I think a proper start to this story would be with, nearly 4 years ago, Jandreu getting new wheels for his 2004 XK8 to replace the worn, flaking and pitted Apollo wheels that had been chromed at some point in his car's life.

At the time I thought "What a pity. Those Apollos are IMHO the best looking 19" factory wheel and not that common. A shame to lose a set like that."

Being a good steward of the Jaguar brand, James set the wheels aside rather than trashing. Time marched on. Years pass.

Then about a year ago James mentioned that he was willing to give the crappy old Apollos to whoever wanted them. And that he was planning a move to NC in the coming year. I thought "hmmm...I could probably restore those wheels to their original glory" and decided to stew on that a bit.

Others inquired about the wheels but such a restoration is not trivial. Add to that the logistics and for most it was a non-starter.

Then last May James got ready to make his move to NC and I decided to take the plunge and ask for the wheels. James was gracious enough to pack them in his container and bring them along for a new life of their own.

James and the wheels got to NC at the end of last summer and he continued his kindness by storing the wheels until I could arrange transport down to me in FL. We had to wait for a while (hurricane, etc.) but the wheels finally made it to my garage last November.

This is what they looked like when I got them. James was not underestimating their condition at all. Yuck!





So I started doing some research about the best way to cope with the deteriorating chrome. Discussed it at length with the powder coating experts at my office (yeah, we have a whole powder coating department. - way cool). Finally decided that the best way to get them in shape for fresh powder coat was to do some industrial strength (think fire hose) sand blasting. The plan being that if the sand blaster does not remove it then it is never coming off and is a good enough foundation for the powder.

I got the sand blasting done finally and this is what they look like now.







I still have some minor clean up to do with a dremel but they are in pretty good shape now.

The plan is to get them prepped (400F degree out gassing, acid wash, pre-coating) next Tuesday and then the final powder coating applied next Thursday. I chose a color that is similar to the brightness of the silver Apollos I have on my car now - just less metal flake and a smoother chromey finish to the silver like modern cars have. The wheels will get a clear coat at the end.

Stay tuned for final pics....

 

Why did you choose to sandblast rather than take them to a chrome shop to have the chrome removed in their vat? I once repaired a vintage Corvette grill that had some collision damage. The base metal was aluminum. I took it to a chrome shop and I think I paid them $35 or $45 to dechrome it. I don't know what process they used, but it came out clean and perfectly smooth with no pitting or anything like that and really didn't seem very expensive. This was seven or eight years ago. I picked it up, took it to a guy who tig-welded the broken pieces for me, ground the welds myself and then took it back to the same chrome shop to be re-plated.

 

I fully understand everyone as there own preferences but chrome wheels I have never liked on any car,matchbox and hot wheels cars always spring to mind

 

I considered dipping them but opted for the sandblasting. The pitting damage was already done years ago. The blasting removed any chrome that was ever going to be a problem, along with also smoothing out the pitted surfaces a lot. You can still see the discoloration from the corrosion/pitting but the depth of it will not be a problem for the powder coat to cover.

I still plan on smoothing the rashed edges with a dremel.

I will post some more pics after I get that work done this weekend.

 

Well done....

I despise the 19-inch Atlas chrome factory wheels on my wife's 2006 XK8 Victory Edition. I have always called them drug-dealer wheels. However, she likes them and after all, it is her car. One of the front wheels began pitting a couple of years ago but the tire continues to hold air. It took some work on Google and the telephone but last March I located a shop that is willing to remove the chrome (vat soaking) for a reasonable price ($75), and another shop that is willing to re-chrome for a reasonable price ($125). Disappointing that the stripping shop does not re-chrome and the re-chroming shop does not strip so if there is an issue with the final result, they can both point fingers at each other. The stripping shop is about 150 miles from me while the re-chroming shop is local. So if we keep the car for the long term, at some point I will bite the bullet and fix the wheel to restore its cosmetics....

 

I am considering powder coating my wheels instead of re-chroming them. They have a good bit of curb damage from previous owners. There is a good powder coater here locally who says he can set the inside bead seal properly. I wonder if it should be coated, or left as clean metal, or does it matter?

 

Rothwell, nice find. Those are really nice looking wheels.

John

 

Since you have powder coating experts on site, maybe we can hear it directly from the proverbial horse's mouth: How fixable is damage to powder coating? Say, if there is somehow a set of circumstances that lead to a powder coated wheel sustaining cosmetic damage (stone chip, curb scrape, etc.), it any of it spot fixable? My (superficial) understanding is that it is sort of like chrome, the whole wheel has to be re-worked.

Separately, now that the chrome is off and a decent base is available, have you considered refinishing with a basic painting process (primer, paint, etc.)?

Thanks for any input.

PS: I used to own a set of aging chrome Apollos, and I sold them after researching refinishing options...

 

^^ Wise decision to get rid of those chrome Apollos....

 

I believe that you are correct about powder being like chrome. I know that when they have a bad coating on a part then that part gets trashed. They don't even try to fix it. I don't think you can reheat after that has been done, especially if you clear coat the part. Refinishing a powder coated wheel is not trivial either since it has to be stripped of its coating and sand blasting is not very effective so the only choice is to use aircraft stripper or have it dipped somewhere.

In the past I have just tried to find a suitable paint color match for my scuffed wheels.

Since I have access to such a high quality powder coating facility I never really considered standard paint although I do believe that would work fine with proper preparation.

I just finished about 5 hours of quality time with my dremel and the wheels are almost ready to go.

I get why you would sell a decayed set of wheels. It is not cheap to get them redone at a shop. I have been fortunate so far and only have about $18 (for dremel bits) invested in these wheels. I expect to spend about $100 to get them swapped onto the car. Then I plan to store my original Apollos.

 

The key was to sell them with half-decent tires so someone could install them on a car quickly after buying them and drive off. The price point was enough for me to buy a new set of (entry level but branded) tires. Everybody makes out ok in the transaction, and chrome is out of my life.

 

Gents,
Cool job saving the 19" Apollos. The sandblast showed the pitting and your choice of Chrome finish is a bit too bling for my taste. I always prefer to stay to original.
Refurbing my set of base 17" wheels is on my 1999 To Do list. Mine are not too bad (see pic below) but I'm planning to get them X-Rayed for cracks and if needed welded up, then baked & powder coated original silver. Trying to find someone used to X-Ray and Welding aluminium is a bit of a problem in Bahrain. I used to be a qualified welding inspector and paint expert so I'm a bit picky.

 

Rothwell, happy to see you are getting the Apollo rims refurbished. It would have been a shame for them to get thrown away. I've always thought the Apollo's are the best looking rim Jaguar used just not in chrome. It was quite an odyssey getting them to you but well worth it. I enviy you as I'm sure others do for having access to a power coating facility, years ago I had access to a plating facility and made good use of it when customizing my Harley.

 

James all the thanks go to you for making this project possible. I hope to prove that all the time and effort was worth it. So far it is looking good.

 

Another 3 hours of dremel work and the wheels are now cleaned, bagged and ready to go in for the powder coating.

Fortunately my dremel did not self destruct and catch fire until the last wheel was nearly done. Was back to hand sanding for the last bit.

Here's an example of how much I elected to do for the pitting, rash, etc. based on my understanding of how the powder can fill and smooth. It looks worse than it is. Actually smooth to the touch.

I admit I am starting to get excited to see the finished product. Really hoping I got the prep right.

 

Rothwell, I'm no expert but you might want to go over those with some 600 wet/dry with soap and water and then 800 or 1000 grit..
Not sure that powder coat will cover that, I know paint would need a couple of coats of fill primer, sanded and then the color. You did a great job getting all those marks out and I hate to see you disappointed for a few more hours of work.
I might be off base, so get the guys to look over them for their approval..

 

I have no experience trying to powdercoat anything like that, but I have done a fair amount of media blasting rusty car parts and then painting the blasted surfaces. If I were painting them, I would expect to have to coat them with something like Evercoat Slick Sand primer just to fill the micro-pitting left by the blasting process. With paint, every flaw in the surface will show through so the base surface has to look as smooth as you want the painted surface to be. If you were painting them, even those "tracks" left by the dremel tool would stick out very obvious after painting. With powdercoat, I understand it typically results in a much thicker coating than paint so maybe to some degree it acts as its own filler but I'd still worry about what level of imperfection would show through. To be sure and possibly save yourself serious re-do, maybe powdercoat one wheel and see how it comes out before you do all four.

 

When I got my XKR Double Fives, I got them beat blasted, then the road rash repaired, then painted in glossy silver.

4 Years later, I am still extremely happy with them, they don't have that "bang-in-your-face" that chrome wheels have, but match extremely well with both the body color and the chrome on our car.
Will do the exact same without hesitation for the Apollo wheels on our XK, when time allows.

 

I appreciate the advice and concern about the surface prep. The wheels have been reviewed by the powder coating guys and they are good with what I gave them. I trust that our guys know what they need to get a proper result and will kick any wheel back to me that doesn't meet their standards.

The wheels do get a pre-coat of some type before the actual powder then finally a clear coat after baking. The parts these guys are used to coating have to survive being submerged in salt water so their processes are very detailed. Those guys even have restrictions on things like soaps and shampoos they can use - all to reduce air borne contaminants.

Once I stripped powder coat from a motorcycle wheel and was surprised how rough the surface of the metal was, essentially still a sand cast.

Now I just have to wait for the result.

 

One question came up about the bore fit on the hub. Does anybody know how close the tolerance is on the fit?

I learned that the thickness of the powder coat is about 7 mils *. Clear coat will be about 3 mils.

Wondering if it is best to mask off the inside edge of the hub bore -or- if 20mils is not an issue and the wheels will still fit the hubs.


* by comparison typical automotive paint is about 2 mils thick.