JoshMcMadMac
Dedicated LVC Member
I picked up a set of wheels on here quite awhile back with the intention of making them the LS winter wheels. They had been painted previously, and that had not turned out well so I got them relatively cheap. I finally got around to refinishing them, in much the same way as I have done previously:
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=66796
The previous owner had actually somewhat followed that thread, although I think patience/experience may have been the main difference in the outcome. Here is an idea of what I started with:
Not great pictures, but you can get some idea of the damage. I am not a fan of lots of contours on wheels, so I went to work with filling in and smoothing them out:
I am not great with bodywork, so I am sure that shows through. Here is the first round of filler primer:
Things got better with subsequent sanding, filling, and priming:
Things were smoothing out pretty well by this time, before the final round of sanding and filler primer:
In final transition, with as much effort as I was willing to put into winter wheels before final priming and finishing:
If you look in that last picture you should be able to make out a pile of wheel weights. Whomever balanced these things last was not suited for the job; one wheel had almost ½ a pound of weights on it! That same wheel is the one with the most weight on it now, at just under 3 ounces. The other wheels were almost as bad.
The finished product, painted and clear coated:
Finally, a few quick (bad) pictures of them mounted on the (dirty) car:
They look pretty decent in pictures and as long as you are a few feet away from them. I would rate them as 7-7.5 out of 10 in their current shape. They could be finished out pretty nicely with a bit more patience and talent, but I got these done in a couple days with pretty realistic expectations. I think it was a respectable transition, and the car does not look too out of place compared to the summer Ultraleggeras.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=66796
The previous owner had actually somewhat followed that thread, although I think patience/experience may have been the main difference in the outcome. Here is an idea of what I started with:
Not great pictures, but you can get some idea of the damage. I am not a fan of lots of contours on wheels, so I went to work with filling in and smoothing them out:
I am not great with bodywork, so I am sure that shows through. Here is the first round of filler primer:
Things got better with subsequent sanding, filling, and priming:
Things were smoothing out pretty well by this time, before the final round of sanding and filler primer:
In final transition, with as much effort as I was willing to put into winter wheels before final priming and finishing:
If you look in that last picture you should be able to make out a pile of wheel weights. Whomever balanced these things last was not suited for the job; one wheel had almost ½ a pound of weights on it! That same wheel is the one with the most weight on it now, at just under 3 ounces. The other wheels were almost as bad.
The finished product, painted and clear coated:
Finally, a few quick (bad) pictures of them mounted on the (dirty) car:
They look pretty decent in pictures and as long as you are a few feet away from them. I would rate them as 7-7.5 out of 10 in their current shape. They could be finished out pretty nicely with a bit more patience and talent, but I got these done in a couple days with pretty realistic expectations. I think it was a respectable transition, and the car does not look too out of place compared to the summer Ultraleggeras.
