Wheel Wizards

[CCO]

After a year of being ashamed of my C4 wheels, I'm going to bight the bullet and get them 'massaged' by the 'Wheel Wizards' in Hamilton.

Wheel Wizards

After chatting with Brian from Caledonia and Wayne (FordPrefect) and the proprietor recently I decided to give the job to them.
The company is quite reputable by all accounts and did a marvelous job on Brian's wheels and is reasonably priced so off I go on Saturday to drop them off.

Their service includes a variety of finishes but I'm opting for a clean and shiny cut with no finish. After which they will remount the tires and balance them again for me all inclusive.
All that and in and out in about 4 days.....so downtime is minimal.

Here's a few shots of the b4 look. They are the tired originals and although not curb-rashed or damaged in any other way the clear finish is in sad shape.

Should be a pleasant addition to the Polo Green C4 when done.

 

[91Centrefold]

I am sure they will look great when completed!! We will waiting for the after pictures.
Eric

 

[CCO]

I am sure they will look great when completed!! We will waiting for the after pictures.
Eric

Yes I'm sure they'll be real nice, tho not exactly what I would really like, Eric.

What I'd really like is a set just like on a certain London White C4 ......

....but that step will have to wait a while longer. In the meantime I'll settle for a refinished set of SawBlades.

For sure I'll post the After pics when they return next week.

Cheers,
Colin.

 

[CCO]

My poor baby looks so lonely and 'neutered' without her shoes on -- but it does give us a chance to see Manny's work on my brakes. He fitted new upgraded rotors that are slotted and drilled, new ceramic pads, and new stainless brakelines.
Here's a look at the driver's side front:

 

[tony]

Colin,
what an opportunity awaits you......why not paint the rotors ??

You have 4 days and no wheels in the way ! Go for it .[g].

Tony
welland

 

[CCO]

Colin,
what an opportunity awaits you......why not paint the rotors ??

You have 4 days and no wheels in the way ! Go for it .[g].

Tony
welland

Paint on the rotors might muck up the stopping power somewhat, Tony -- maybe I'll paint the callipers instead.
Sorry, couldn't resist -- I know what you meant.

Good suggestion about some paint, tho seeing them thru the wheels is difficult.



I took my 'sawblades' into Wheel Wizards today and chatted with the manager, Rich, they should be done by late this coming week.
Judging by Brian's wheels these are going to look so nice. They'll be a fine addition to a great looking car.

I also asked about truing up a bent rim (for Steamer) and about repairing 'road-rash'..Both of which they do and to a degree that you would not know that they were damaged. -- tho there must be a limit to how much of a bend they can fix.

I'll post pics of my finished wheels for all to see when they're remounted.
Going to be a long wait (1 week) to drive the C4 again but it'll be worth that wait I'm sure.

Cheers,
Colin.

 

[Woodstock Car Guy]

I am serious about sending my own 3-piece HRE wheels to them as the finish on mine is also very poor Colin. I look forward to hearing your results as I wish to send mine to them next week.
I would ideally like to have mine chromed but cannot find anyone who can do a 3-piece wheel.

 

[CCO]

I am serious about sending my own 3-piece HRE wheels to them as the finish on mine is also very poor Colin. I look forward to hearing your results as I wish to send mine to them next week.
I would ideally like to have mine chromed but cannot find anyone who can do a 3-piece wheel.

For sure Terry -- I'll post pics and give a rundown as soon as I get them back to Cambridge.
Judging by what I saw there and what was explained to me, these wheels will be as new condition when finished.
Rich highly recommended keeping them bare naked and keeping them polished with American Hot Rod's "Serious Hot Rod Wheel Polish" which he gave me for giving him my business. ($20 value).

I asked about Rejex, but he was not familiar with it, altho he said any good quality polish should be fine.

You mention "chrome" -- I did ask Rich about that for my wheels but apparently they "don't do that" ... I'm guessing that they may know someone local to them who would do chroming.

More soon -- hope to see you sometime this summer. I apparently missed you at the 2 events you attended last weekend.

Cheers
Colin.

 

[Woodstock Car Guy]

Thanks for sharing Colin. I look forward to following this thread.

 

[Riley P]

The brakes look good Colin! I look forward to seeing what they can do with your wheels! Clear sure seems to take a crap kicking on wheels.

 

[CCO]

The brakes look good Colin! I look forward to seeing what they can do with your wheels! Clear sure seems to take a crap kicking on wheels.

Right on Riley. Apparently any coating (including powder-coat according to Wheel Wizards) will eventually lift and or get dinged and get moisture/salt/dirt/ you name it under it, resulting in what looks like rust and oxidation.
That's about where mine are. Structurally they're fine with no rash or dings, but the clearcoat lifted and you can see the result. It really takes away from the beauty.

WW highly recommended no finish coat and to keep them clean and well waxed.
Not a difficult chore on a limited use vehicle that doesn't see much/any rain.

I'm going to paint the rotors as Tony suggested for a little extra finished look. probably in black unless I can find a close green.

I'm excited to get them back on the C4 and post some pics. I'm sure I'll fall in love with her all over again.

Shouldn't be but a few more days.

Colin.

 

[Woodstock Car Guy]

Yep, definitely take this opportunity to paint the calipers. I'm certain you won't be disappointed

 

[CCO]

Yep, definitely take this opportunity to paint the calipers. I'm certain you won't be disappointed

Right on Terry -- I'm trying to fit it in my 'busy' schedule.
I did pick up the paint tho.....so that's a start. Now the weather just has to warm slightly and the phone to stop ringing from family ads on Kijiji and any number of other things and I'll be all set. I'm busier now than when I was working. I think there's an hour or 2 Sunday morning if I get up at 4am to get the job done.

It suddenly dawned on me that I can't move the car unless the wheels are on it, so I'm faced with working in quite a narrow space (to clean, mask, and paint) Not the easiest of jobs in a 1.5 car garage with 2 cars in it.

I'll post pics when done -- looks like the wheels won't be done until Saturday or Monday now so I've got a little bit of time.

/C.

 

[RockyPM]

Talking about close color match Colin you don't need to use Caliper paint. Let me rephrase that, you can use regular paint in conjunction with caliper paint. I found the process on youtube. Once your cleaning is done and calipers are prepped spray 2 coats od a silver caliper paint. Once dry time is complete apply several coats of your color matched, non-caliper paint. Finish with a few coats of clear caliper paint. I did this and it works like a charm! Got the caliper paint a Canadian Tire.

 

[Woodstock Car Guy]

My car is currently at Manny's awaiting a new set of rear Nitto Invos that he will be ordering tomorrow. So while the car is down I might as well kill 2 birds, they will get my HRE wheels on Monday. I look forward to getting the car back together to enjoy the balance of the summer.

 

[Black 03 Z06]

Woodstock C G do some before and after pics for us. Really hope that your HRE wheels refinish very well. Good luck.

 

[CCO]

Talking about close color match Colin you don't need to use Caliper paint. Let me rephrase that, you can use regular paint in conjunction with caliper paint. I found the process on youtube. Once your cleaning is done and calipers are prepped spray 2 coats od a silver caliper paint. Once dry time is complete apply several coats of your color matched, non-caliper paint. Finish with a few coats of clear caliper paint. I did this and it works like a charm! Got the caliper paint a Canadian Tire.

That's good to know. Thanks for posting Rocky.

Got my paint at their sister company: Part Source.

Cheers.

My car is currently at Manny's awaiting a new set of rear Nitto Invos that he will be ordering tomorrow. So while the car is down I might as well kill 2 birds, they will get my HRE wheels on Monday. I look forward to getting the car back together to enjoy the balance of the summer.

I'm seriously considering Nittos when I replace my rubber.

Not clear on where you're taking the HRE's ... WW's or Manny's?

C.

 

[CCO]

WOOOOHOOOO .. I pick 'em up Saturday morning 9:30.
Rich called this morning with the good news and he said they look perfect.

Can't wait to get 'em home and remounted. Damn they're gonna look nice.

Will post pics tomorrow.

C.

 

[Woodstock Car Guy]

Congrats Colin. My car is at Manny's and he is bringing the wheels over to Wheel Wizards.

 

[CCO]

Looks like WW are an awesome outfit. I picked my wheels up this morning from Rich and they are even better than I expected. Here's a few teaser pics of them (front and back) as they came out of the car .. no center caps, no valve stem caps, just as finished at WW.

Didn't get a chance to paint my calipers yet.....and the weather doesn't look the best for painting right now anyway. A further dismount down the road won't be that big a deal so I'll paint the callipers then.

So here's those 'teasers' .. No more oxidation, no more clearcoat pealing, just beautiful finish.
Thanks to Brian from Caledonia for the info. these look just a nice as his now.