Repairing Voxy's Shoes

Next on my list of thing to do with Voxy is her shoes a.k.a her magwheels. Voxy's mags used to be shiny aluminum (i think so... ) but the years took its toll and made them look.. well old and worn out :)

As you can see the lug nuts are rusted and the center caps have green mold like stuff all over it (she's missing 2 center caps btw :( - hope i could replace them soon ).

Since i don't have jack stands - I decided to paint the wheels two at a time (front and rear) . After jacking up the section I'm working on - I placed spare tires (with rims) underneath then lowered the car slowly. TIP: Jacks are not supposed to carry heavy loads for long periods of time. That's what jackstands are for - it would be difficult to lift up your car again should the jack fail - not to mention all the damage it would do..

As with any paint job - first thing to do is to prep the surface. I first cleaned the mags with soap and water to remove any loose dirt.

Next, sand the surface - this removes stubborn dirt and rust. The sand paper also roughens up the surface just enough to give the paint something to cling on. TIP: I always use varying sandpaper grits when painting - starting off with 120-150 grit, then with 280, then finishing it off with 400. This gives me a smooth and shiny surface after its painted :)

I was planning on removing the tires from the mags but vulcanizing shops charge around 30-40 pesos to remove each tire and then another 30-40 to put them back on. In order to save money, I decided to cover the wheels with newspaper instead.

I removed the tire valves (you only remove the needle in the middle) first by using this tool i found in my dad's tool box - dunno where you can purchase one. But you can always be patient and gently press down the valves to release air. Afterwards, step on the tire and insert the newspaper inside.

I decided to paint the mag's both sides so I had to insert a lot of newspaper. It takes a bit of patience as you have to insert several sheets to cover the entire wheel. By the 2nd wheel, I was already having second thoughts if I should have just paid someone to remove the tires :) But I pushed on and was happy with the money I saved.

Its now time to paint! I used rattle can paints for the mags as I don't have a compressor yet (I intend to buy one soon). I start of with a base white paint which also serves as my primer. TIP: When spraying on metallic and bright colors - it is always better to spray on a coat of white paint before applying your base coat. Doing this brings out the color of your base coat.

Here's a shot after I've applied on my metallic silver.

While waiting for my paint to dry, I saw from the pictures that you can see the brake drums when the wheels are mounted - and by the looks of it - my brake drums needed some attention as well.

Look at what paint can do :)

I waited overnight for the paint to dry - after filling up the tires with air - I mounted them back then worked on the tires in front using the same procedure.

 The next day - all four wheels were finished!

This is a very nice DIY that affects the overall looks of you car and it wouldn't take you the whole weekend to do it. I have a friend who painted his wheels green then got tired and repainted it orange - looks nice and very JDM. Go ahead - you can paint and even refurbish your own mags! :)