Restoring Mag wheels

search "cromodora" and "paint" you'll get a half dozen good threads on this.

I've done mine twice, and I'm still not 100% happy with the results. I would say this, stay away from powder coating on Cromodoras, as, at least in my experience, you'll never get close to the right color.

Dave

 

Your's is a wonderful story of life with a Dino. Your family has a lot of history with this car. Be sure & preserve just a bit of that history as you continue the restoration. I guess you just have to decide if those "small blemishes" project a lovely patina, or are a show-stopping pitfall.
Good luck.

 

If by "blemishes" you mean paint chips/dings, Griot's silver wheel paint was a perfect match on mine. Whether the silver color on my wheels is perfect stock match, I have no clue- they had been repainted by the former owner. The Griot's paint unfortunately comes only in a spray can- you'll have to spray some in a small bottle, etc to make it workable for chip touchup.

 

If you are talking about the factory standard or optional wheels, you should be able to find someone to do them for you if you don't want to do them yourself.

If you are talking about REAL mags - I'd get rid of them, at least for street use. I have a set of original 1970s REAL Minilite mags and they are a real pain. The oxidize and flake or powder out, they are porous (couldn't keep tire pressure for more than 2 days), and they are brittle. I have done the standard things with them - interior surface paint to stop the leaking (seemed to work for only about 1 month), tempered bending to straighten the tire contact/bead areas, etc., but these are temporary fixes at best, and possibly dangerous.

Mark

 

Our Cromodoras are "REAL mags," are they not?

 

I have magnesium wheels on my Lotus and wrote down this note to myself some time ago to remind me how to treat magnesium wheels. Should work on Ferrari wheels too!

1. Remove all WD40, etc., with lacquer thinner.
2. Apply paint remover, let soak, and remove with plastic scrapers.
3. Rinse thoroughly.
4. Wear rubber gloves.
5. Mix Alumiprep 33 (1 part Alumiprep to 5 parts water for light oxidation, I part Alumiprep to 2 to 3 parts water for heavy oxidation).
6. Brush the Alumiprep solution on the magnesium or aluminum item, scrubbing oxidized parts with synthetic abrasive. DO NOT ALLOW TO DRY.
7. Rinse thoroughly until water sheets and does not bead.
8. While surface still wet, apply Alodine 1201 with a brush. DO NOT ALLOW TO DRY. About 2 to 5 minutes treatment time. Surface should turn gold.
9. Rinse thoroughly with cold water until water sheets and does not bead.
10. Follow with a warm water rinse (not over 140O F).
11. Let dry for 24 hours. Handle carefully at this stage.
12. Paint when dry.
Note: Small aluminum parts can be dipped in Alodine + 2 parts water for treatment.

 

Sorry, but the Cromos are NOT real Mags. You haven't "lived" until you've had to deal with REAL mags - not suitable at all for normal street use.

Mark

 

In my experience, the problem with magnesium wheels (where the word "mag" comes from) is that corrosion intrudes into the core of the substance, unlike aluminum, whose corrosion seems to stop at the surface and actually prevent further intrusion into the metal. Poor paint adhesion or a scratch could cause very serious problems on a true mag wheel, if not attended to, so careful inspection and periodic maintenance is important. They shouldn't be stored wet. The trade-off is that mags are truly light. With care, one can use them on the street - the optional Campagnolos are magnesium.

 

And guess what happens in the event of fire in the engine compartment (or elsewhere) if you're on magnesium wheels...

 

My understanding is that Campys and Cromodoras are both magnesium-aluminum alloys, whereas most "alloy" wheels made today are pure aluminum and are correspondingly heavier.

Presumably the more of one metal you have in the alloy the more like that metal the wheel will be--the high magnesium ones will be lighter but more prone to corrosion if exposed to air at all.

Unless there is a metallurgist who has analysed these wheels' content on this site we are just guessing.