Car Forum / MINI / December 2003
Cleaning up Cosmic alloys
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Canned - 05 Dec 2003 11:53 GMT Hallo all, Looking for advice on how to tidy up some Cosmic alloys.
2 that have obviously been on the front of the last car have a couple of nasty dents (but not enough to allow air to escape or cause tyre damage)
All have flaking paint and all look pretty heavily weathered....
It's not that important to me to restore them to originality but I don't want them to be look dented or tatty so I'd consider painting the whole wheel.
Anyone got any thoughts for or against this?
Tony
The Muffin Man - 06 Dec 2003 02:07 GMT Bung them on a big lathe (or find someone who can) then paint them. Leave the shiny rim (whoops pardon)
The Muffin Man
> Hallo all, > Looking for advice on how to tidy up some Cosmic alloys. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Tony Canned - 08 Dec 2003 08:39 GMT It looks like that's been done to one already and I don't really like it -
The 'spokes' end up looking matted and the rim shiny - I think these are cast alloys????
I was thinking more in line with paint remover/acid dip/sand blasting etc....
Tony
> Bung them on a big lathe (or find someone who can) then paint them. Leave > the shiny rim (whoops pardon) [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > > > Tony Makka - 08 Dec 2003 10:11 GMT they probly polished at the edges and need the same doing to the center makka
> It looks like that's been done to one already and I don't really like > it - [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > > > > > Tony Fitzy - 16 Dec 2003 17:40 GMT What about,,, remove the tyre & the valve,,,fit the wheel to the front of your mini,, start the engine ,, engage 3 or 4th gear,,, sit next to the wheel with rubbing down paper in one hand and a beer in the other, after enough beers ,,you wont feel the missing fingers :-) Fitzy
> they probly polished at the edges and need the same doing to the center > makka [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > > > > > > > Tony Canned - 17 Dec 2003 09:28 GMT Sounds good..... You forgot to mention that BOTH front wheels should be off the ground though!
Tony
> What about,,, > remove the tyre & the valve,,,fit the wheel to the front of your mini,, [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > > > > > > > > > > Tony Fitzy - 17 Dec 2003 14:55 GMT No, !! ,,, Just one will do ,, unless you have a LSD(limited slip diff) Fitzy ;-)
> Sounds good..... > You forgot to mention that BOTH front wheels should be off the ground though! [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > > > > > > > > > > > > Tony Shaun - 18 Dec 2003 10:46 GMT I disagree, both wheels off the ground is far kinder to the diff and there's no chance of the car dragging itself off the axle stand if you manage to jam the wheel off the ground!!
> No, !! ,,, Just one will do ,, unless you have a LSD(limited slip > diff) Fitzy ;-) [quoted text clipped - 53 lines] >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Tony Fitzy - 18 Dec 2003 23:22 GMT ## Hypothetically speaking ##
Quite true, But I don't think "Arnie and Sylvester" combined could "Jam" the wheel with production paper and stop it turning, Friction would ignite the pair of them ;-)
and the diff should suffer no more wear than it would get through normal use,
Fitzy
> I disagree, both wheels off the ground is far kinder to the diff and there's > no chance of the car dragging itself off the axle stand if you manage to jam [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> Tony Dan Baker - 18 Dec 2003 19:12 GMT > Hallo all, > Looking for advice on how to tidy up some Cosmic alloys. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Tony Hi Tony, Not sure about cosmic's, but I recently restored my minilites to great effect for about £20. Here is what I did: I began by getting the wheels as clean as poss, using alloy wheel cleaner (very good if you have disc brakes), then sanded down a couple of rough patches as best I could. I then sprayed on several coats of a high-build primer. Basically, keep putting on more coats until you get a nice smooth finish. Then sprayed on a couple of coats of chrome-effect plasticote which I got from a DIY store. To finish it off, a couple of coats of clear laquer give it a nice touch finish. My wheels really did look superb after this. Just make sure you wash them regularly, or they'll start loosing their shine again.
Dan
Fitzy - 18 Dec 2003 23:31 GMT Hi Dan Thanks for the info, Did you do all this with the tyres on or off, I am asking this because I have a set of minilites / falken's that are in need of re-furbishment, what store did you get the chrome effect paint and laquer cheers Fitzy
> > Hallo all, > > Looking for advice on how to tidy up some Cosmic alloys. [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > Dan Dan Baker - 19 Dec 2003 17:11 GMT > Hi Dan > Thanks for the info, [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > cheers > Fitzy Did it all with the tyres on! Just take a couple of sheets of newspaper and cut out a circle the size of the wheel, then stick it to the wheel with masking tape, trying to get the edge of the tape in between the wheel and the tyre. If you're careful, you can usually re-use this for each wheel. Chrome paint came from B&Q, but I'm pretty sure that I've seen it in other DIY stores. Try and get the plasticote stuff, because a friend of mine tried some other "shiny" paint that was nowhere near as good. The laquer came from the local car-spares place. Again, any such place should have some clear laquer amount their other auto paints. As with any spraying on a car, the results you get are directly proportional to the effort you put in. Make sure each coat is dry before spraying the next one, etc. It's also very important to get the wheels clean. The primer won't stick to brake dust. You might need to employ an old tooth brush (note "OLD toothbrush" and not "The missus' toothbrush") to get into the hard to reach bits!
Hope this helps, good luck!
Dan
Fitzy - 19 Dec 2003 20:51 GMT That's It,,,, I'm off to B&Q it, tomorrow,, I have been promising to smarten up my minilites for ages, I will take the mini off the road for the holidays and do the wheels and a few other little job's, Cheers Dan, I will let you know the outcome,
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year To Everyone, Fitzy,
> > Hi Dan > > Thanks for the info, [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Dan
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