| Old wheels with tires removed from the vehicle. The Michelin X-One's® served us well, but with just over 66,000 miles on them, they had started to shimmy at highway speeds. |  |
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| Our local Michelin dealer was very appreciative of the project, working with me on the tire dismounting and removal of the stems and weights. He went ahead and ordered the new set of Michelin X-One's®, knowing it would be over a week before I return with the refinished wheels. With his guidance, we also selected a "keeper" for the spare. |  |
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| The 300SD sat on the jackstands for over a week while the wheel work was underway. I also replaced the parking brake pads and related springs with MB original equipment as the opportunity presented itself. |  |
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| I grit blasted the old finish off of the wheels in a large cabinet (glove box) blaster using DuPont StarBlast®, a low silica mineral from Florida. Only the exterior surfaces of the wheels were prepped. Starblast leaves a relatively smooth clean finish. Excessive blast profile due to excessive grit blasting or aggressive media should be avoided. In addition to possibly causing jagged edges as a starting point for possible fracture, excess blasting can also warp a part by the application of extreme surface tensions. |  |
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| Setting up for painting. Safety precautions including proper ventilation must be employed. Read the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and the Technical Data Sheet (TDS) for the paint product(s) prior to use. Also give some thoughts to cleanup and waste disposal prior to opening the paint. |  |
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| Applying the silver paint. I acquired the silver from the parts counter of
the local MB dealer. This is the same material they use in their body shop.
It was not the Wurth product as sold on the internet as the "original MB
paint". I'll look up the manufacturer and product code when I have a chance. I
purchased 3 cans, as the rule of thumb was 2 wheels per can. I consumed 1-1/3
cans. They were US$20/can. The remainder has already been claimed by my best
friend for refinishing the wheels on his 1986 300SDL, a future project. I used a couple of spare 4X6's as paint and drying fixtures. This allowed me to rotate the wheel by rolling for consistent spray angle. Large nails in each end prevented an accidental roll off.
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| Wheels with the silver paint applied. Don't forget the center caps and lug bolts! |  |
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| Clear coat. I elected to "customize" my wheels by adding a clearcoat
over the silver. The silver paint leaves a matte finish and exposes the ground
aluminum pigment directly to the elements. Aluminum tends to dull further when
exposed. I used DuPont ChromaClear® for the topcoat. This is a high gloss premium refinish and panel patch automotive paint. A quart of ChromaClear® and its accelerator was around US$140. It is applied as 2 coats and I consumed nearly all of the quart. Click here for the DuPont ChromaClear® TDS. |
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| Wheels on the left have just the silver paint on them. Wheels on the right have received their first coat of ChromaClear®. |  |
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| Back to the Michelin dealer for mounting the 4 new X-Ones®, the spare, the stems and finally balancing. |  |
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| Ready to ride. She'll be 20 years old as of June 2003. A fresh coat of paint on the wheels is the least I could do for a car that has served me so well and will soon to be a classic. |  |
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| Please send any comments you may have to: RiverMaster@hotmail.com | |||
| This is a picture of John F.'s 15" wheel off of his 300SDL. The discoloration is typical of aging paint, possibly combined with some agressive cleaning compounds over the years. This is almost exactly what my other friend's SDL wheels look like which we will be refinishing sometime in the future. |  |
