Abstractlude

this is a step by step on rim restoration (the way i went about it) to help any members if they choose this option. i get questions about how i restored my old bbs rs mesh a few times a wek almost so i am making this thread to help ayone who is interested and so i can just slap a link for anyone inquiring through messages.

i started with a set of 5x114.3 16x8 +32 3 piece bbs rs mesh that i ordered off rbmotoring.
they were in rough shape and needed some love.




restoring wheels is much easier when they are in their individual pieces. so i took off all the hardware (136 sets of nuts and bolts). the 3 pieces are together pretty tight so seperating the pieces is done by placing each wheel in an oven individually (obviously) on bake 350 for 5 min. remove the wheel... take it outside and beat the back side of the lip with a rubber mallet around the wheel until it pops off (this may take a decent amount of force). then have someone hold a 2x4 upright against the ground. while holding the bottom lip of the barrel drop the wheel down on top of the 2x4 so that the top of the board hits the mounting point on the back of the face of the wheels. this should knock the face off.


clean the pieces well (i used engine bright mostly and a scotch bright for the barrels).






rather then replace the hardware ($200-$500 for new bolts) i decided to restore the bbs ones.
i soaked the bolts in coke for a day in hopes that it would help loosen the service grime.


i purchased a dremel a while back so i decided to use this for restoring the bolts. i bought a polishing kit for the dremel and used the half inch soft polishing srew on bit plus mothers aluminum polish for the bolts. each bolt was done individually. the centers of the bolts have divots in them which were done with qtips and mothers polish. a microfiber cloth was used for the final touch.


the lips are a whole seperate adventure. if you dont plan on spending the noraml $200-$250 each on new lips then get ready for fun.
start by using aircraft stripper on them to remove the factory clear coat (you can find aircraft stripper at most home depots or car paint distributers). if there are any rough spots or light curb damage you can remove most of this by dry sanding with 150 grit-320 grit sand paper.
then you want to wet sand the entire face of the lip with 400grit, then 600grit, then 1000grit, then 1500grit, and finally 2000grit sand papers. the end result should look like this:




once you finish wetsanding you can use mothers aluminum polish along with a mothers polishing cone or polishing ball (can be purchased at most automotive stores) and a chordless or chord drill to high speed buff each lip. take your time! once they are buffed clean them off with a microfiber cloth. the difference should be substantial.






as far as the centers go it is up to you... you can have them powdercoated, chromed, painted... what have you. if you are spending all this time i suggest getting something that will last and be easy to clean (especially with mesh wheels). i went with powdercoating and decided on candy violet. tranceologist did my powder coating. make sure to have the powder coater or whoever tape off the mounting surface of the faces (where the 3 piece will sandwich together) or you will have a very difficult time assembling.

when putting the wheels back together you want to put a small bead of 100% silicon caulking (can be found at homedepot) in between the surfaces. put all the bolts in and hand tighten the nuts onto them. when tightening find the torque specs online for your particular wheel if you want or just tighten them until they are good and tight lol (at owners own risk). you want to tighten the bolts in a crossing pattern just like when putting lug nuts on.

the center caps have hex screw caps. restore these by following the same steps of stripping, wetsanding, and polishing/buffing as stated above for the lips. they can be seperated from the center cap and bbs logo by removing the circular wire locks from the backside.

once everything is back together you want to properly seal each wheel. use the 100% silicon caulking and run a bead along the sandwich portioned part of the wheel (this is located underneath where the tire will sit so this will all be hidden by the tire so it doesnt have to be super pretty). once a full bead is ran along the wheel take your finger and smooth the silicon over the 2 gaps between the 3 pieces (as applies to different wheels or 2 piece wheels). wait 24 hours to dry. i suggest doing a 2nd application of silicon to help gaurantee no leakage once the tires are mounted.

final outcome:




mine leaked the first time do to a poor job sealing so this is after a year and a half of use when i resealed them right before i sold them:








i hope this helps.
thanks for looking.
_zac

FoxHondaRider

damn awesome work!

Thaking

I almost busted a nut, until i saw purple WTF. I guess its a new cool thing to do, well done i guess.

burgy240

sick write up and nice work. You don't happen to have a pic or two of the bead going in to seal the wheels do you? Just may help some pepz as it is a hugely important step. Thanks for sharing

Thatguysstuff

DEf some good work!!!

I just got some Racing hart C2s.. You almost have me wanting to take mine apart... to paint the centers..

mind I ask what he charged to powder coat the inners?

burgy240

^ Dooooeeeeeeeit

Kirk

Great job!

BABILLARACING

omg awsome job

Abstractlude

they were actually "candy violet". lol. yea the color isnt for everyone. they looked great on my car though. i sold them a few weeks ago. thanks "i guess"

thanks!

this pic kinda shows the bead to seal the wheel. if you look in between the lip and the barrel on the wheel closest in this picture you will see a black smeared line following the seperation between the parts. you run a thick bead in this location and then take smooth it over with your finger to make sure it has no air bubbles and covers the entire area where the pieces join.


thanks man! if you take all the time to take the wheels apart i suggest getting the centers powder coated rather then painted. josh at tranceologist charged me $220 for all 4 but that was a deal he had going on for candy powder coating, i think its normally like $250 for candy and around $150 for regular colors for centers. obviously more for entire rims. for a better idea on pricing find him on tr. he is a hella cool dude.




thanks to everyone else for the comments.
_zac

S60R

Very well done sir, I'm impressed.

Guess we'll all know who you are if we see you on the street with those on your car.