Open Road

Hi All

So here a quick question about stock wheels. As it so happens, they are getting a little difficult to come by these days. The rears on my 91 are in terrible shape, so I guess it is refurbishing time. Has anybody had good luck refurbishing D90s?

This shop sounds pretty good, but I don't believe the D90s were made by Fuchs.
https://www.fuchsrestoration.com/

Also found several really postive references to this guy doing good work on P-wheels:
https://ferdinandmagazine.com/weidman-p ... estoration
https://www.facebook.com/p/Weidmans-Whe ... 762617343/

As usual, any response is appreciated!

Sazerac wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2024 8:08 pm Hi All

So here a quick question about stock wheels. As it so happens, they are getting a little difficult to come by these days. The rears on my 91 are in terrible shape, so I guess it is refurbishing time. Has anybody had good luck refurbishing D90s?

This shop sounds pretty good, but I don't believe the D90s were made by Fuchs.
https://www.fuchsrestoration.com/

Also found several really postive references to this guy doing good work on P-wheels:
https://ferdinandmagazine.com/weidman-p ... estoration
https://www.facebook.com/p/Weidmans-Whe ... 762617343/

As usual, any response is appreciated!

Define "terrible shape"... Do they need welding and a lathe? If it's just finish then media blast (no sand), then have a competent body shop spray with the correct color. Nothing special about D90s, they're a cast, painted wheel, no Porsche expertise required.

I would want to make sure they are round first. Get them straightened if necessary before refinishing.

Good points.

My operating assumption was that finding somebody in the Porsche service community would likely yield a service provider who knows the correct paint/color. Also, they would have probably already worked on such wheels, so they would no immediately how to handle/what to do. That being said, I agree that there is no real special Porsche knowledge needed.

Terrible means: (1) botched refinishing operation (finished over dirt in some places) and (2) bad curb rash on edges of rear wheels. So, I would guess stripping, welding and repainting is needed. I "think" they are straight. But, yeah, that should indeed be the first check!

Sazerac wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 5:05 am I "think" they are straight. But, yeah, that should indeed be the first check!

If you have a good dial indicator and attachment mechanism it isn’t hard to gather 2-axis runout measurements inside and outside.

Had my D90s powder coated black, don’t have them or pics

Modern 'take' on D90s or just fugly?

Cheese Grater Wheels.

P for “Porsche”? Mounted on a GTi?

No D90 DNA present.

hessank wrote: ↑Wed May 01, 2024 10:01 am Modern 'take' on D90s or just fugly?

"B"

Those wheels are Pirelli P Slots, OEM on certain 80's VW Golfs. I believe they predated the D90s.

Interesting, Fred. What is perhaps the most interesting to me are the center caps, which look like Porsche Reprodcutions? Certain part numbers of OEM center caps have become impossible to find.

However, I am not looking for different wheels. I am interested in anybody who has experience in repainting/repairing original D90s.

I have a friend who re-furbished his D90's on a '91 GT. He used Oven Cleaner to remove the anodization (I've done this with anodized aluminum trim on a classic BMW). He then sanded 2 or 3 times with reduced grit wet or dry paper (wet, I believe), ending with 2500 or so. Final polishing with rubbing compound.
Gary

Gary, hope all is well, and thanks for chiming in.

As I understand, D90s are painted. The challenge for me would be to weld up some curb rash and repaint in OEM color.

Now, the CS wheels (and the like) with the anodized finish are a whole different story and the finishing is really difficult to clean up and re-anodize as I understand.

Gary Knox wrote: ↑Thu May 09, 2024 10:16 am I have a friend who re-furbished his D90's on a '91 GT. He used Oven Cleaner to remove the anodization (I've done this with anodized aluminum trim on a classic BMW). He then sanded 2 or 3 times with reduced grit wet or dry paper (wet, I believe), ending with 2500 or so. Final polishing with rubbing compound.
Gary

This is similar to how I have restored a lot of aluminum trim and my polished manhole covers. Although, I used a 5% lye solution (5% Red Devil lye drain cleaner/95% distilled water) rather than oven cleaner to dissolve the anodized layer. For wheels, an oven cleaner may take longer but be easier because you can just hit the face and not bathe the whole wheel.

Either way, you need to monitor the dissolving because once the solution eats the anodized layer it will eat into the aluminum.

Once the anodized surface is gone, I sanded with wet 400, then 800, then 1200. Following that, I had the most success polishing with Mother's aluminum polish. It may take four of five passes and a lot of elbow grease before getting a truly mirror finish. I wash off the polish residue with a soft towel and highly diluted Simple Green and wipe this off.

My final step is a product called Boeshield-T9, which is a protectant for aluminum developed by Boeing (available on Amazon). This puts on a strong, clear protective coating. I reapply this once a year and it keeps the wheels shiny and protected from oxidation.

Matt