Restoring my wheels

[CNIXZGO]

Hi!

I have these on all four and I really want to hang on to them. I believe they came with the car but I'm not sure and the PO wasnt either. First does any one know if these were dealer installed? and Second: Should I paint these the same color as the body or should i stay black. Also, where could i go to have these polished up? We have some wheel and tire places but would a machine shop be better? I'd appreciate any and all suggestions, comments

Nick

[mperdue]

See Escanlon's gallery for similar wheels with the inner part painted body color. May give you some idea...

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2606&papass=&sort=1&thecat=998

Michael

[EScanlon]

As far as I know, all the "mags" and "rims" that were put on the Z's in the 70's were Dealer Options. Although there are many wheels that are identified as being OEM, not until the ZX's did the Z's have wheels other than the stamped steel wheels.

I have a set of wheels that are very similar to the ones you pictured, but mine have a flat center where your spokes go all the way to the hub. Even with the addition of the Z hub from a later Z, they're still Aftermarket Wheels.

Alan may know different, and I'd trust his knowledge over my vague recollection.

As far as polishing your wheels, you need to examine a few things first.

Are the wheels currently clear coated or varnished in any way? If they are, in order to get the metal nice and shiny you'll want to remove that coating. I would recommend a chemical stripper as opposed to sanding, wire brushing or using wire wool on them.

If no clear coating, or after you've removed it, is the wheel Aluminum, Magnesium or Chromed Steel? Are the wheels corroded or just oxidized? There is a difference. Corroded Aluminum will have whitish chalky areas that will be crumbly. Aluminum will oxidize with a dull gray cast to it, but that can be polished off, whereas corrosion must be sanded, or polished off.

Magnesium doesn't really corrode, but it will get a dark pitted look to it.

Be careful of using steel wool or steel wire brush on either of these two as they will acquire a discoloration to it from the steel.

Chromed Steel is the worst, as if corroded it must be stripped and replated. If just oxidized you can usually polish them out, but it depends on just how thick the plating is and whether it will take the heavy polish you might have to do to them. Look at the typical rear bumper and bumper guard on a 240Z and see what the exhaust can do to corrode the chrome.

I recommend that, depending on the severity of the dullness, you either buy a wheel polishing kit like what is offered at Eastwood, or Motorsports, OR you get some buffing tips to attach to your D/A or Drill and some rouge compounds. There are several different rouges (Red, White, Green, Gray) and each one gives a different grit and finish. For the initial main polishing you can start with Green and finish with White. If they just need a good hit, go with the White.

I started my wheels with the rouges (Green and White) but after taking hours on two of them, I discovered another product. It's called Artesan Metal Polish and it's sold by the POR people. I used that on the remaining two wheels, and although there was a ton of elbow grease expended, I feel that the Artesan did as well as I had done with the rouges. Maybe I'm not that good with the polishing rouges, but I went over the first two wheels with the Artesan, and the difference was, in my eyes, noticeable.

I painted my wheels with a gold Rust-Oleum paint because my car is 920 Gold, and I wanted to maintain the "gold" theme. Anyhow, here's a picture of the wheels before and after.

There is a small spot in the lower right hand of the right wheel where you can see what 3 minutes of using the Artesan on the untreated wheel compared to the full job on the left.

Enrique Scanlon

[CNIXZGO]

Hi EScanlon! Thanks for the info. I think I will just polish them up with a polishing kit and use some elbow grease. They dont look too oxidized to me and I dont believe they have any kind of coat on them.

You said you used some gold Rustoleum. I wonder if they make my color. It's #510 Sky Blue Metallic. I know it was painted at Maaco (ack!, i know) by the PO so I wonder if they would sell me a batch of that if i go down there and ask. Or i will try to find it in rustoleum. thanks, Nick

[EScanlon]

Nick:

The Gold paint I used, in no way is to be confused as being the same color as what's on the car. The Gold Rust-Oleum is a very shiny metallic paint which is the best approximation to "plating" I could find. The paint on the car, which is a repaint of the original color, is not metallic, and closer to "mustard" than gold. But Gold is what Datsun called it, so I chose a "gold" theme.

But this brings up a good point, I WANTED that gold look on the wheels to complement and accent the body color. Look at the pictures in the gallery and I think you will agree, even friends who felt I should paint black or gray liked the finished look.

So, applying it to your car. Matching the color for your wheels to the body is one approach. You could probably go to a paint shop that specializes in automotive paints and they could mix up a quart for you. Some shops can even mix you up aerosol cans, although if you know how to paint and have the equipment it would be much cheaper to buy the quart of paint.

BUT, why not look at what you can get off-the-shelf? You may find a paint that will actually highlight your wheels / tires / paint job and may or may not even be the same color as your car.

This is where a color wheel helps a lot. A color wheel is something designers use to demonstrate matching / complimenting colors. Go to a home paint shop they usually have one, or check a local crafts store.

I've seen white, gray, silver, gold, black, metallic black, yellow, red and various shades, metallics of each used on wheels that made the whole car look bitchin! Granted, I've also seen paint jobs that made you want to splash mud on them right away. The trick is to do what pleases YOU.

2¢

[beandip]

I need to say one thing first , the pictures that Escanlon posted do not due justice to what they really look like , they really did turn out nice. Nick ,I have simular wheels to yours only mine have many more fins or spokes . If I remember right there are 40 and are about 1/4 " wide and like yours extend from the rim to the center where I have installed a set of knock offs. I have polished the spokes my self . The finish was rough in that it showed the tiny little ribs from the machining when they were turned. I used a file first to remove the small amount of a burr along the edges of the spokes, saves the fingers from cuts, and then used 400 grit wet dry sand paper and used it wet dipping the paper in water continually untill the turning marks were removed. I then bought a 4" dia. buffing wheel and used ruge to polish out the tiny scratches left by the 400 paper. I followed this with the POR polish. I then masked off the polished areas and painted with black metalic paint from a rattle can. This all took time but I did it on a week end and they turned out great , at least I think so. Being that your spokes are wide they would be easier and faster to polish.

[CNIXZGO]

Beandip: I think that's how I will do mine. I'll need to polish them up real good first (they aren't that bad now). I think i will mask them off and then paint them black. I was going to use the metallic blue color to match the body but (A) I think it'll be too hard and expensive to match up that color and ( I think the black won't show the dirt and grime so much as the metallic blue will. Beandip, what kind of spray paint did you use? I saw Auto Zone has some wheel spray paint. I think a nice metallic black will look great!

Nick

[Mr Camouflage]

Yes all factory wheels were steel with hubcaps.

All Mags were dealer options.

The 260z was the first Z to get factory alloys I think. You know the ones. I see them on every 260z 2+2 on the road.