Style 42 wheel rehab?

[rwthomas1]

I have a set of straight but "cosmetically challenged" style 42 wheels on my 540I. I got the wheels used, the corrosion started under the two piece mating of the hub and rim and ate out under the clearcoat of the rim on all of them. Its pretty ugly what aluminum will do when corrosion happens under a coating.

I have experimented with sanding and then polishing the rim/lip sections and they come out nice. Paint stripper eats the remaining clearcoat easily. The hubs/centers of the wheels are in great shape, no need to refinish, but the trouble I'm having is getting close to the hub/rim intersection and not tearing up the good finish on the hub.

It appears that the rim/hub could simply be unbolted? The bolts do not appear to penetrate the rim at all, they look "blind" into a thick center section of the rim. Can these wheels be disassembled?

If I can get them apart, polishing/refinishing the rim itself will be much easier. If anyone has done this I would love to hear about it.

I know that I can pay a shop like Rimpro to do this. Trouble is for the money I could also just buy a new set of aftermarket wheels.

Thanks, RT

[ME_264]

I followed the DIY that I found by searching here on Style 5s.

I have Style 19s which are two piece but have through hole bolts/screws.

First I marked them on the backside so I could line them up. I unscrewed them, and then punched them out. I then very carefully heated the rim with my torch (finger outside the rim, heat inside, never hot enough to burn my finger). Using a mallet and a 2X4 block I popped the inner piece out.

Did what you did - 60 grit to 2000 grit, rubbing compound, polish, clear coat.

Went back together with black rtv and some tlc. Looks good to me!

[sktn77a]

Yes, you can take them apart no problem but I recommend a torque wrench to put them back together and opposite/diagonal tightening of the bolts. Also, make sure the mating surface between the inner and outer rim components are perfectly clean and flat (no corrosion and pefectly square).

[piperguy]

Had the wheels on our 530i (17" M sport, not sure what the series is, sorry) refinished by an outfit called Alloy Wheel Repair. I think they're nationwide, has a very impressive website. The tech that came to the house and picked up the wheels said they do all the BMW, Benz and Audi dealers in the Balt-Wash area. They did all 4 wheels, straightened, checked, repaired (2 of the wheels were really bad with corrosion) and paint and clear coat for $150.00 / wheel. Lifetime warranty on the finish. Came back looking better than new. Was done 2 years ago. I have one wheel that some corrosion is starting to reappear. Called them and told them and he picked up wheel (I've got the winter set on now) and re-did it no charge under warranty. Included taking tire off and remounting.

Another option, FWIW

[rwthomas1]

Thanks for the input. Actually I was thinking of simply separating the rims, stripping and polishing, then reassembling. Aluminum doesn't corrode badly if simply left exposed, just gets a grey oxide on it, thats it. Easy to keep shiny if you are willing to polish them every time you wash the car. Its the clearcoat that screws you. Its great until it fails or poultice corrosion starts when stuff gets underneath it. Thats what killed the rims I have.

RT

[JimLev]

have them powder coated with a clear if you want the polished aluminum look.