Petej

I am looking to have a set of two piece CL65 wheels refinished. For those that have done the two piece wheels did you disassemble them and have the inside done separate from the outer rim. If so are there any tricks to doing this?

Petej

Double post

Petej

Has anybody had to have a set of the two piece wheels refinished or am I the only one that has had a problem with the centers getting "stained"

Malones Perf.

You can disassemble no problem, they go off and go on one way due to the valve stem location. Just retorque in a star pattern!!

alx

generally if you will be painting them them same color (both pieces) it makes no sense to separate them. the bolts are a pain and some might break and you will be looking for replacements.

hell, you dont even need to remove the tires to redo the wheels. just take off the wheel, sand (just enough to dull the finish) the painted surfaces with 80 grit, then with 150-180 grit then clean with paint thinner, apply primer (few thin coats), then apply paint (few thin coats), then apply clear coat (few thin coats).

all paint can be bought at lowes/home depot in cans.

alternatively if you are lazy and dont feel like sanding down the old paint you can find a place to dip the wheels in acid and remove the paint that way. if you are down to bare metal you need to apply first self-etching primer before the regular primer.

also, right after you sand down the paint you can use jb weld putty to build out any small missing pieces (small curb rashes, chips, dents, etc.). once the putty dries, sand as needed.

with some practice you can get them to look perfect. flat black paint and clear coat looks awesome

Petej

Sorry but the thought of using a rattle can to redo wheels on a car like this does not appeal to me, powder coating is the only real way to do it. Malones, what is the torque spec on the bolts?

freestylebiker3

personally for my cl65 wheels.. i removed the tires and seperated the 2 piece wheel ( center and barrel ) and sent the center piece to the local power coating company and had them sandblasted and powercoated, but i replaced every bolt as i do not like to re-use the old streched bolts. end product was amazing..

Petej

I agree on the disassembly and powdercoating....... Did you use stainless fasteners and does anybody have a torque spec on the bolts.

alx

you might be surprised how good it comes out with a rattle can. i certainly was.

NRL

Got a Pic?

freestylebiker3

i agree spray painting can look good but one thing that is a issue is the fact that spary paint will chip off and scratch, from the rocks and random stuff that hits the wheel... i know clear coating will help but after a few months of freeway driving you will notice the chips and discoloration from brake dust and wheel cleaners.. ya spray painting will cost $50-60 and powdercoating costs around 300-$500 but its a cl65 those wheels are really nice and expensive, dont half *** it

NRL

What colors are you guys thinking of?

I tried to find a match for the original Hyper Black/Grey and to this day I have not found it.

About the best you can do is probably find another type of Hyper Black/Grey color or some other different color all together.

Petej

I went to my local powder coating guy and found a color combo that is almost spot on with the OEM colors. I'll let you know how they come out in a few weeks. It's going to run me just under $500 for all four wheels to be stripped, and coated. He is also putting a clear on the centers as well. I pulled the wheels apart and stamped them so that they will go back the way they came off.

Also, there is a thread lock compound that the factory uses that should be cleaned out prior to reassembly.

RaceHorse

Hey please post pics of the refinished wheels I'm sure they will make the car look complete. Also how many miles on your car? I bet it looks even better in person. I often wonder if I would have liked silver better than the black, either color is a win in my book.

novae500

I had these powder coated and turned out great. Cant wait to warm weather sticks around to put these on my car. I

bentleyboy

Just a word of warning. I have been involved with powder coating for over 30 years and we do not undertake powder coating of alloy wheels....here's why.
The preferred method of removing the old paint is grit blasting but paint stripper is OK although you need to blast them lightly afterwards. IF there is any sign of moisture ingress where the old paint finish has been damaged previously then ideally you need to "boil" out any moisture that is absorbed into the alloy....if you don't do this then it will usually cause a blemished area the same as original but in the new powder coat finish.
The wheels will get to a temperature in excess of 220 centigrade and after stoving the powder coating it will hit 200 c again for about 12 minutes. The danger is that all this heat effectively going into a casting as important as a wheel can cause metallurgical changes and likely a degree of embrittlement in the casting.
OK, I know most wheels are powder coated when new and that's fine but the preferred and recommended way of refinishing after cleaning is to use a 2 pack polyurethane/acrylic which dries without any heat more than you would get in a motor bodyshop spray/bake oven....85 c.

Regarding your particular CL 65 AMG rims , they should have the outer rim band diamond cut on a lathe and then lacquered.....to be correct.

Just my views.