So I bought some wheels off ebay....

[BrazenC5]

....and this is how they arrived.



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[RichM]

Got a guitar, not to long ago that looked like that. I thought they drove over it with a truck. Guitar wasn’t cheap.

I video taped the opening, just in case. All turned out well. Good luck.

[Fencer]

Such packages should be refused. Clearly, they were not packed well.

[rolehex]

Were they scratched?

[SirPolarBear]

What wheels did you get?

[Laszlo]

Yeah that’s about right.

[BrazenC5]

Originally Posted by rolehex

Were they scratched?

Originally Posted by SirPolarBear

What wheels did you get?

Wife's FX35 had some aftermarket wheels we bought about 8 years ago, and thought it was time to refresh the look with OEM Nissan GTR wheels (which are common upgrades to FX's. The aftermarket were 20x8.5" and the GTRs are 20"x9.5" and 20"x10.5" staggered but fit without adjustments...its not unusual to run 10.5" all around.

I found a mint set a few days after searching on eBay from a high volume seller that had 100% feedback (they were in the auto business) across country. I countered with an offer and they accepted, so after about a week, I was looking forward to getting them mounted when they came in (using existing tires).

When the first box arrived (2 in a box), I knew immediately this wasn't going to be good. Proceeded to pull out the boxes and 2 of the 4 wheels were badly scratched from the cross country trip. Basically 1 layer of bubble wrap between the wheels (that basically shredded immediately), so the face of one wheel was scraping the backside of the other wheel all the way across country. Here are pictures of box #2, note the rims poking out the sides.





These two of the four took the brunt, but the others had slight edge rash also from the transport.





I was fully expecting to have these mounted and rolling the same day, now I have a headache to deal with. I promptly called a wheel refinishing company to get a quote on all 4 wheels, then contacted the seller, and asked for a partial refund because I didnt want the hassle of finding new boxes and shipping back for a full refund, then starting the process over. I still liked the wheels sans scrapes.

Seller was very cool, we came to an agreement on partial refund, and they acknowledged that one of their employees packed it very poorly. I was fully expecting to deal with the back/forth so glad we resolved it quickly.
That night I started researching on youtube about respraying/refinishing at home and after a couple hours I knew I could give it a good try and if it didn't work out I would send them out to get them professionally restored. When I realized I could get prof. automotive paint and clear in a rattle can, it was game on.

Looks like I have an unexpected weekend project!

I first found a local automotive paint supplier in the area, and was able to find the correct OEM color match to the wheels, I also have some paint scrape on the rear bumper, so thought I would buy the paint now and tackle that project in a couple weeks (I'll set up another post).

All materials for wheels/bumper (paint, primer, clear, tack cloth, sand paper) came out slightly cheaper than refund/prof refinish, but obviously not counting my labor.



First started out with wet sanding...originally I was going to feather in the painted areas to the original paint, but it was just as easy to wet sand and spray the whole wheel. No animals were harmed in the process. She was only around for the wet sanding portion





After wet sanding, I prepped for paint. Soap and water, and degreasing/cleaning/moisture wicking solution from the paint store.



After 3 coats of paint.



After 3 coats of satin clear.



Whole process took about 4 hours, and turned out great.





This is a pic from the previous wheels for reference. The clear started oxidizing, and now I know how to refinish these, if I want!

[RichM]

You are a better man than me.

They really turned out nice.

[crew]

That looks really good. Nice job!
I’ve been thinking about refinishing the wheels on my MB SL. I’ve been quoted $125/wheel. No idea if that’s competitive or not as I can’t find anyone else in my area that does that kind of work.
I have 2 instances of slight curb rash on my wheels so I don’t think mine are a DIY candidate.

[BrazenC5]

Originally Posted by Rich Mickol

You are a better man than me.

They really turned out nice.

Thanks Rich, but with youtube, anything is possible.

Originally Posted by crew

That looks really good. Nice job!
I’ve been thinking about refinishing the wheels on my MB SL. I’ve been quoted $125/wheel. No idea if that’s competitive or not as I can’t find anyone else in my area that does that kind of work.
I have 2 instances of slight curb rash on my wheels so I don’t think mine are a DIY candidate.

That seems like a reasonable quote with curb rash. I was quoted $145/wheel, but I've also noticed its regional. I stumbled across a place online in North Carolina and it was $100/wheel...so $125 seems competitive.

Regarding the curb rash, i've seen someone on youtube build up the lost material using a specific wheel filler (like a bondo meant for wheels).

Otherwise, slight curb rash can be sanded down smooth. I had a bad scrape on one of the rims where you can see the removal of material...I just sanded it smooth and painted over...didn't bother with rebuilding the material since its not noticeable from 5 feet away, and its a daily driver.



The wheel filler (bondo), probably would've taken an extra hour of time...you can definitely DIY! I was surprised at how smooth the paint applied, and the clear coat is a two part (with hardener), not the cheaper stuff you get from Home Depot, etc. No wet sanding and buffing needed afterward. As they say, several thin coats is the key.

Paint was $40/can...I needed 1.5 cans to do the work, but since it was my first time I bought 3 cans. Clear was $30/can, and needed 1 can, but I ended up buying 2.

[Knappo 1307]

Nice job!

[Fencer]

I don't know why you went through all that trouble, I would just file a return claim with ebay.

[m j b]

Too bad your image hosting site is blocked for me here at work, so I'll just assume that it looks mahvalous. Congrats on the DIY stuff though.

I had the four wheels on my wife's BMW refinished at a local guy who just parks his truck behind a car dealership (they're all in the same area here in my town) and last time I think it was $150/wheel, and I talked him down to $500 for all four. They do a good job, although realistically it is something that I could do myself, except that I'm just not a good painter and I don't enjoy it.

[037]

For a second there I thought the pup was going to get painted.

Glad everything turned out!

[BBL]

Looks like some of the boxes delivered to me by UPS.

[superdog]

Wow. Great job.

All around well done.

Love the pic with the pooch too. What a cutie.

[Fat_ninja]

Great job OP... I can appreciate the effort and the work and how it feels after...


My last wheel project when I was into cars was this
A 3 piece conversion and upsizing of a 2 piece BBS BMw wheels :). Was fun

[The Libertine]

Oh the perils of EBay.

[rolehex]

Superb job those look fantastic.

[SearChart]

Well done!

[bayerische]

Looks really good on your car.