FUCH Wheel restoration

[Bootsy]

Nice work Mike

[dean1057]

They look great Mike.
Can't beat a nicely detailed Fuchs.

[deano]

Thanks for the recommendation, Mike, appreciated.

Ooooh, these are nice.....

About 20 years ago, I had my perfectly decent anodised 6x15's 'polished' by a then well-known company. This was paid for by a well-known maker of wheel cleaning chemical, whose product had completely ruined the anodised finish.

Had I known anything about anything back then, I perhaps would have tried to keep the original anodising, or had them re-anodised, instead of opting for the rather impressive in-my-young-eyes shiny look ! - doh!

Thy are still sitting in a cupboard all polished and lovely sans anodising - I wonder if these would benefit from a protective lacquer coating, and if it could go straight over the black paint as well as the polished sections after a bit of light scuffing ? Presumably, we are talking a grand to strip and re-do them, but a lot less to just apply lacquer?

Hopefully, by the end of the summer, they will be rolling around on the roads....

[MikeyC]

Thanks for all the positive feedback. It's nice to be able to bring these wheels back to life.

[dean1057]

These are the set of 15" 7 & 8s I had done at Lee Mayor Restorations.
They are that nice I've never mounted any tyres......silly isn't it.

[210bhp]

Here’s an unrestored Fuchs wheel never touched since it was made in the 70’s. I had some correspondence with Harvey Weidman in the USA a few years ago on the most common Fuchs restoration mistakes. He is regarded by many as the premiere Fuchs restoration expert for accuracy. The most common errors on the front, he said, was painting the wheel nut recesses black and getting the height of the black on the petals wrong.
A multitude of inaccuracies on the rear also occur mainly due to the original ‘dipping’ method against the more modern ‘spray painting’.







Regards
Mike

[dean1057]

Bloody hell Mike, you're keen.
Mine are downmarked, my nut areas are black.

[Lightweight_911]

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There's a good reason that the nut recesses should be left unpainted - it's to ensure that when you tighten the nuts to the specified torque they actually achieve that value & remain at that setting ...

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[210bhp]

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There's a good reason that the nut recesses should be left unpainted - it's to ensure that when you tighten the nuts to the specified torque they actually achieve that value & remain at that setting ...

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Exactly.....

Regards
Mike

[theorangeperil]

Slightly O/T sorry but can anyone recommend what to properly clean fuchs with? I did ask on another thread but never got a response.
Mine have the RSR finish done by Nick, I've never cleaned them other than a quick once over with a sponge since I've had them but I'm thinking I ought do it properly to at some point. The non-shiny bit of the rim seems to pick up staining.

[Lightweight_911]

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I've had a few sets of Harvey Weidman's RSR-finished wheels in the past & followed his recommendations - but it was a long tme ago !

Make sure the wheels are cold (ie not just after returning from a spirited drive).

Hose them first with cold water then use a neutral eco-friendly detergent - diluted with plenty of water.

Hose them again with plenty of cold water then dry them off.

Apply a thin coating of Vaseline to the petals & buff with a soft cloth (eg microfibre) straight away.



However, everyone will have their own preferred method ...

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[theorangeperil]

Thanks Andy, I will certainly give that a go.

[32FlatSix]

Can anyone advise what I should expect to pay for four wheels and centre caps to be sprayed a body colour ( Guards / India red ) once prepared post anodising, generally the same way as originally, so petals except bolts holes, inside the rim and back surface except mounting face? I'm assuming there's work to mask off the outer rim accurately , wipe clean, etch prime then 2K top coat.

[210bhp]

Can anyone advise what I should expect to pay for four wheels and centre caps to be sprayed a body colour ( Guards / India red ) once prepared post anodising, generally the same way as originally, so petals except bolts holes, inside the rim and back surface except mounting face? I'm assuming there's work to mask off the outer rim accurately , wipe clean, etch prime then 2K top coat.

Hello,
I think there are at least four contacts mentioned on this thread who might do this work. Perhaps a call to each would give you food for thought.

Regards
Mike

[MikeyC]

A few photos of the 2 sets of '73 6J x 15" flat 6's that I've just completed full restoration on this week.