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Cal-look/High Performance => Cal-look => Topic started by: restojohnny on March 25, 2019, 04:23:20 am



Title: American racing magnesium torque thrust D spoke revival/restoration
Post by: restojohnny on March 25, 2019, 04:23:20 am
Ok well I bought a 59 semiphore ragtop last week but was after the wheels that Was being used to roll it around since 1995. They were magnesium torque thrust D spoke rims. A few people wondered how I would restore a set of these and I thought about it and decided to do my best keep them dark and gray.  All 4 wheels had paint here and there but 2 of the wheels had some sort of a hard white almost coral type of stuff that grew on it I think maybe lime. I took the 2 wheels that had just paint and alittle of the white stuff on it and carefully stripped the paint away with paint stripper and gently scrubbed the remaining  small areas that had paint with a scotch brite pad very lightly. I then carefully scraped and chipped away all the hard white stuff off and got almost all of it off the 2 wheels.  I then washed both gently with dish soap and water keeping the dark oxidation intact and the 2 wheels came out sweet no paint all dark magnesium metal  with a few light spots from scrubbing it’ll darken in a few weeks.
AS FOUND PIC
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Title: Re: American racing torque thrust D spoke revival/restoration
Post by: restojohnny on March 25, 2019, 04:40:30 am
So now the other 2 wheels had ALOT of that hard white crusty stuff on it. I opted to media blast the 2 wheels and they are clean now but also pitted. Sooo I was thinking of getting them turned on a lathe to remove a majority of the pitting and just Leave the centers as is with a few Pitts in small areas and let them oxidize. Any other suggestions I could possibly do instead of getting them turned on a lathe ?

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Title: Re: American racing magnesium torque thrust D spoke revival/restoration
Post by: henk on March 25, 2019, 11:03:30 am
I would not put them on lathe to take that pitting out.
Magnesium wheels are a strange thing.
If they have that much oxidation i would have them checked on cracks as well.

Henk!!!


Title: Re: American racing magnesium torque thrust D spoke revival/restoration
Post by: restojohnny on March 25, 2019, 14:37:56 pm
Hi henk.  All 4 wheels have no cracks  ;) I’ve had a few mag BRMs that had pitting i had them welded again and put on a lathe they turned out pretty nice but my guy that did them is now retired (he’s 80 now)


Title: Re: American racing magnesium torque thrust D spoke revival/restoration
Post by: 1946vw on March 25, 2019, 21:25:17 pm
I have a lathe that turns 27 inches