I've been planning on getting my 18" Zeniths refurbished however after fitting a new set of wheels to the marauder, I have decided to have a go at the job myself. Tbh 3 of the wheels weren't that bad, light kerbing and lacquer flaking, however 1 was quite badly damaged, not to be put off I attacked them with a random orbit sander, and a file!

After cleaning them up with some household cleaners and a nasty concoction of chemicals from the garage, repairing the damage with body filler and sanding I was left with the following -

Unfortunately 2 of the tyres have quite substantial rim guards so I will need to crack the bead to be able to paint them correctly, the other 2 aren't as bad, so I masked them up and gave them 2 coats of primer. Once dry I gave them both a light rub down with 1200 grit wet and dry. This left the following:

So far so good, now to decide on colour, OE silver or slightly darker? I was going to go anthracite, but to go that dark I would need to refurb the entire wheel, not just the face.

Looking good, would have been a lot easier to have the tyres popped off and the valves out though.

Id go a bit darker, wont take long just to flat back the inside, doesnt need to be perfect.

I've seen a few of these efforts now ( all perfectly acceptable) and iwas wondering, how much paint do you need to a set of wheels? Not cheap is it? Assuming you're using aerosols not a compressor.

Go Anthracite..Mask off the insides and then after youve painted the face, laquer both sides..Job done

Looking good, would have been a lot easier to have the tyres popped off and the valves out though.

Id go a bit darker, wont take long just to flat back the inside, doesnt need to be perfect.

I was just looking to keep costs down, I can crack the bead myself at work and if need be remove/refit the tyre, but it would need balancing afterwards, I suppose I could paint around the weights but I don't want a bodge job. If all goes well I may do the the inside.

I've seen a few of these efforts now ( all perfectly acceptable) and iwas wondering, how much paint do you need to a set of wheels? Not cheap is it? Assuming you're using aerosols not a compressor.

So far it has cost 10 quid, that's for a roll of 2" masking tape and a 500ml tin of grey primer which I got from Partco as the nozzle gives a far superior spray pattern than Halfrauds carp! I will probably need a 2 second tin to complete the job and to prime the GTi side skirts I have for swmbo's Golf. I will get the paint mixed and an aerosol filled, for this and a couple of cans of lacquer I would estimate a further £35-£40. So total cost of refurb (not including my time) 50ish quid.

I was just looking to keep costs down, I can crack the bead myself at work and if need be remove/refit the tyre, but it would need balancing afterwards, I suppose I could paint around the weights but I don't want a bodge job. If all goes well I may do the the inside.

So far it has cost 10 quid, that's for a roll of 2" masking tape and a 500ml tin of grey primer which I got from Partco as the nozzle gives a far superior spray pattern than Halfrauds carp! I will probably need a 2 second tin to complete the job and to prime the GTi side skirts I have for swmbo's Golf. I will get the paint mixed and an aerosol filled, for this and a couple of cans of lacquer I would estimate a further £35-£40. So total cost of refurb (not including my time) 50ish quid.

Cheers.

Small update, I have now cracked the beads on both offending tyres. All 4 wheels are now fully repaired and primed. On to the decision, as the wheels will be going back on the car as part of a 'return to standard' exercise when it comes to selling (long way off), I have decided against a full blown colour change to anthracite, but I would like to go slightly darker than the OE silver, can anyone give recommendations on suitable colours to try, preferably with a code to get the paint mixed?

Cheers, Lee.