<VV> wheel restoration--no Corvair

[Chuck Kubin]

Hey Frank (and anyone else who knows),
   
  I'm interested in hearing what others think of this idea.
  Anti Christine currently has a 1960s set of original Shelby 14" mags, "0 offset," complete with new inverted-teacup center caps. The only thing spoiling terrific looks is dings and gouges in a narrow (maybe 1/8-3/16 wide") raised bead on the very outer edge caused by scraping against curbs. The bead is cosmetic and doesn't contact the tire. None of the gouges are deep enough to contact the face of the wheels, but are of course obvious damage that collect dirt and spoil the perfect looks.
  I know restoring the mags to perfection would mean having all the dings welded and the bead returned. Instead, I'd rather have it just look good without throwing a micrometer on it to check their accuracy to how they were made in 196?. 
  I am a woodturner with a British-made VB36 lathe, designed to precisely turn really big and heavy wood bowl blanks. It uses the same bearings as Rolls Royce jet engines and is adjustable from 0-3800 rpm.
  It would be easy to make a centering flange to mount the wheels and, since the mags are soft metal, use wood hand tools (works great on brass, aluminum etc.) to turn the beads down to a point below the dings. This would retain enough of the bead to keep the look without goofing up the balance. The only thing that would spoil the plan is if the wheels are bent enough to eliminate the bead before the dings. This is easy to check with a dial indicator before I turn the machine on.
  So whatcha think? is there any reason to NOT try this, and what would be a good rpm to turn?
   
  Chuck Kubin
   
  
Frank DuVal <corvairduval at cox.net> wrote:
  This wheel restoration goees on all the time in collision repair. Ask 
local collision shops who they use for wheel repair. The local 
publication "Hammer & Dolly" of the Washinton Metropolitan Area Body 
Association list one place in the December issue: Hubcap Heaven 
301-773-3733 in Hyattsville MD. $125 exchange for basic reconditioning. 
I know nothing about them.

At my shop we used to strip the wheels with aircraft style paint 
stripper, attempt to smooth out slight bends and sand out corrosion. 
Polish, treat with Alumaprep and refinish with clear urethane. Talk to 
local automotive paint supplier for what works in your area. Major bends 
I figured were liabilities and did not fix. Wheel reconditioners will 
fix some pretty good rim bends. Any crack is no good! Some 
reconditioners go as far as mounting the wheels on a lathe and make a 
slight cut to get the original look.

Do a Google search. Log onto autobodystore.com/forums 
autobodypro.com autobodyonline.com


			
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