Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum - How to refurb your own alloys cheaply...

Last Oct I bought a cheap 2nd hand damaged alloy from the Jag spares day at Stonleigh in order to refurb it and the other 4 on the car so that I would have a full set of 5 when finished.This is how I did them for a total cost of around £35.
The materials I used:-

P21S Alloy wheel cleaner,
Autoglym Alloy Wheel seal,
The cheapest sander B&Q had
Some alloy wheel spray paint
A Medium/Coarse sanding block (Halfords)
A Medium/Fine sanding block (Halfords)
Fine Sanding sponge (Halfords)
Bodyline etch Primer
An aerosol can of Lacquer that I had lying around.

Attachment 197765
First step..clean the wheels.I sprayed the wheel with the P21s and left it for 5 mins while I had a cuppa:-
Attachment 197766
Then rinsed and dried it when I came back.
Next to the sanding:-
Attachment 197767
Attachment 197768
Sand the wheel with the electric sander with a rough grade sandpaper (came with various) to get rid of the worst areas.
Attachment 197769
Next fill the damaged areas with filler mixed according to the instructions on the box:-
Attachment 197770
After allowing the filler to harden sand down as before gradually using finer and finer sandpaper until the whole wheel is smooth.
For the harder to reach places I used the sanding blocks and sponges which bend around corners allowing a really nice smooth finish.
Next its time for the primer and its best to stand the wheel upright for this.Spray a coat of primer over the wheel and allow to set.
Attachment 197771
Get your fine sanding sponge and rub the primer smooth as possible
Attachment 197772
Spray another coat of etch primer and sand with a fine sandpaper (sanding sponge) to key it for the next stage:-
Attachment 197773
After drying the wheel is now ready for painting.
Stand the wheel upright and apply the 1st coat of paint as per the instructions on the can.Allow to dry.Then I smoothed again with fine grade sanding sponge and applied another coat and then smoothed and applied a 3rd coat (for extra protection?).
Allow to dry and cure for 24 hours.
Next is the lacquer.I applied 2 coats of lacquer allowing each to dry.When dry thats it...all done.
Here are the results:-
Attachment 197774
Attachment 197775
Attachment 197776
Last thing to do is spray on some alloy wheel seal to keep them looking good.
As you can see while the wheels were off I also coated the calipers with 2 coats of Red High Temp Paint (for Engines) and again a couple of coats of lacquer as it makes them a nice and shiny.