mx5cartalk.com

I've had this car 15 years now and I think this is the sixth set of wheels I've had on it.

Sprint Hart Tuner, Car was made Jan 95. These wheels were made Mar 95. Period correct JDM

Rescued from the back of the garden shed where they've sat among the chook food and spades for 10 years. Never really used because they were vile pearlescent cream with pink writing and were totally uncleanable



Then water blasted,scrubbed, scoured, hand sanded and sprayed in Rustoleum graphite wheel paint. Spiders and various cocoons removed from valve stem, etc. Shod with RE003s in 195/50R15

They look really good!

Quite the transformation, and that new colour should mask brake dust nicely.

That was the main idea. White is horrible for keeping clean when the shape is complicated.

This is not the first set I've restored in the last year or two. You can get a perfect result with the right prep and paint.

I started out using VHT High Temperature Wheel Paint. The label says it's safe to use on wheels getting up to 121C. Other than that it's hard to use, hard to get a good finish and the finish is pretty average anyway.

Then swapped to Dupli Color High Performance Wheel Coating, safe again up to 121C. It's slightly easier to put on and the finish is a good quality hard even satin gloss. So far it's proven pretty durable on country tar and dirt roads.

This last set was done with Rusto-Leum High Performance Wheel, safe to only 93C so not the best for racing wheels. The nozzle sprays a fine wide pattern and the can can be used at any angle, even upside down. It's super easy to put an even coat down, even around the spokes and lug holes. Finish is professional standard. It's better in real life than it looks in the pic.

I'd say ignore VHT, use Dupli Color for race wheels and Rusto-Leum for street wheels and do lots and lots of prep.