So I got this set of old school Rial Imola 2 piece wheels in 5x114.3, which is pretty rare (German wheels)

They are 18x8 +35 and 18x9 +22

They were in sorry shape when I got them:




Lips on the fronts had bends:




Peeling, stained clear coat

More to come!

Poor wheels have been neglected

Check out the years accumulation of dirt/dust!




Got them to look like this


Next I took the wheels apart. 25 bolts, size m7-1. Used a 12 point 8mm socket for the head of the bolts.



Rear lip

Trial fit I did:


Yummy poke


Refinishing the lips:

Used liquid paint stripper to get the clearcoat off.

Then lots of sanding, grit depending on the damage. I used 120, 220, 400, 600, 1000, 2000.
Sanded by hand. Have to use one-directional and long strokes.

This is after 220, huge difference already


After more sanding:



Then rubbing compound and polish. I did everything by hand


Sprayed about 2 coats of clear coat:

Decided to properly polish the lips

Not going to clear coat it

Weapons: dremel, lots of polishing bobs, mothers and white diamond polish


Here's how the front turned out:



Any comments or questions??

Front lips finished

How'd you repair the fronts?

BTW,
POR-15 has an awesome polished aluminum clear coat if you change your mind.

I had them repaired at Wheel Techniques in Santa Clara, $250 for both lips without any additional work. Turned out great, the machining process they use also got rid of all bothersome deep curb rash.

I trust POR-15 a lot, I'll need to check that out.

However, the lips are polished steel, I believe