Art project IV - Disassembly and sodablast

So today I decided to disassemble the Work CV wheel. I had started on polishing the lips a few months back, so I had the hardware taken off. The wheel was in horrible condition though, as I had left it sitting outside. Anyway, it was a really sunny and warm day today so I left the wheel to sit in the sun for about a half hour. With the Work CV, the wheel pieces were arranged with the centre-piece sandwiched between the inner and outer:



You can see the factory sealant between the pieces. I left it in the sun to warm up the sealant so it could come apart more readily. It worked, with some mallet persuasion :)



It was surprisingly easy to take off; the BBS RS wheel I had disassembled about a year ago was impossible (I ended up taking it to a wheel specialist to knock it off for me). The centre-piece took a bit more effort to knock off the inner section though (sealant may have cooled down) but a couple of hard whacks and it was off:



Absolutely no dramas at all, save for the outer piece hitting me in the shin (and bruising it haha) when I was knocking it out. Gotta be more careful next time.

I took all the pieces (including the bits for my BBS RS) to a sodablaster (Advanced Soda Blasting located in Blacktown) to completely strip them all back to clean metal. They'll do an infinitely better job than what I can with a drill and flapper wheel. I'm expected to pick them up tomorrow afternooon :)

Oh, and I also received these in the mail earlier this week :D



I've also decided to only do two wheels. Three wheels will take too long to complete and will also take up too much space. So I'll be ditching the rusted steelie...

Art project III - What to use as wheel display stands?

I've been thinking about this for a long time. What can I use to hold up the wheels? I did some quick searching and remembered that there have been examples of 3-piece wheels being used as trophies for some car shows. This is a fantastic example:





It's simple, robust, and just looks perfect for a 3-piece wheel. Only problem is that it could be expensive to make as I'm not handy with a welder, nor do I have contacts to get sheet metal readily.

Another cool example that I found used existing car parts:




I don't have spare hubs but I do have rotors lying around, but again, the same issue applies here that was in the first one - welding is required and I'll need 3 of each part to make the stand, which I don't have at home.

I've posted up my dilemma online on some discussion boards I frequent (VWWatercooled Australia, and Wheel-Whores.com). I got some helpful feedback from the former - using wood! I gathered the ideas that were discussed and came up with what you see below (bottom of the picture):



Not very space efficient but it will do the job and will do it cheaply as I can just buy some pieces of MDF from Bunnings and saw + nail away as I've got the tools at home already. Basically it'll look like a mini lectern with a long base. The wheel will be mounted up on the wood plate on the top, angled at around 70 degrees. The wheel will be bolted on through the plate (I will drill some holes). The stand will roughly be 30 cm high, and the base will be long enough to support the weight of the wheel without falling over. Basically there will be three main pieces, and each of them will be nailed in together. I'm still deciding on what the finish of the stand will be. Easy thing to do is to paint each of them black. More time-consuming would be to finish them in a way that is indicative to the wheel they're displaying:

Splintered/aged wood for the rusted stage:


Raw but sanded wood for the prep stage:


Varnished wood (pine? beech? Any wood that has that ring appearance) for the completed stage:


I like where this is heading so far!

Art project II - Changes

OK I haven't yet started on the project yet (I gotta get my car running first) but I've decided to change a few things. First of all, 4 wheels may be a little excessive and seeing as the venue of this creative depiction project is to be at my regular tutorial classroom, space will be limited. I'm gonna reduce it down to 3 wheels; the sandblasted and prep stage will be combined together. I've decided not to use the SSR Reverse Mesh as I don't have that wheel in my possession.

I did a new sketch:


All 3 will have props. The rusted stage will have a bottle labeled hydrogen peroxide. The prep stage will have assorted sandpaper in different grits. The completed stage will have a ratchet and spanner as well as polishing paste and a rag. The reason for including the ratchet and spanner is that I'm thinking of assembling the polished lip for the completed stage mid-way through the exhibition, after I have a decent amount of "creative input" from others. I don't really want the lips to be streaked with paint either!

I've got approximately a fortnight to knock this project out. Sometime this week I'll have to get the Work Equips and BBS RS sodablasted and start on the polishing. I'll also have some fun destroying the steelie!

Art project - Progression of rebuilding a wheel

I'm currently enrolled in a BSc course, but as a submajor, I've enrolled in teaching units. The first unit I'm taking under this submajor is "Learning and Creativity". As a part of the unit, I have to produce a creative depiction of what learning and creativity means to me - as a student and, eventually, as a teacher.

I've chosen automotive "art" as my outlet, using wheels as my medium. There's a whole range of things that made me choose this - it'll be unique (comparing with others in my class), it's related to something I'm passionate as well as knowledgeable about, and strangely it really does encompass some of my views in successful learning as well as the possibility to introduce creativity into a teaching lesson. Basically, I'll be creating a display involving a number of wheels through the stages of a rebuild, from being a used (battered and neglected) wheel, through repair and preparation to the final stage of painting and polishing.

Here's a quick sketch of what I'd like to exhibit. These were just ideas I had in my head since Thursday:



I think displaying 4 wheels would illustrate best the 4 main stages when building a wheel. I have 3 different wheels in-house already (from my "collection"); the SSR Reverse Mesh is going to be provided by a friend who offered minutes after my Facebook post about this project haha. Here are the actual wheels in photos:

My Mk4 Golf 15" standard wheels (made from steel so can be rusted out for that "used" effect). Not a 3-piece wheel but it'll best show the tatty-look I'm going for, since I don't think any 3-piece wheels are made in mild steel.


SSR Reverse Mesh - they'll be sandblasted completely, reducing the finish the bare metal with a finish similar to being sanded down by ~100 grit sandpaper (coarse).


Work Equips - these will also be sandblasted, but I'll be following it up with some filler for the centres (if required) and primer. The lips will be partially polished (to show that graduation effect from sandblasted to bare metal to polished up to a mirror finish).


BBS RS - those who know me, know that I consider these the ultimate set of wheels, and it's no surprise I want to use them to portray the finished product. They will be sandblasted, primered and painted in standard wheel silver, and the lips will be polished to a mirror finish.


I can't wait to get this started!

BBS RSII Part 5 - Premature leave

I ended up selling the wheels soon after SEDF, as well as the adapters. I kept the tyres though. Looks like the big plans I had for the RSIIs ended up being abandoned. Ah well, another set of wheels surely...