Bbs Rs

[schwartza3]

Finally done with refurbishing the wheels.
i've polished the lips and centre caps but im not sure what product to use to protect the polished surface? i want something that will last and maintain the polished look once applied. im not putting a clear coat back on because it would eventually crack around the bolts as you can see in the pic below and it apparently yellows over time. here is a pic of what they were like (thats after cleaning, you can also see the redrill. sorry for the ****y pics)
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/04/DSCF0212s-1.jpg
and after (still needs a bit of polishing)
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/04/bbsrs11-2.jpg
the bolts were also a pain in the ass :mad:

[99gti]

Were these the ebay ones off a supra or something similar? I was bidding on these too.

[rayray086]

Looking good! Unfortunately, if you don't decide to clear it, you'll have to maintain it every once in a while with a polisher and cloth. I don't know much about any sealing compounds available locally, but I have heard of a product called Zoopseal (http://www.zoopseal.com/zoopseal.asp) from the States. Applying it forms a protective barrier to prevent it from oxidising and dulling, and unlike a wax, it's meant to last a fair amount of time.

[schwartza3]

ye, they were of a 300zx, got them a while back, by the time i organised a redrill and referbished them it's taken a good 3.5 months.
ray, i've heard of that 1 too, don't think it's available here but there must be something similar.
Thats it! Next trucky i see, im pulling him over!:D
they must use some kind of sealant on polished alloy parts

[schwartza3]

anyone thats interested, there is a product called Glisten PC available locally, however it seems a little tricky to apply and for me it was not worth the risk considering the price. There is also Wicked B-67 sealant which is supposed to be the similar but it isn't available anywhere in Melburg, so i ended up getting Wenol and Ganol. I've already tested these by leaving water on one of the wheels, no dark water marks that require repolishing to get them off and i also noticed no finger prints either. anyway here is the finished product
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/bbsrsss1-2.jpg

[OEM G60]

Looking good mate, what size are they.

I'm half way through refurbing mine, polishing the outer lips by hand takes a while, i'm using 600, 1200 then 2000 grit wet and dry then buffing the hell out of them with Mothers and then Meguiars Aluminium polish.
When i had them on the car before, i used to polish every 2 weeks with Mothers, then put a good coat of Mer Wheel wax on them, it worked fine.

After neglcting them and driving alot of miles down country roads near Byron Bay every day for 10 months and the brake dust got right into the perimeter bolts though......

What did you do to the centres ?? Did you acid dip or sand blast?? Powder coat or 2 Pac and clear coat ??

Matt

[schwartza3]

they're 18", i think they may be super rs, i would actually prefer 17" on my car, but they should look ok

thats pretty much the same process i went through. i started off with 800 then 1000, 1200, 1500 and 2000 = easy 10hrs/wheel for sanding alone + polishing by hand :cry:, dont even want to think about the whole process, it'd be close to 20hrs/wheel so you understand my concern with protecting them. if these two proucts don't work out i'll give this wheel wax a go. Does it dull the fininsh?
my centres are still the original silver, just cleaned them really good and got all the brake dust off.

sorry, thats the LMs
here is the correct one
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/a3bbs-2.jpg

[rayray086]

Thanks for the tip on the products!! Can you give us more details about the products you used/thought of using? i.e. where to get, how they're applied, cost (if you enquired) etc.

Wheel wax isn't really a sealant, just basically a wax. It wears off pretty quick (relative to sealants of course).

[OEM G60]

They're gong to look awesome on the Audi, much better than i thought actually !! 18's are a rare find.....
They do need cleaning every week in my opinion, relative to how much you drive your car that is.
I found that the wax still shines them up nice, and the brake dust just hoses off.
More questions !!, what torque setting did you use when rebuilding them, i've been told 24 lb. And what did you seal the joins with ?? Some people say exterior sylicone is fine, others say sikaflex. Not sure what to use yet.

[schwartza3]

Glisten PC (about $80) can be applied by brush :o without leaving brush marks
so yeh, problem is it leaves brush marks! hehehe
it'd be good if you spray it on i guess or try using penatrol or turpentine.
this bikie told me about wicked polish, so i went on the net and found the b-67 sealant instead that is easy to apply.
wenol and ganol is applied same as polish, but it leaves a protective surface that is supposed to last for a while (it was something like 25 bucks)

[schwartza3]

that profile pic honestly doesn't do much justice, the offset is bang on at the front and back, well..the back will poke out just a little but it'll be ok cos of stretch.
i did mine to 24lb. recommended is from 22-24 lb, i donno even 24 feels kinda weak! mine are 2 piece rs, lip is part of the barrel, centre piece drops in from the back so no silicone required. i dont remember the type of silicone but i read somewhere about the amount you have to put on so you might want to check that out as well.

[schwartza3]

finally on the car!
this is after a few days of driving so the lips don't look that polished plus it was morning and it seemed like there was layer of mist on them.
drivers side drive shaft is rubbing on the sway bar at that hight on full right turn, back is just clearing and looks dangerously close to the arches so im gonna have to lift it up a notch. anyway here is another scheise phone pic
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/a3bbs1-1.jpg

[rayray086]

Looks AWESOME! More pics? Stance looks spot on from that pic.

[schwartza3]

stance might be spot on at that height but honestly its **** for everyday driving, im constantly on a look out for pot holes & bumps its pissing me off!There is still plenty of thread left in the front, back is all the way down with both pearches still in. i've already broken the plastic sway bar link so i'll have to play around untill i get a reasonable setup for everyday driving. this is the only other pic i've got with rs' on at the moment, sorry its another phone pic
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/a3cxcx-1.jpg

[99gti]

These were the wheels I was looking at getting of a Supra wern't they?

You got a bargain son!

Errr - just realised I asked that question before. Doh!

[rayray086]

No pain no gain mate! :D

[schwartza3]

luckily the guy didn't have a clue what he was selling.
i paid 280 for fill/redrill on top of that
here is one more outa focus pic

No pain no gain mate! :D
thats true, i donno how some ppl manage to drive around with arches basically riding the tires :bowdown:
i've raised front and rear by a couple of threads, not sure if its noticable but it doesn't rub on the sway bar any more.
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/a3bbs5-1.jpg

[Mrk_Mickey]

Wow, that's a really good look you got going on there mate. It's great to see such nice wheels on an Audi A3, unfortunately anyone I see in one has fulisik chromes bro, that look bigger than a bus wheel.


:o500 posts yay!:)

[rayray086]

$280 for fill/redrill :headbanger: Damn good price. Did you go to a wheel specialist for that, or a machinist?

[OEM G60]

Looking awesome on the Audi mate, would love to see some bigger pics .........

[schwartza3]

they cant be as fulisik as these?
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/a311-1.jpg

rayray, i got them done at Stonestar Engineering, everyone i called up suggested they do this sort of stuff and they had a bunch of wheels at the shop when mine were done.
i'll get some proper pics up soon..

[KI11Z]

WOH! they're huge :eek: haha, top job and big props!!

[schwartza3]

thanks mate!

anyone know what centre cap this is?
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/flat-1.jpg

[rayray086]

Flush mounts. Aftermarket items I think. I remember coming across them in an online shop but forgot which one (overseas though). Check out wheelwhores.com and enquire there!

[intensem1]

Think you might find those, flat caps were custom made. They sit even flatter than the ones you can buy.

18s look fantastic :)

[KI11Z]

good luck with finding those fluch caps cuz they look the goods!!

[OEM G60]

I think you'll find them here www.justmatz.co.uk

They're nice, i like the half height ones too ...........

Just looked and don't think they've got them actually, but email Jeremy on there that pic and he'll probably know

Matt

[schwartza3]

hey guys i just found a better pic of those caps.
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/bbsm1-2.jpg

intensem, i think you may be right, they look custom unless flush mounts are the same as these.
those flat caps look good too but im really liking the look of these (in that 1st pic)

[WABIT]

centerbolt rules man!!! dont change a classic!!!

but i guess its your wheels; your opinion! good luck anyways they look the shizz

wabit

[rayray086]

They may be custom, but I'm 90% sure I've come across a link for them. I'm sick on a Friday night so I'll see what I can find!

Edit: Found a link to flush valve stems (http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?cls=ROAD&pcode=R/B3000.11). Also found a link to the flush centre-caps, but the shop that sold them has been closed (supergolfs.co.uk). May be the same items that JustMatz have though...

Edit 2: No luck :( Posted on wheel-whores.com though, hope I get a reply soon.

[schwartza3]

i see where u coming from wabit, its just that flat/flush cap give a deeper dish look especially looking at an angle.
ray i checked your post on wheel-whores, no reply yet.
here are a few more pics for now, i'll put up some proper pics in our rides section when i take some.
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/bbsls-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/a3bbs10-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/a3bbs7-2.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/bbstt-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/bbs4-2.jpg

[99gti]

Looks awesome!!! Nice work...

:bluesbro:

[OEM G60]

See if you can talk this guy into selling his caps !!

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/556071.htm

[schwartza3]

thanks Niel
hehe, i could try but i think its fair to say my chances would be low.
anyway, it shouldn't be too hard making something custom.
get some pvc pipe, thread it, make a custom flat cap & attach a badge.

[rayray086]

anyone thats interested, there is a product called Glisten PC available locally, however it seems a little tricky to apply and for me it was not worth the risk considering the price. There is also Wicked B-67 sealant which is supposed to be the similar but it isn't available anywhere in Melburg, so i ended up getting Wenol and Ganol. I've already tested these by leaving water on one of the wheels, no dark water marks that require repolishing to get them off and i also noticed no finger prints either. anyway here is the finished product
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/06/bbsrsss1-1.jpg

How well has it held up??

Instead of making another thread, I'll ask for some opinions here - what if I were to go ahead and polish my rim lips, and then have them ceramic coated? I've seen manifolds with this treatment before and they come out very nicely with a lot of lustre, and some even look chrome-like. I know it'll be expensive but it's a small price to pay for a (relatively) maintenance-free finish. The wheels I have at the moment are two piece - centre-piece is screwed on by bolts on to the barrel which is a single piece, so coat thickness/air leakage isn't a factor (as known with clear powdercoat finishes over polished lips):

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2008/11/CIMG9522-2.jpg

Also, when I ceramic coat something, does it have to be done to the entire object, are can it be sectioned for cost reasons? What I mean is, instead of ceramic coating the entire barrel, can I just do the outer lip section?

And also with chroming... I don't know much about these two processes, so if anyone with any experience, info or links hey can share, they'll be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[schwartza3]

maintenance isn't as bad as i thought, i've switched to mothers polish, it takes a lot less effort/time to buff out and the shine lasts for a couple of weeks. haven't heard much about ceramic coating. reason i didn't coat mine is due to cracking of clear coat around the bolts.
is that a hub centric ring in there? it looks machined to fit onto a spacer.

[rayray086]

Yep it is. It was previously on an Audi and I quickly gave it a measure and it's at ~57mm. It's locked into place as well.

[schwartza3]

i thought i'll keep this all under one thread just haven't figured out how to change the thread title yet. Anyway, i've gone ahead and tried to referb these wheels without spliting them due to being unable to find a 10-point socket locally and the price getting them from germany. I only tried this as as there is hardly any cracking around the bolts and the clear coat is mainly damaged on the lip as you can see in this pic (that's not dirt btw).

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/04/oz4f-1.jpg

I masked the centre section of the wheel to protect the paint from the paint stripper that goes on the lip. I just made sure the masking is perfect around the lip and i laid double layers of tape there to be sure the paint stripper doesn't get through, I also masked the rest of the centre section to protect the paint in case any paint stripper flicks as i'm applying it.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/04/oz5f-1.jpg

I sanded them with 800, 1000, 1200 and 1500 paper and only gave them one polish. As the bolts are still on the lip they can only be sanded down to the edge of the surface where the bolts are. They are nowhere near finished but here is how they look like atm.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/04/oz3f-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2009/04/oz1f-1.jpg

[Lorenz]

They look brilliant, one of my favourite all time wheel aswell ;) Suit the MK4s perfectly!

[rayray086]

Whoa, I would've been driven crazy sanding in between the bolts. Looks like you did a good job of it in the pic though, well done.

[intensem1]

Awesome work, they look great. If you want to save time and get a better finish I’ve got the tools needed to pull these 0z wheels apart. I had them made up at great expense when I had a set. Happy to rent them out to anyone needing them in Aus or will sell for the right dollars.

[schwartza3]

i'll see how the rest of them turn out and if i'm not happy with the finish i'll either rent or buy them from you. Did you get them made up to suit a normal socket?