Nebula BBS split rim project

[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 This is enough product to probably do twelve wheels!
VF Silver (Solvent) 0.5L will do four wheels easily.
Anthracite Silver (Solvent)
Ended up using 1L of this as we have ended up doing them all twice.
2K 4 1 Primer 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
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!




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 This is enough product to probably do twelve wheels!
VF Silver (Solvent) 0.5L will do four wheels easily.
Anthracite Silver (Solvent)
Ended up using 1L of this as we have ended up doing them all twice.
2K 4 1 Primer 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
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!




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>

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



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