I was just hoping someone might educate us on how to get the brushed finish on hre' wheels that are previously painted. Dont really know if hre's are powder coated or painted but iv heard that brushed finish can be done by hand. Any guides how it can be rightfully done? A good diy?

 

All our in-house finishes are powder coated.

If you are interested in getting your HRE's refinished, please email VinceB@hrewheels.com for a quote.

Having your wheels refinished in brushed finish is not an easy undertaking.

 

the brushed finish is machining the metal, its not just a paint color

 

thank you lon for the response. i have gotten in touch with vince and he has responded. this avenue will always be the easiest though most expensive way to get things done but i am a diy'er and will try to get my hands dirty first before going that route. if things dont go well i can always have HRE do the job afterwards, assuming i do not destroy the wheels hahahah. yes i agree okb its machined. first few questions are:
1. best way to remove powder coating?
2. best way to prep the wheels for hand brushing. i have seen some short clips of RWB hand brushing wheels.
3. most efficient way to get the brushed finish
4. prep for clear coating
5. finallly clear coating.

i might not be able to do all of these things by myself but its also for the knowledge on what is the process to get that beautiful finish on our wheels

 

to make a long story short, I think you should pay to have it done.
I think you might spend alot of time and money and ruin the wheels, then have to pay someone more to undo it and fix it.
Ive been painting and working on cars since 1970, and i wouldnt try to make a machine finish on my wheels

 

Thank you for the suggestion but will still wait for a technically adept brother to share the technology of the brushed finish with clearcoat. Whether or not i will do it myself or with the help of other is another matter. However, if i do it i will surely share the results.

 

Disclaimer, it is not easy. Please keep in mind, if you take off too much material we might not be able to help after.

hey Rick, it's always great to see DIY'rs. Please report back to us on the project.

We typically use a light medium plastic media sand blaster. You will need to use specialized custom made sandpaper wheel used on a circular drill device. You might want to practice on some other objects, as you can see in the video our craftsman make it easy since they all have over a decade of experience. Once you get the brushed finish, you will want to apply a powder clear coat to protect the finish.

I would take a look at these videos to give you an idea of what you need.

http://www.egarage.com/videos/hre-wheels/

Please let me know if you need anymore help. I'll do my best to help you out with the undertaking.

 

Lon, really appreciate the response from you. Im sure you know that i see you guys as the most expert on this subject i am trying to explore and having you respond to it make it really more informative. I hope our other brother appreciate your responses.
I guess when yoi mentioned light plastic media sandblasting, you were referring to how the powder coating can be removed. Isnt there an easier way like a chemical based stripper to remove the powder coating without removing or damaging the wheel material?

 

Yes, we utilize two types of striping methods.

1. Sand blaster, using light plastic media.
2. Low temperature chemical stripper.

Keep in mind, both methods require knowledge of working with forged aluminum. You don't want to use anything too harsh that could damage the aluminum.

 

As Lon@HRE said, it isn't easy to do it at all. Better get a company who's used in doing finishes or simply get a new set of wheels with that finish. There are a few vendors besides us and guys from HRE over here that can do you a good setup!

Here is a custom finish we did for one of our customers, a real difficult project to be honest.

 

One, im sure that is going to be a difficult undertaking. But the finish i want on my p40's would be the simple brushed finish. In my mind i am thinking of using a low temp chemical stripper that is safe with aluminum and simply turning the wheels on a balancing machine and using a scouring pad, similar to that used to clean pots and pans to creat the finish. The scouring pad will prevent me from taking off too much material yet get a good finish. I think the hardest part would be to finish the side of the holes which i think i might wrapthe scouring pad on a drill. Instead of powder coating, wherein heat is involved, i would just spray on a nice coat of urethane clear coating. What you guys think...safe enough. If this does not work lon will have another 4 wheels to work on.

 

subscribed.

i can't wait to see the results !

BTW if u were in the US, i would suggest that u just sell ur wheels and buy a used P40 in brushed aluminum.. but since u r in Philippines, I am curious to find out how this ends.

BOL !

 

Curbs have done it for many...