Bill C. writes: The first thing I did was to open up all the cracks bigger so the filler would adhere better. I used my high speed grinder with a tree type ’burr“ and ground the cracks wider. The plastic or composite the wheel is made of shrunk badly where the 4 chrome rings would go, so I figured I would fill them also. It was more than twice the width of the rings and I could not figure any easy way to make them fit the way the factory did or whoever made them for the factory. I tapered all 4 places where the rings go to help the filler hold on better.
I bought the 4 minute JB Weld to fill the cracks with and with that I covered my dining room table with newspaper and mixed up the JB Weld. I used a regular body filler application tool cut in two so it was about an inch wide to apply the filler.
Even the 4 minute filler sags some if you put it on a little thick. I kept turning the wheel over and let the filler sag the other way until it began to set up.
I let the wheel stand overnight to be sure it was cured.
The next day I used my Dremel tool with the barrel type sanding disc to remove the excess filler and smooth it out. I just kept applying the filler each day until the cracks were filled and sanded down. I left the area where the rings go just a little low thinking I could finish it with regular body filler.
Fortunately, I have a brother that has a body shop and he ended up finishing up the wheel and even painted it for me.
