My original wheels are badly blistered and kerbed (by the previous owner , so much so that I doubt they can be refurbished without a lot of work and filling.
I have now found a set of similar wheels from ebay in much better condition, but a couple of them still have some small areas of blistered lacquer.
Is it possible to restore the finish by hand on wheels that have blistered, or do they need to be sent for a full refurb? Any suggestions on what I should use (a) to clean them up and (b) to look after them in future?
If you have enough time and patience, with care you can probably cosmetically refurb the wheels yourself using aerosol spray paint and clear lacquer. It will be quite difficult to get a good colour match with spot repairs so repainting the whole wheel face would be advisable. You might want to do both wheels on that side of the car so that they match each other.
You need to clean the damaged areas back to clean metal and then smooth off any burrs and fill any remaining scratches and gouges. An etch primer would be the best thing for priming any bare metal. Make sure that the areas to be painted are free from tar spots and brake dust and are keyed/flatted to ensure adequate adhesion for the new paint. Take care around the rim because a poorly adhered paint edge here will lift if water gets under.
A professional refurber will probably be able to provide a deeper, more even and more durable finish because they will remove the tyres and chemically strip and blast clean the whole wheel back to bare metal before rectifying any damage. They will also probably use powder coat and/or 2 pack paints that are baked on and are much more durable than aerosol paints available on the DIY market.
Colour matching plastic centre caps can be difficult if the wheels themselves are coloured using silver powder coat.
A decent set of second hand wheels may work out more economical than paying £40 - £50 per wheel for a professional refurb.
For future protection avoid harsh, acid based wheel cleaners and use a proprietary wheel sealant such as RimWax or Chemical Guys Wheel Guard. Even the cheap 3-in-1 polish/waxes as used on the bodywork are better than nothing if used regularly. “Bilberry” wheel cleaner is one of the best on the market at the moment, it is both safe and a very effective cleaner.
, so much so that I doubt they can be refurbished without a lot of work and filling.