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Car Forum / MINI / December 2003

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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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