This is what I've been playing with lately

[CrazyIvan]

Started w/ 220 grit to remove all the crap stuck to the wheels
than 320 to remove the big scratches
than 600 to smooth everything out
than 1200 to finish it up

after that I used meguiars billet polish compound, $12.99 at oreilly and WORTH every peny I paid for it.
polished the wheels 3x each washing it every now and then, also dipped the wheel studs (head only) on gold paint as well for an extra touch :) About 3 coats of paint, 1 of some sparkly flake shit (cant see much) and 2 of clear. all in all I believe I spent about 3-4 hours for each wheel and I love how they came out :)

Before:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0830.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0829.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0828.jpg

and after:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0805.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0804.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0803.jpg

What do you guys think?

[2iv0 sx]

Clean!!!

I wish i could just dip my mesh in paint.. i need to do some polishing myself

Nice work. I've been seeing a lot of Advans lately.

BTW what kind of paint did you use?

[SimpleSexy180]

Thats Some Clean Ass Rims!

[DrtyRat]

:eek2: Clean Advans FTW!!! Good job!

[NemeGuero]

nice job.. looks sexy

[CrazyIvan]

rattle canned FTW!!! :D
to paint the wheels I used 320 grit ONLY than primer, paint , flake and clear

[FaLKoN240]

Wow, I envy your attention to detail. Looks very nice. I need another pair of project wheels.

[chmercer]

looks dope ivan. what color gold did you use? is it the metallic rustoleum stuff?

edit - also how did you get the bolts back in without messing up the paint?

[McRussellPants]

Looking slick man.

[Nan Desu Ka?!]

thems are some CLEAN rims man, you attention to detail and finish work are awsome. :bow: i need to clean up some rims of my own, thanks for the sandpaper specs :D

[mrmephistopheles]

i need to do this to some of our wheels...

[breakindrifts]

Did you just polish by hand? Looks really good.

[mr_240sx]

looks awesome man!

[D1champ]

Did you just polish by hand? Looks really good.

X2 INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW.

[s14xman]

look really good!! very nice job. I wish my lip was that shinny. you should start a wheel restoring buisiness haha

[RSP13-Sideways]

Excellent looking wheels, wish I did this before I sold my set!!!! :(

The lip of mine looked just like yours originally, the clear coat was flaking off and had cracks throughout it too. Man, came out great, the head studs were annoying everytime I tried to polish because getting in between them was pain.

[exitspeed]

Wow good job on restoring some nice SA3A's.

[MELLO*SOS]

Came out very nice, good job man

[Maximamike]

I'm looking to restore a set of 3 piece wheels and paint them that same color. Did you take them completely apart or just mask very well? Looks bad ass. Paint code, btw?

[mrmephistopheles]

I want to see how well these work:
http://www.mothers.com/products/productcatalog/productpics/05142.jpg
http://www.mothers.com/products/productcatalog/productpics/05140.jpg

[the head]

I havent used the mini yet but the full size works great I have a set of AMerican racing torque thrust IIs in polished alum on my old vette that powerball takes the shit to a mirror finish in a few minutes throw some mother's wheel wax over the top and they stay nice for a decent amount of time.

[CrazyIvan]

Thanks for teh comments guys. I had to COMPLETELY disassemble the wheels,

1st I removed the center caps
2nd I removed than saved the bolts/nuts/valve stem on a plastic bag (screwing the nut to the matching bolt to make sure they wont be mixed)
3rd lightly tapped the center part loose using a rubber mallet than painted it
4th sanded teh shit out of the lips than polished it
5th re-assembled the center of the wheel carefully to make sure I wouldnt screw up the lip w/ scratched
6th installed the center cap
7th posted my boring work here

I rattle can painted the wheels and Im not even sure what brand the paint is, I still got the can so Im gonna check on that later tonight, I used about 2-3 4" sewn cotton wheels and a power drill to polish the lips, that meguiars powerball or is about $20, 4 cotton wheels will run you about 1/2 that price and will do a better job.

All in all I just took my time to make sure it came out nice :)

[Maximamike]

What did you use to reseal the bead where the 3 pieces meet? The set I have has about 1/4" of silicone on each side of the wheel center so I'm hesitant to take it apart. Any ideas on how to get that spacing back so I won't mess up the offsets? I'll take a pic and show you guys once I get home from work.

[chmercer]

i just used black window sillicon to seal mine when i took them apart. no trick to getting them bolted back together with the right alignment or anything. the bolt holes have pretty close tolerances and there is like 30+ of the bolts so the wheels go back together nice and straight.

[drftwerks]

you lined them up like they were when you took them apart, right?

[RSP13-Sideways]

How many pounds did you torque the face to the lip? The only reason I didn't want to take mine apart was because I couldn't figure out how much to torque the face back together.

[unwed_transient]

nice turnaround. clean wheels.

[OMGWTFBBQ]

dang
looks brand new

[ALTRNTV]

Oooohhh, me likey!

[chmercer]

wheel bolt torque is like 15 pounds or so. you dont have to torque them, i just snugged mine with an impact set on low. but make sure to use loctite

[Zero_SX]

yea, super nice man. makes me wonder how mine would come out if i did them...

[CrazyIvan]

looks dope ivan. what color gold did you use? is it the metallic rustoleum stuff?

edit - also how did you get the bolts back in without messing up the paint?

I used a millenar technique from teh Ming dynasty known to only a few people b/c it is extremely difficult to learn and much more difficult to perform. I learned this technique about 5 years ago w/ master WANG while living at the mountain top of the alps of Nepal while studying BUDDHIST NINJA techniques for the modern world of automotive technology. I'll try to explain this to my best knowledge as this has never been pictured or heard of before (sorry master WANG, I had to... I got too many PM'd about this already). This technique involves showing the wheels the 5 hand signs.


LAY THE WHEEL TO BE WORKED ON THE FLOOR AND FOLLOW THESE STEPS.

1ST - say wassuuuuuuup while showing the wheel this hand sign
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0841.jpg

2ND - just show him you want this to end in peace
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0842.jpg

3RD - now tell him you dont give a shit about him
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0843.jpg

4TH - and if he doesnt cooperate you will Pw3n him
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0845.jpg


WARNING: When the 5th step is completed the world will crawl to a halt and darkness will come from the dephts of the abiss and all will be black for a few seconds. I EXTREMELY encourage you take the last step in your bedroom just like I did so you can hide under your bed when darkness falls. :bite:

5TH - show the wheel this sign and run away.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0846.jpg

For those of you who dont believe me here is a pic of the darkness living my place:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0849.jpg

By the time you come back your bolts/nuts should be either off the wheels (if you're disassembling) or ON the wheels (if you're assembling). If the technique doesnt work just use your sticky fingers to hold the bolt heads like I did :duh: hahahaha I also did not use anything to re-seal the center of the wheel, w/ this many bolts I dont think it'll be a problem. I did however use loctite like someone mentioned. HHAHAHA

Sorry I was bored ass hell guys

[mrmephistopheles]

Sorry I was bored ass hell guys

O, RLY? :duh:

I couldn't tell... :x:

[chmercer]

lol did you pink yourself kevin

[TurK]

i like those black wheels...what are they called? and what size are they ?

[CrazyIvan]

they are fikse profil 10

front 18x8.5 +17
rear 18x9.5 +14

and they are FS too :D

[The Island]

OMG you are my hero. I was planning to resurface and paint my Super Advans that same gold color. God those are fuckin sexy. And just when I was getting bored with my wheels...

[Maximamike]

I can't get the damn bolts off my wheels. Grr..

[The Island]

O BTW, what size and offset are your Advans?

[mrmephistopheles]

lol did you pink yourself kevin

Pretty much.
After looking at that 'particular' thread which caused so much drama, I realized that I called a 'someone' an ATTN:whore. Since namecalling is what got so many people pinked, I felt it'd only be appropriate for me to be pinked too, so I asked RJF to pink me.
I don't want to drag this thread any further OT so I'll ask that you PM me (when my pinking is up) or IM me. :eek3d:

[CrazyIvan]

my sa3's are 18x9 +22
Thanks for all the complements guys, I love how they came out :)

[Lordrandall]

I'm not a huge fan of 3-spokes, but those came out very clean man. Nice!

[slideways2004]

please post what paint you used. take a pic of the exact can.

[CrazyIvan]

here's the wheel polish:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0854.jpg

and the paint (note cans/lid are faded from being outside)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0852.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/ivanthieme/SUPER-ADVAN-3/DSCF0851.jpg

[Gavster]

So...did you actually clear the lips after you refinished them, or did you leave them raw and just intend to maintain them over time? BTW, looks wayyyyy sick!

[CrazyIvan]

Did NOT use clear on the lips, that i'll fade over time and wont looks as good. Some people told me to throw some wax on top of the polish to help maintain the shine but I havent done that yet...

[waystlandremy]

gotta love it..im looking for advans myself...nice wheels

[tre]

bling bling nigga

[FaLKoN240]

bling bling nigga

OOO I'm telling!!! I've seen people get banned for using that word. (Heartwork)

[nsn240]

wow... those look awesome man! nice work

[Phlip]

bling bling nigga
Zero tolerance for such ignorance, you have earned 3 months as an example to the other forum members.

[ms!3]

they look really nice. thell probably look 10x's better when you but em on your car.

[Zeroshifta]

this makes me wanan go do something to my rims now

[Zeroshifta]

this makes me wanan go do something to my rims now

[hybrid_eg]

hmm, interesting thread.. i have a set of 2pc wheels, the centers look good to me and i dont intend on coating them as i already have matching touch up paint.. one stem is missing and i'd like to refinish the lips for sure to new condition. If i just take the rivets off, save all the bolts and etc.. clean up the face, etc.. then when i get the wheel+lip back from the wheel place i want to take it to, they should have no probs going back on there? tourqe down and loctite in even order.. reason i ask this, everyone keeps saying that the integrity of the wheel is affected if its taken apart and it will never be the same afterwards..doesnt quite make sense as even with most expensive aftermarket wheels that get bent, repair is available.. i'm sure they are taking them apart to fix them.. btw, the lips are not polished but just clear aluminum.. not shiny.. thats the finish i'm looking for.. just to keep the wheel OEM.