Refinishing Sport Techno Wheels

I've been debating what to do with my wheels for a while. I'm currently running 19" Antera 343 wheels (which I love) but I really want to go back to 18" wheels mostly to improve ride quality. The Antera's are strong (I think) but pretty heavy. I have a set of Sport Techno's but I'd prefer if they were a little more flashy. I've been debating between getting them stripped and polished, or painted Hyper Silver. There is a good local shop that can do both, but they have warned that the outcome of a polish on a cast wheel isn't always perfect and can vary from wheel to wheel. I was also considering just buying a new set of 18"s but so far I haven't found the right combination of light, strong, and affordable. Since I've dropped the Victor Equipment wheels from the list my top choice is probably the OZ Ultraleggeras. But I'd like to see what I can do to improve the look of the Sport Techno's first. This is how they look now but I'd like a little more flash. I like the polished aluminium look on my Antera's. Has anyone gotten their Sport Techno's (or even other stock rims) polished? If so, how did it turn out?

I think the sport technos look awesome - just refinish in the original color I hate chrome / bright wheels on a pcar - makes it look so dated

Thanks. I like the Sport Technos too. But when I swap them with my Antera's everyone (myself included) agrees that they look nicer. Part of that is likely due to the increased size (19") but the polished lip also helps. I wouldn't want anything as bright as chrome and I'd prefer a polished lip over an entire wheel but that isn't feasible on the Sport Techno's because of their shape.

How about forgeline?

Just an update in case anyone is interested. I decided to refinish my Sport Techno's myself. I stripped and polished the faces and painted the 'shadows' with Plasti Dip. I may get them professionally painted in the future depending on how the Plasti Dip stands up. All 4 are polished and I just finished painting the first one. It was a huge amount of work and I wouldn't recommend it unless you like sanding and polishing. It has probably taken about 8-10 hours per wheel. Started with 180 grit sandpaper and went all the way to 2000 before switching to polish. They aren't perfect but good from a few feet. I'm extremely happy with the results though. Hoping to paint the next 3 this week and get them on the car soon. I might try another colour Plastic Dip in the future since it is pretty easy to apply. Most of the time went into masking with electrical tape. I'll take a better picture when I have them on the car. The shine is hard to capture.

You did a good job but the painting changes the whole look of the wheel and hides what I like about the Sport Technos. I'm glad I saw this as I was thinking of doing something similar to mimic the wheels on the Club Coupe But seeing how they turn out after painting the shadows I think I'll hold off.

Thanks. It definitely changes the look of the wheel. Actually the picture of the Club Coupe above was one of the reasons why I decided to go down this path. I'm not 100% sold yet either but the Plastic Dip is (apparently) removable so I can always go back to silver. I definitely wanted a polished finish though since they were otherwise a little boring on my silver car (IMO) and I wanted to get closer to the look of my 19" Anteras. And the wheels were in bad shape so I had to do something. Actually I might try mounting both a black wheel and a silver wheel on the car and see which looks better. If I can get a good picture I'll post it here. Other options I considered were - hyper silver paint - polish the entire wheel (too much work) - polish the face and leave the shadow the original silver (looks pretty good too) - plastic dip the shadow black but with a metallic gloss - plastic dip the shadow black but with a red metallic gloss - professionally powder coat the shadow a dark red to match the tail lights - professionally powder coat the shadow metallic black On the bright side the Plastic dip makes it possible to try different things. But taping the wheel is a PITA.

A few new pictures. The first one is of the wheels placed infront of the car just to get an idea of how each would look. The front wheel is the wheel from above. The rear is after polishing the face but prior to painting black. I like the finish on the black Plasti Dip and it doesn't really come out in the picture. Also the polished face isn't that obvious in the overcast lighting but I'm very happy with both approaches. I think I'm going to try the black shadow for now. To me it looks a little more modern and more aggressive. Just 3 more to paint I'd still probably consider a deep red/crimson colour to match the rear lights, but that is probably a little too blingy. The second picture is my car as it is now with 19" wheels with the same lighting.

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+996 Kinda reminds me of cheaper generic 5 star wheels with the black background that you see on regular cars like Neon's for example...

Wow The polish and black out really give the Technos a dainty look. I love the look. Good job.

Thanks. I finished the remaining wheels today and mounted on the car. And raised the car as high as my suspension would allow (H&R). I'm very happy with the final look and the ride improvement. I'll comment more on that once I get a few more miles on the 18"s. Sadly my front bumper now rubs on my driveway if I approach at the wrong angle but I can't go any higher. I think the plasti Dip looks good and the black gives a lot of contrast. The wheels look like new. The paint job isn't perfect but at least it will be easy to redo if/when necessary.

I think you did a nice job. I've always loved the Sport Techno wheel and I like the polished and painted look. Now get some polished center caps!

Thanks Dennis. It was a lot of work, but at least I can say I did it myself. Good catch on the center caps. I thought about that earlier but I haven't starting looking for a solution yet. If anyone knows a good source of aluminum polished centers with the Porsche emblem please let me know

Better picture (I think) for posterity. So far I'm very happy with the new look and won't be going back to my old 19"s

www.suncoastparts.com

Looks good

maybe its me, but it almost makes it look like the silver is a hubcap with the black steel wheel behind it. not my style but if you like, enjoy

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lol. I hadn't really thought of the hubcap look. I don't see that at all myself but I admit to a little bias since I spent a lot of time on it. Thanks. I liked it when I had first put them on the car, and the look has really grown on me. I'm happy with the look, and even more happy with the improvement in ride quality (over my 19"s). I'll post a little more on that topic shortly. Having said that, I really like the new 18" wheels that Wheel Dynamics just released. Just wish they were a little wider especially in the front (8.5" front and 11" rear would be nice).

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Unfortunately we will only have front in 8" and rears in 10" at this time, we hope to have 11" rears sometime towards the end of the year but of course that will depend on how the first batch goes. We will also record the amount of interest we gather from Turbo & C4S owners. The Good News is that they are Rotary Spun and therefore a better made wheel over the previously sold 18" 808-Series which are completely sold out at this time.