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About seventeen years ago or so when I bought my 1996 993 (third owner), it came with Kinesis K28 wheels. These are the old Kinesis wheels prior to their takeover and demise, so sad! The center sections were anodized gunmetal gray. It might have been fifteen years ago when my car got roof damaged on my car lift, as part of the repair, I restored the wheels. Back then, I had the center sections anodized to a golden color, rim lip buffed, etc... Over time those rims developed dark areas that would not com off. Tried all sorts of cleaners, high pressure power washings, etc... About a week ago I did a cleaning with Zap Industrial Cleaner. It must have Lye, or acid that destroyed the anodized finish. I messed up, but the wheels needed refinishing anyway. I disassembled the rims, grit blasted the center sections and the inside of the inner barrel. Here are pix of the newly anodized center sections. The barrels are out getting polished. I also buffed the metal valve stems and caps along with the screw heads that hold the rims together. I am planning on spraying the blasted inner barrel with a two part clear epoxy so they hopefully clean up easily. I will also test out a wheel wax or a ceramic paint protection on the anodize in a non visible spot. My hope is to make the finish last longer.
The cheap parts tumbler from Harbor Freight does a great job on the screws... Just throw them in there with the media and let it run for a few hours. I've done many, many sets with mine:
I am planning on spraying the blasted inner barrel with a two-part clear epoxy
Be aware that when a steel faster clamps together painted surfaces the paint can collapse over time and the original clamping load applied (torque value) is lost and leaves the fastener subject to fatigue failure.
If I was to assemble wheel rims. I would mask off the paint on all mating surfaces and faster-applied surfaces. If already painted I would burnish off the applied paint and then touch up any nude metal after the fasteners are installed. I also would call a wheel manufacturer and verify one can reuse the fasteners and that whatever contact finish application is something they feel is appropriate. Also on very old wheels, I would check the radius dimension where the wheel mates with the tire bead to ensure the round is still in the specification and safe to use.
I am not a professional wheel manufacturer so take my thoughts above at your own risk, I know what can happen when fasteners fail catastrophically and I have seen them fail sequentially on a wheel like application due to installing issues and it wasn't pretty..
Wheels are safety equipment so caution is always a good thing.
Andy
they look great!
my only question for now is how do you color match the center caps to the sterns/centers?
(this is why I always seem to ask for "porsche silver" as my go to for color choices)
I ended up buffing the heads of the hardware. They appear to be stainless steel (slightly magnetic) and took on a bright shine.
There will be no paint on the bolted mating surfaces.
Not sure what parts you are trying to color matching? The anodized parts? The available colors of anodize is limited and the finished color can also vary due to the process and the shop.
Search Ebay/web for the Kinesis K28 wheels. I saw a set with tires offered for $2,500. They most likely may need refinishing/rebuild. These are very high quality from a bygone time, not like a lot of crap being pushed today.
I ended up buffing the heads of the hardware. They appear to be stainless steel (slightly magnetic) and took on a bright shine.
There will be no paint on the bolted mating surfaces.
Not sure what parts you are trying to color matching? The anodized parts? The available colors of anodize is limited and the finished color can also vary due to the process and the shop.
Search Ebay/web for the Kinesis K28 wheels. I saw a set with tires offered for $2,500. They most likely may need refinishing/rebuild. These are very high quality from a bygone time, not like a lot of crap being pushed today.
Could you post a pic of what the hardware looked like once you buffed them?
Here are some pix I just took now. I have not washed the car or wheels in about eight months so there is some dirt, etc... When I buffed the screw heads, I did not try to do anything in the recesses in the screw head.
04-06-2019, 01:44 PM
Restoration #2 of my Kinesis K28 wheels
