I'm trying to take these wheel bolts off my 20" Sentas so I can powder coat, Paint or plastiDip them, it seems it's a special star pattern. One forum member said they are removable.
Can anyone say for sure they have removed these before and where do you get the tool for this. Normal Torx don't work, I tried.
Thanks for the help. I'll try to post a pic.

 

Did you try a 12 point socket?

 

As Big_Walleye said you need a 12 point socket as per mine in the attached picture.

I bought a set to refurbish the Sepangs on my XJ so have just dug them out. The one that fits the bolts on my Sentas is an 8mm.

I had one of my Sentas refurbished when I bought the car because there was a scratch on it and the place that did it confirmed that they would take them all off before respraying the wheel.

 

Are these things just cosmetic? Or do they actually hold the wheel together?

 

Thanks sooo much guys for confirming they do come off and what size I need!!! Hopefylly I can just buy the one size somewhere. Did find the whole set on the ebay link Big sent! Thanks again!!!
The mystery has been solved.
I believe they are purely cosmetic.

 

Cosmetic 100%

 

BTW, are you doing the plastidip/powdercoating yourself? Does this require removing the tires? Can you do this at home?

 

Haven't made up my mind which process I'm going to use, so I may try plasti dip first to make sure I like it. The only time you really need to dismount the tires is when you powder coat. It cost about $200 a wheel here on Maui to powder coat plus dismounting and mounting and balancing, so I'm not thrilled about power coating at the moment. Almost cheaper to buy new wheels!

 

I found a 11pc set of 12pt splined tool/ wrenches for $14 delivered, on Ebay

 

Sorry for hijacking your thread. But I don't understand what the purpose of plastidip is. It's made of rubber? It sounds like you use it to fill in scratches and stuff before you spray the wheel with paint.

Would the paint/plastidip come off in high heat situations (like track use)?

 

Try you tubing plasti dip your wheels and you'll understand. It's a way to paint your stuff to see if you like it without being permanent . It's easily reversible.

 

Ah, I watched the Youtube videos earlier, but it just looked like it goes on like regular paint (but comes off real easy off your tires/trim). So you can reverse it, but how durable is it if you want it to be permanent?

 

Never have done it yet, but I hear it can last quite a few years.

 

Did you ever get the decorative nuts off? how did it go? Getting ready to change from bright silver to hyper black silver if I can take them on and off without issue.

 

Here's the link to the tool needed
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-favor-114101/

 

Picked up a set of triple square 12-point metric bits at O'Reilly today and the nuts screw right off with little effort.

I've been contemplating nwew rims for a while, either Jag or aftermarket and decided I really like the way the Sentas look. So rather than new wheels I am getting them color changed to a darker but not too dark hyper black titanium polished metal like these:

 

That is one beautiful finish.

Do you think you can duplicate the finish, and how do you do it?

Yourself or a wheel refinsher?

 

While I consider myself a competent painter, this finish requires a technique I am not experienced with. The company AWRS guarantees they can match the finish. The end result should not look like a painted wheel, if you have not seen it before, it should look like dark tinted metal. I am scheduled next Wednesday AM and will post pics when completed.

 

jahummer,

That's the same outfit I am planning on using here in Atlanta. They quoted me $620. for the 4 wheels which includes removing, straightening, powder coating, balancing and mounting with a 24/48 hour turnaround. That's about 200 bucks less than two other reputable wheel shops that I visited and one wanted extra to do the barrels and balancing.

l really like the color you've chosen. Am anxious to see the pics and hear your thoughts about AWRS.

Best regards,

 

Hmmm, interesting. They are not powder coating, removing the tires or balancing and there is no damage to the wheels so it is a pretty straight forward process. I will remove the the decorative nuts my self so not much for him to do to prep. I was initially quoted $400 total then he tried to change it to $500 2 days later. I said no, $400 is what I am paying since that is what I was quoted and he said then he won't paint the barrels (the inside of the rim) and I told him I expect him to do it right, whatever it takes so we will see what happens.