Vial Wheel Restoration

Amateur restoration of 13x6 Vial wheels. I bought these in a bundle of E21 parts. They were in decent shape and only one has a slight bend and damage. But I already have a set of 320is wheels so this was an opportunity to have a DIY wheel resto and get the set I really want.

My original idea was to have a silver lip with Nogaro Silver center. Nogaro is an optional color on factory E30 325i and M3 Style 5 wheels. It's a dark grey metallic. But when looking at colors I decided to go a few shades lighter so it wasn't such a contrast with the Wurth silver. I really like my choice.

Note: I am a total amateur with painting and wheel repair. I've painted quite a few auto parts with varying results. Because of my amateur status I don't have painting equipment. I used off-the-shelf spray paint from major retailers.

Mock-Up
Photoshop of how I want them to look.
Mock-Up
Photoshop of how I want them to look.
Original
Scrubbing and cleaning from their original condition.
Original
Scrubbing and cleaning from their original condition.
Original
Scrubbing and cleaning from their original condition.
Original
Scrubbing and cleaning from their original condition.
Bend
One wheel has this slight bend in the inner lip. The local wheel repair shops say they can't fix a 13" wheel. I might have to try this one myself.
Bend
One wheel has this slight bend in the inner lip. The local wheel repair shops say they can't fix a 13" wheel. I might have to try this one myself.
Filler
All four have some knicks and dings but the bent wheel needs the most work. This is a Bondo Spot Putty that worked OK. I would not recommend it for the small dings. I went a little overboard with it here too. The end result was pretty good.
Filler
All four have some knicks and dings but the bent wheel needs the most work. This is a Bondo Spot Putty that worked OK. I would not recommend it for the small dings. The end result was pretty good.
Sanding
The bent wheel may have been refinished at one point. It looks like black primer under the silver paint.
Sanding
A quick rub down with 220 grit to take the sheen off.
Primer
Primer
This is the bent wheel with all the filler. There are a few remaining low spots that I should have filled but it's good enough.
Silver Coat
First coats of Wurth Silver Wheel Paint. Something went wrong with the cans of Wurth spray paint. Instead of a glossy smooth finish like a factory BMW wheel they left this textured coating. The powder is not adhered very well either and wipes off without much effort. But I actually love the textured finish on the center and will try to preserve it. A happy accident! The rim should be smooth silver though.
Silver Coat
This is the result of wet-sanding the textured Wurth Silver Wheel Paint using water and 800 grit sandpaper. I'd prefer to have some more gloss and metal flake to it. And I can't say that's not primer showing through. I'm going to go over the wheel with a different Wurth can and see if I can get some glossy paint to show.
Silver Coat
Close-up of the accidental textured center.
Grey Coat
Grey Coat
Grey Coat