any way of refurbishing the basketweaves?

[skr]

the finish is peeling off in a couple places, nothing big but it can be seen at a closer look. and there are a couple of small scratches on the lip on 2 of them.
oh, and my center cap center BMW stickers are yellowish and exfoliating except one that looks brand new, coz it's a new centercap.
So, i wonder what can be done? I serched in the archives and found that there are places that redo the finish. My question is what exactly is done to the weels and, is it possible to do it myself. Oh, and where do i get those stickers from? Does the dealer stock them?
Oh, and another thing. I know i gonna get stuff like: "Just get yourself some new rims" . The thing is i live in pothole country, to be more exact in pothole capital of pothole counry. For example i have had a 6-7 cm deep and 30 cm wide dich on my street through wich i have to go every day for the last 2 months. That can be harsh on 17 inch weels, suspension and my ass.
So i'm stickin to 15 inch , and the baskets have a nice elegant look to them in my opinion. Curently rollin on 215/65/15 front and 225/65/15 rear goodyear eagles.

[SRR2]

I think you're smart in sticking to 15" wheels.

I suppose there's no reason why you can't refinish the wheels yourself; it just depends on how much value you put on their appearance. I live close to Wheel Collision Center (wheelcollisioncenter.com) here in Pennsylvania. I've had them do a few wheels for me and I can vouch for the quality of the finished product. You can't see the difference from one of their refurbished wheels and a new one. But you pay for the privilege. If your wheel is in marginal condition and requires extensive straightening, you will probably pay around half of the price of a new wheel. That included remounting the tire and balancing on their Hunter 9700.

Their process is proprietary. They don't allow non-employees to see the shop, so I can't say what they do. I do know that straightening involves heating the wheel and reshaping it. I don't know how they fill in gouges, but they manage to do that invisibly. Their finishing process is allegedly similar to the OEM process. I can vouch for the results though.

They can refinish the center caps too. Had a couple of them done for $15. The decals are (or were, anyway) available from the dealer.

[Rigmaster]

Sure you can do it yourself!! Get some scotchbrite pads, some good wheel paint and some masking tape. CLean the wheels with some good harsh cleaner (don't worry about the paint), then use the scotchbrite pads on them to get them extra clean, and relatively smooth (sandpaper is OK if you have some really rough spots).

Now, tape off the tires and spray paint them. I usually use Wurth Wheel paint, it used to be readily available for about $18-20 per can- expensive stuff, but well worth it!!! I could do a set of 4 wheels with about 1.5 cans of silver and less than 1 can of clear (optional).

The center caps can be refurbed as well, clean and paint them, peel the old roundel off and get new ones (BMA or Stealer).

You will have a good sense of accomplishment, and if you screw it up, you can sand them down and do it all over again!!!

Bret.

[skr]

thanks a lot for the input guys, sounds like a nice DIY job . I'll try it first on one of my winter rims. yea, i have a total of 9 basketweaves, summer set, winter set and spare. i'll post the final results when first one done.

[DrewZ]

It's not easy to refinish OEM basketweaves. If you're only touching up the lips, try this technique (http://www.bmwtips.com/tipsntricks/wheel-repair/wheel-scuff-repair.htm). Repainting the entire OEM wheel, with all the nooks,crannies and crevices is difficult with a can of spray paint.

And on an unrelated note, are you sure about your tire sizes? They seem way too tall for an E34. Stock tire size is 225/60/15.
DrewZ (http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?p=76003#poststop)
6-speed Touring
http://members.aol.com/apzjd/16RKsummersmall.jpg (http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:hJrLnX8BR1sJ:www.bmwe34.net/ASP/DURegistry/RegDetail.asp%3Fid%3D100+%22Brett+Anderson%22+carc ass&hl=en&lr=&strip=1)


the finish is peeling off in a couple places, nothing big but it can be seen at a closer look. and there are a couple of small scratches on the lip on 2 of them.
oh, and my center cap center BMW stickers are yellowish and exfoliating except one that looks brand new, coz it's a new centercap.
So, i wonder what can be done? I serched in the archives and found that there are places that redo the finish. My question is what exactly is done to the weels and, is it possible to do it myself. Oh, and where do i get those stickers from? Does the dealer stock them?
Oh, and another thing. I know i gonna get stuff like: "Just get yourself some new rims" . The thing is i live in pothole country, to be more exact in pothole capital of pothole counry. For example i have had a 6-7 cm deep and 30 cm wide dich on my street through wich i have to go every day for the last 2 months. That can be harsh on 17 inch weels, suspension and my ass.
So i'm stickin to 15 inch , and the baskets have a nice elegant look to them in my opinion. Curently rollin on 215/65/15 front and 225/65/15 rear goodyear eagles.

[SRR2]

215 x .65 = 139.8
225 x .60 = 135.0

3.5% difference -- the tires are nearly the same height.