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AR Wheels - finally the correct "patina"

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angelfj1

angelfj1

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AR Wheels - finally the correct "patina"

This morning I removed the shroud from the 250. It has been months since I have taken a close look at the wheels. I was very pleased to notice the nice gray oxidation on the spokes. Back in the 70's we would see may TR's and other LBC's racing at SCCA events. This is the original look that I have been trying to achieve.

Cheers and Happy Easter

Frank

Before
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After

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Re: AR Wheels - finally the correct "patina"

Frank-

If you want, just ship the wheels over to me and I'll be happy to put some more natural patina on them for you...

My guess is you clearcoated the rims to keep them in good shape?

Cheers!

Randy
 
Re: AR Wheels - finally the correct "patina"

Hey Randy, in May I need to look at some equipment in Round Rock. How far do live from there? Maybe I can swing by and we can have a brew and talk TR's? :smile:


Frank
 
Re: AR Wheels - finally the correct "patina"

Frank-

Absolutely stop by if you get the chance. We're on the west outskirts of Houston, about 2 hours from Round Rock.

Randy
 
Re: AR Wheels - finally the correct "patina"

Frank,

Are those 15*5 or the larger 15*5.5 or 15*6?

What type of prep work did you do to make them look so nice?

Thanks, Mike
 
Re: AR Wheels - finally the correct "patina"

Frank,

I have a set of the AR's on a TR6, I might put them on the new TR250 instead of Rostyles. I'm running blackwall tires with mine but wondered what redlines would look like the the AR's. Not bad. Still think I want to have a set of Rostyles, would you be interested in a very TR250 grill in trade for the Rostyles?

Marv
 
Re: AR Wheels - finally the correct "patina"

Frank, If I remember correctly, you previously mention that you are not using inner tubes, and I think you said that you used a coating of paint to help seal the inside of the wheels. Are Your AR's made to seal on the tire lip. I have a set of magnesium AR's on my 250, that I am using inner tubes with and would like eliminate the tubes. Vince
 
Re: AR Wheels - finally the correct "patina"

<span style="text-decoration: underline">Are those 15*5 or the larger 15*5.5 or 15*6?</span>

<span style="font-weight: bold">15 x 5.5</span>

<span style="text-decoration: underline">What type of prep work did you do to make them look so nice?</span>

<span style="font-weight: bold">glass beading at reduced pressure (40-50 psi) to remove paint and oxidation. Then we mounted the wheels on a make-shift spindle and spun them up while holding aluminum oxide paper against the rim area. First 200, then 400, and finally 800. Originally I wanted to chuck them in a lathe and take a shallow cut on the rim face. However, I could not find a lathe large enough. After we finished polishing the rims, we masked the spokes and cleared the rims with a U/V resistant clear-coat. This was really very labor intensive, maybe 14 - 16 hrs invested in each wheel. You really have to use restraint in restoring these wheels because too much pressure while blasting can cause a pit to turn into a crater and a crater into a fracture. <span style="text-decoration: underline">However, I am very pleased with the results.</span> </span>

<span style="text-decoration: underline">would you be interested in a very TR250 grill in trade for the Rostyles? </span>

<span style="font-weight: bold">thank you, but I really don't need a grill</span>

<span style="text-decoration: underline">Are Your AR's made to seal on the tire lip. </span>

<span style="font-weight: bold">My ARW's are not special in any way. I bought a basket case TR-4 to get them back in 1983. They had been painted silver. We cleaned them up and re-painted them medium gray/clear and mounted a set of Michelin X tires with radial tubes. <span style="text-decoration: underline">That was 1985 and the Michelins were on until last year. </span> I had put approximately 30K miles on them in 22 years and there was still a lot of tread left. I was concerned about the tires failing due to dry rot so I replaced them with the BFG red-lines last summer. These tires are tubeless. Some people add tubes but this is not necessary. Since magnesium wheels are poreous, we painted the inside of the rims with epoxy paint. Nothing fancy, got it at the despot! This has slowed down the loss of pressure. Over the winter ( 4months ) I did lose about 7-8 psi on average anyway. So, even with the epoxy paint, you should check your tire pressure weekly. I believe the red-lines look very good on a 250.</span>
 
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