I thought about going to aftermarket wheels for my RX-8.

I had seen the polished aluminum ones, but they were a bit too bright for my tastes, and besides polished and chrome wheels have been done to death I think..

Then i had a thought.. I work with a company that does powder epoxy baked finishes, and a couple of months back they were finishing some snow shovels for one of their customers. The shovels were aluminum ( meant as an emergency shovel for keeping in the trunk of a car) and they had polished them, then coated in this baked epoxy which is transparent clear, but with a colour in it.

I thought it looked quite nice.

I decided to investigate this and found that this coating material comes in a few colours, Yellow, Red, Blue, dark silver, black, and so on. I looked at a sample of the blue, and it was very close to the colour of my Winning Blue RX-8.

Hmmm.

So, i decided to get one of my wheels stripped of the original epoxy finish, polished, then coated with the transparent blue epoxy, and another coat of clear.

The following photos show the process and the result.

After stripping theold finish i had the wheel polished at a local shop that does metal polishing.
The aluminum comes up to a nice finish.
This is fresh polished, with no coating on it yet.

one more polished shot

One more time..

Now with the finish:

Another:

transperant blue??? hmmmm that might make or break your car... pics pleez

S'More:

ok nevermind your still posting..hmmmm i've never seen that b-4..its different...

Last one:

So, what do you think?

I've never like the matching you car wheels to your car thing much, but it's really hard to judge until they are on the car. The whole monochromatic rage from some time bacj really bugged me though. The dark might have looked nice, how difficult is it to do and what are the chances of seeing a wheel done with the dark epozy?

looks crazy

got any pics with them on your 8

I do not have pics with them on the car yet.

This one wheel is all I did so far as an experiment.
I like it, so I will be doing the other three now.

I will not be putting them on the car until spring, so I can't post that until maybe sometime in March or April.

We get a pretty long winter here..

thats a long time to wait

That's pretty cool, Maurice. I kind of like the plain polished look. Do you know about how much it would cost to get someone to just give the stock painted rims the polished look?

Originally posted by canzoomer
I do not have pics with them on the car yet.

This one wheel is all I did so far as an experiment.
I like it, so I will be doing the other three now.

I will not be putting them on the car until spring, so I can't post that until maybe sometime in March or April.

We get a pretty long winter here..

It seems like your mind is always working. Were you born this way or was this acquired somewhere along the way?

Oh your killing me ZOOMER>..we have to wait that long to see this....UGH!!!...ok ok...

that is kinda wild though..i like the look of that blue on the wheels, i'm anxious to see it's contrast with the car...although..just the plain polished aluminum looked mighty fresh and clean also...nice idea...

I don't know..

The whole thing left me feeling just a little BLUE...


Vince

Originally posted by loco4rx8
That's pretty cool, Maurice. I kind of like the plain polished look. Do you know about how much it would cost to get someone to just give the stock painted rims the polished look?
It costs me about $220 Canadian to have the tire removed, wheel stripped of the old finish, and polished. That is about $168 U.S.

Then finishing a wheel afterwards (even polished needs a finish of 2 coats of clear) costs $65 Canadian ( about $50 US)

Total cost per wheel: $285 Canadian / $220 U.S.

So, if anyone were to want their wheels refinished I could have it done for them for $1,000 U.S., including handling, packing, running the parts around for the work to be done, paperwork, and so on.

That is in clear over polished, clear colours, or solid colours.

Originally posted by shift_zoom8
It seems like your mind is always working. Were you born this way or was this acquired somewhere along the way?
If you mean"Why did I investigate this finish idea?"
Simple:
1) I wanted different wheels or appearance.
2) The stock wheels are pretty decent quality and weight, just look boring.
3) The stock wheels are not too expensive from dealers, so selling them leaves little cash for new wheels.
4) Through my business I have contacts in metal finishing.
5) Through my hobby I have contacts in auto stuff.
6) The wheels are off for the winter, sitting in my basement just taking up space.

So..

Originally posted by XeRo
Oh your killing me ZOOMER>..we have to wait that long to see this....UGH!!!...ok ok...

that is kinda wild though..i like the look of that blue on the wheels, i'm anxious to see it's contrast with the car...although..just the plain polished aluminum looked mighty fresh and clean also...nice idea...

True. Polished looks sharp, but it is so "done already".
I wanted something more interesting.

And the RX-8 is not a "chrome machine" so I prefer colours.

At least I did not cover it in ricey paint like those cars in the shows. I don't like "ricey looking"

The clear colours gives you the same highlights as simple clear, but colour matched to the car.

One could also use contrasting colours. Gunmetal for example.

I think the only way to make judgement is to see them on the car - so post some pics please

Anthony

I wonder how the gold mag rim's from mazda speed would
look on my winning blue rx8.. anyone have pics of that?

Originally posted by canzoomer
It costs me about $220 Canadian to have the tire removed, wheel stripped of the old finish, and polished. That is about $168 U.S.

Then finishing a wheel afterwards (even polished needs a finish of 2 coats of clear) costs $65 Canadian ( about $50 US)

Total cost per wheel: $285 Canadian / $220 U.S.

So, if anyone were to want their wheels refinished I could have it done for them for $1,000 U.S., including handling, packing, running the parts around for the work to be done, paperwork, and so on.

That is in clear over polished, clear colours, or solid colours.

Thanks for the info! I may consider that. It's probably cheaper than buying all new wheels anyway. I like the style of the Mazda wheel, just would prefer the polished look.

Originally posted by canzoomer
If you mean"Why did I investigate this finish idea?"
Simple:
1) I wanted different wheels or appearance.
2) The stock wheels are pretty decent quality and weight, just look boring.
3) The stock wheels are not too expensive from dealers, so selling them leaves little cash for new wheels.
4) Through my business I have contacts in metal finishing.
5) Through my hobby I have contacts in auto stuff.
6) The wheels are off for the winter, sitting in my basement just taking up space.

So..


Just the finish idea? No, I meant EVERYTHING!!!! Lol.

Seems like you have an idea or question and you just go after it...singlemindedly. Well, maybe not singlemindedly; you probably have a lot on your plate, so you must be an EXPERT at multi-tasking. Maybe that's the way you like it, keeping busy.

Most people can't do it. Are you a like a cancer patient living life to the fullest or something?!!! Is it just cars and hobbies for you? Or did you do this in school, jobs, running your company, relationships (maybe we shouldn't go there), traveling, etc.

Maybe it's ALL a hobby to you (except for your wife, of course). Maybe some of the other people here and I would do a lot to learn from your example.

Hey Maurice,

Could you do one in yellow so I can see what it would look like?

Vince

I like the polished look best myself. I thnk the blue will look ok once on. My boss has a black z06 and sent his rims off to DuPont and had them done in black. Its an interesting look on a black car.

greese

Place one next to the car so we can get an idea.

Originally posted by compaddict
Hey Maurice,

Could you do one in yellow so I can see what it would look like?

Vince
Sure!

Send me $250 and i will gladly do one in yellow!!

Seriously, if someone ends up asking me to do a set in yellow I will post it.

Originally posted by colin204
Place one next to the car so we can get an idea.

I plan to do that in the next couple of days.
I am taking my wheel and tire to the tire shop to have it mounted and balanced tomorrow, so after that I will place one on front of my mounted wheel so you can get some kind of idea what it looks like.

Coming soon!!

Originally posted by canzoomer
Sure!

Send me $250 and i will gladly do one in yellow!!

Seriously, if someone ends up asking me to do a set in yellow I will post it.

I would hate to think of YOUR car driving around with three blue wheels and one yellow...

But if you had some real big floppy shoes..

I know, I have an odd sense of humor.

Vince

Maurice, you continue to impress and amaze me.

Any of you can easily visualize what any colour mod. would look like. Just take a picture of your car. Load it into the computer, and photo-edit it (change the wheel colour). It takes time, but not nearly as much as stripping and repainting a wheel. ;)

For example, what would your wheels look like on a car like mine:

i want to see our wheels on a mazda6 but ahhhh screw it its a waste of time. although i do have 4 brand spanking new rx-8 wheels just sitting in the garage.

Maurice

A man who constantly goes above and beyond known boundaries of clear thinking , if only the smucks in charge politicians and world leaders had maurices attributes the world would not be in the state it currently finds itself in .

Anyhow maurice , enough praising your deeds , can you tell me more about the type of epoxy used for those baked finishes on your wheels , make etc , availibility .

The wheels look great however i believe blue car blue wheels are a bit too much but certainly a different combination could be more feaseble .

Maurice hows your hands , getting better ? i know your mind is on constantly at 15000 rpm , keep up your ingenuity .

michael

Originally posted by loco4rx8
That's pretty cool, Maurice. I kind of like the plain polished look. Do you know about how much it would cost to get someone to just give the stock painted rims the polished look?
Stripping and polishing costs me about $180 to $200 Canadian ( $135 to $150 USD) per wheel.
Powder coating costs about $60 to $100 per wheel ($45 to $76 USD)
Even if no colour one still applies one or two coats of clear powedercoat or they will corrode and go dull very quickly.

Costs the same for clear as for colours.
What i got applied is a clear colour topped over with clear.
So, for a set of wheels with two coats and polishing it costs about $800 to $900 for me to get done, plus time and running around.

OK, here are some installed pics.
Not the greatest as they were taken in the tire shop, and the light is kind of lousy, and the car was dirty.

My buddy Rohit over at Kal Tires on Yellowhead Trail was kind enough to offer putting the wheel on the car and taking some digital pics.

If you are ever in Edmonton and need a good place for wheels and tires these guys rock!

Shameless plug, but I think these guys deserve it. They have the proper machines and training to do this work with no danger of hurting your wheels, and their staff are super.

Another:

3rd:

4th:

5th:

6th:

7th (and last):

Love it! I think it looks great. I think it would look even better with the clear side markers.

I really, really like it.

I'm going to do a set in yellow. If it looks as good as on your car I'll be a happy guy.

Next time you mount the tires put the red dot on the tire over the valve stem.

Vince

Maurice

Nice wheels you look like a proud father straight after the birth of his 1st child . Where are the cigars ???

michael

Originally posted by compaddict
I really, really like it.

I'm going to do a set in yellow. If it looks as good as on your car I'll be a happy guy.

Next time you mount the tires put the red dot on the tire over the valve stem.

Vince
That is the conventional practice.

However, by separately balancing the wheel and tire, and finding the weight offset for each, one can put the tire in the right relationship to the rim to achieve a total balance with less weights.

Originally this wheel and tire took 1.75 ounces of weights.
It took only 1 oz. this time.

Can,

How do you seperately balance the tire without a wheel attached? I can think of a way to do it but it is rather involved.

-Mr. Wigggles

Originally posted by compaddict
I really, really like it.

I'm going to do a set in yellow. If it looks as good as on your car I'll be a happy guy.

Next time you mount the tires put the red dot on the tire over the valve stem.

Vince

Please post pics.

-Mr. Wigggles

Originally posted by MrWigggles
Can,

How do you seperately balance the tire without a wheel attached? I can think of a way to do it but it is rather involved.

-Mr. Wigggles
Not really a proper dynamic balance, but simply determine where the heaviest side is for each component separately.

Put the tire in a tank of water. It floats.
Lightest side comes to the top.
Mark the top.
Tire shops generally have a water tank used for locating leaks.

For the wheel, put it on a shaft, spin it a couple of times.
Tire shops generally have a balancer machine.
Mount the wheel on it and spin it a few times by hand.
Mark the top each time it comes to a stop.
After 3 or 4 "spins" you will see the marks all fall in a close range.
Make a mark on the outside ( on the back) at the center of all the marks you just made.

Mount tire on rim.
Offset the two marks opposite each other.
Inflate tire.
Put wheel on dynamic balancer and finish the job.

Generally speaking a wheel and a tire will each have an imbalance. If you mount the tire with these opposing you can substantially reduce the amount of weight needed.

Some better tire shops will actually do this process as a matter of course on high performance wheels and tires.
Others may not know about this trick.

Mainly it depends on the operator, and whether on not they give a crap.
You may have to pay them extra, as it takes more time to do.

In the case of 4 wheels it generally takes a half hour to do this.
That is about twice as long as the "easy way"

So you don't trust the red dot? I really didn't want to know that. Therapy. Lots of therapy.

Vince

Originally posted by compaddict
So you don't trust the red dot? I really didn't want to know that. Therapy. Lots of therapy.

Vince
Here is why the red dot is there:
Tire is installed on a wheel and balanced.
For some reason the tire has to be removed.
When they go to re-install it, this saves them re-balancing it.

Of course, if you have any appreciable wear on the tire it should be re-balanced anyway...

BTW, for all of you who have bought cool looking tire stem caps made of metal:
Go get your wheels re-balanced.
Those darned things weigh about a half ounce.

Oh, and if you lose them/have it stolen/take them off for normal use and don't WANT them stolen:
Your wheels are out of balance.

I suggest you stick with the plastic caps. They don't weigh anything.

I stand by my suggestion of therapy.

Vince

Maurice,

I reckon that doesn't look too bad actually. Better than I anticipated. I reckon black-chrome would look good on some cars as well.

Cheers,
Hymee.

hmmm..well i can definetly say it looks much better than i thought it would...but maybe too much blue for me...but the quality and finish of it is clean...

Originally posted by Hymee
Maurice,

I reckon that doesn't look too bad actually. Better than I anticipated. I reckon black-chrome would look good on some cars as well.

Cheers,
Hymee.
Black chrome, os similar would look excellent on a black, titanium, or silver car, I think.
Maybe even on a white one..

Originally posted by canzoomer
Black chrome, os similar would look excellent on a black, titanium, or silver car, I think.
Maybe even on a white one..

maurice i think gold or white would look good on your blue , however gun metal grey or black would really look good on yellow .

Alternatively you could always go for the rainbow effect on the 5 spokes , ha ha ha .

The quality seems to be very high.

YOU could always get your wheels done in your footballs teams favourite colours ( hymee special) maroon and yellow.

Maurice

If everyone spends their money on the wheels , there will be no money for your Stage 1 , 2 or 3 kits .ha ha ha

Coloured wheels are great but wont improve our performance .

MICHAEL

Originally posted by Lock & Load
maurice i think gold or white would look good on your blue , however gun metal grey or black would really look good on yellow .

I agree. Of course you could go totally radical and do purple wheels on yellow!!

Alternatively you could always go for the rainbow effect on the 5 spokes , ha ha ha .

No clown shoes for me , thanks!


YOU could always get your wheels done in your footballs teams favourite colours ( hymee special) maroon and yellow.
Hmm, for us in Edmonton that is green & gold. Go Eskimos!
Mind you our Edmonton Oilers ( hockey team) are blue and red..

Hmmm...
Nah.

The finish looks very nice, but I don't think they accent your car very well, black chrome/gunmetal would be the ticket IMHO.

Maurice, I was looking at the price list from your website today, and noted that you charge $1931-$1999 for these wheels, and have a return credit of $612 for our existing wheels. So assuming we get the plain polished ones, that's a difference of $1319, which seems to me that's a bit of a price increase from the $1000 you originally offered these up for. Have you really decided to increase the price this much?

HOLY ()@# that looks nice!!!!!!
DAMN now I wish I got a red 8 and get wheels and calipers done red!

Originally posted by Omicron
Maurice, I was looking at the price list from your website today, and noted that you charge $1931-$1999 for these wheels, and have a return credit of $612 for our existing wheels. So assuming we get the plain polished ones, that's a difference of $1319, which seems to me that's a bit of a price increase from the $1000 you originally offered these up for. Have you really decided to increase the price this much?
I am counting on the trade-in meaning we have to buy and inventory the wheels in advance.
If we are OK with waiting for the customers wheels to be shipped to us in advance( as in no hurry) , and we don't need to buy them, it is cheaper.

I never liked any wheel color other than silver or in rare cases polished....not a fan of those blue wheels....I do like how you are always thinking of the next thing...keep up the good work!!

BADASS, Maurice. :D


--Landon

The wheels look nice. Good job!

But if you could get blue tires, it would be awosome.

those are gorgeous, wonder what black would loook like on yellow