131mirafiori forum

Hello Gents
How are you all?
Not been on for a while but pleased to say I've been enjoying my Yellow 1300CL which is running nicely. Just had it in for an MOT (needed to replace rear silencer box otherwise all OK) and had the oil and filter done at the same time.

The other good news is I managed to (finally) find a set of Supermirafiori original steel wheels for it with 3 pretty good tyres on them!  But they paint is a bit ropey, rusty so I need to refurbish them.

I wondered if you boys who've done this all before could advise me on the best approach? Also, any advice on the primer (etch or normal?) to use and also the most cost-effective way to spray them.  Is it worth getting on of these mobile refurbishers to come round? Or if I did it myself, how many cans of spray (primer and paint) would I need to budget for? 

Always so happy to hear all your hints and tips so please do feel free to share.

Best to you all.
Cheers
Pete

starting from the begginning, tyres off & remove the valves, i personnaly am not a fan of grit blasting . i think its abit too fierce for our delicate special steel. i use a drill attatchment wire wheel dlsc, (very messy and dusty and time consuming but gets the desired result). finnish off with a coarse scotch pad allover by hand, black or brown is ideal next is a very light misting of etch primer (the one to use is upol acid8 in a red can redily availible in halfords but is expensive around15quid) inside & out and around the rim where the tyre touches, now i paint the rim area and the inside (rear) with thick black hammerite, do not use the smooth stuff as corrosion protection is just not good enougth. next two good thick coats of filler primer availble from any motor factor. the two top coat coulours are BMWtitanium silver and ford grathite grey.. after the silver has dried for around two days ,its time to mask up the clover leafs, this will take around two hours to do properly (PRACTICE MAKES PERFCT!!) per wheel. after the grey has gone tacky(about an hour), remove the masking and build up coats of laquer untill you are happy with the shine.each wheel will take about a week to do. as a finnishing touch you need a chrome trim ring, originals are near impossible to find but the MG owners club does a very similar item in stainless steel. 60 quid a set but worth it to me, you should end up with something that looks like this. i would realistickly budget for around ?100 in materiels.

Thanks very much Chris. Your wheels certainly look stunning.
Will let you know how I get on.
Pete

I've just recently tried to get two wheels painted but it didn't turn out too well.

They were blasted to remove the rust and paint, primed, painted silver and then had the cloverleafs painted grey anthracite.

The blasting didn't achieve a smooth enough finish and the masking of the black areas wasn't perfect resulting in over-spray. I'd post pictures if I could but I'm going to have find another painter....or find two new or near perfect 14 inch wheels to match the two I have.  :-\