3 piece wheel assembly

[radBMX]

I have a set of Volk mesh wheels that I have been tidying up. It's my first set of 3 piece wheels and I bought them disassembled. Decided to do a test fit today and these bad boys do not want to go back together. Basically I can't get the centres into the barrel or lip, way too tight. Watching clips on YouTube they seem to just drop them in. Is it supposed to be this hard? What's the proper process here?

Many thanks in advance.

[Beaver]

Last set I did (volk racing mesh) took a gentle tap with a rubber mallet but nothing too serious. Got any pictures, worth checking you are putting the centres in the right place.

[radBMX]

They look a little shinier than this now but that's them. I had lined up the lip and inner barrel and was trying to press the centre in from the back. Unfortunately even my rubber mallet wasn't persuasive enough.

[Beaver]

Is perhaps the centre meant to be sandwiched in between the inner and outer lip, rather than pushed in from the back of the inner lip? Sorry if these are obvious/dumb questions

[GregT]

To measure is to know. Got a vernier big enough ?

[Bling]

https://limebug.com/three-piece-wheel-assembly-installation-guide/#:~:text=A Three Piece Wheel %2F Split,mounting surface of the barrel.

Likely same order for yours, has good info on the sealant too which will save headaches later with leaks.

[radBMX]

Excellent thank you, sealant would have been my next question. Mine have a sort of pattern to the back though which wouldn't mate up flush to the barrel so I'm fairly certain the mount in from the back.

[radBMX]

It's just that it's extremely tight and I can't get it to go. Maybe brute force or a bit of time with the sandpaper is the answer.

[Bling]

Yeah looks to be the case then, paint looks thick as, so whipping it off that part of the center that won't be visible, could be all you need to do. I would be tempted to have no paint on the flange that fits to rear of inner barrel and the return that is causing the clearance issues.

Saw these which are similar era by the looks with only slight design differences.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/wheels-tyres/alloy-wheels/listing/4853945095?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwuG1BhCnARIsAFWBUC0ey2XLFidDU0pY56Iwuv_DYYCF0py1gH76ZMmubAAmX1dZoQ-SKOEaAhFTEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[radBMX]

She bald. I think a bit more sanding around there is the ticket though. Thanks for posting that link too, it's good to at least know I'm on the right track. I thought it would be best to come and ask here before I got stressed and started using the big hammer.

[NickJ]

Can you put the lips in the oven and center s in the freezer?

[radBMX]

I forgot to report back on this, but it was successful in the end. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Please enjoy this picture of a wheel in a garden.