wheels look fantastic, and look even better on!

what murphy said!! - they look very nice and really suit your car!! - you should be very proud! - job well done! :)

[Justin]

Have been silently following this, top job with class help.

Nice work lads :)

[thebadger]

Man, they look Awesome on!

I'm even more jealous now!

Yeah, I'm trying to get some Orestes to replace my pegs. 17's would be the better choice for handling/ride.

[graemewelch]

nice job.

[V70 Graham]

nice job.

You must be bored, looking through 5 year old threads lol

[graemewelch]

You must be bored, looking through 5 year old threads lol

im very bord. but theres a good reason why i found this. im going to get some genuine nevs and refurb them. tell me this isnt volvo porn at its best

http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg483/gwexhausts/dndsj_zps40fcff3b.jpg

going to paint them in volvo 177 grey with polished lip

[V70 Graham]

Very nice, always been a fan of the Nebs, just didn't fancy cleaning them !

[graemewelch]

wolf decon gel. its amazing stuff. £10 a ltr delivered. makes cleaning so easy

[theflyingbrick]

they look top draw mate well done :)

[volvos60t]

I got the same wheels on my s60 t5 and I am going for a graphite gray with red flakes throught it

[jdavis]

SO jealous of them wheels. i keep looking on ebay for a bargain set to refurb but it seems everyone else knows what they're worth as well :-(

[graemewelch]

SO jealous of them wheels. i keep looking on ebay for a bargain set to refurb but it seems everyone else knows what they're worth as well :-(

i dont even know how much a set is worth. i just know they suit my car so im willing to pay

[leet5r]

any 1 got a pic of the nebs on a red 855r , love the look of these

[graemewelch]

http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/gg483/gwexhausts/HDRLightyear2_small_zps685d404c.jpg

try mine if you want to do donkey work. theyll be here on tues or wed