DIY: Polish your factory wheels, $70 each.....
08-28-2004 | 10:42 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Metatron
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 7,284
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From: A Pacific Island.
DIY: Polish your factory wheels, $70 each.....
Bought 4 'kerbed' stock painted rims on ebay, about $60 each.... 
.
Taught myself to polish, bought supplies, about $40.....
.
A set of polished rims that YOU buffed to a mirror finish......Priceless! :D
.
Taught myself to polish, bought supplies, about $40.....
.
A set of polished rims that YOU buffed to a mirror finish......Priceless! :D
08-28-2004 | 10:54 PM
#8
Thread Starter
Metatron
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 7,284
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From: A Pacific Island.
Finito......
Sorry I can't post a nice sunny full car picture, the weather won't cooperate, but you all know how the polished rims look. here is a pitiful flash picture, taken in the garage, but you can imagine the rest! :D :D :D :D
S
S
08-28-2004 | 11:42 PM
#10
Thread Starter
Metatron
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 7,284
Likes: 175
From: A Pacific Island.
Kerb rash.....
The kerb rash vanishes as soon as Mr. Sander makes an appearance!
Two swipes with the sander or an '80 grit' flapper wheel will obliterate any traces of grinding on concrete. Since the wheel is now unpainted, that's all the treatment it needs.
S
Two swipes with the sander or an '80 grit' flapper wheel will obliterate any traces of grinding on concrete. Since the wheel is now unpainted, that's all the treatment it needs.
S
Last edited by StealthTL; 03-18-2005 at 04:44 PM.
08-29-2004 | 01:24 AM
#13
Raging Fatcat
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 96
Likes: 0
From: Lewisville, TX
Originally Posted by truemagellen
rust? it's aluminum alloy
08-30-2004 | 09:27 PM
#14
Original Turbo 'd Auto !!
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,133
Likes: 4
From: Surprise, Arizona
Nice job, as for the powdercoating Eastwood has a inexpensive powercoat setup. just need a oven that can used to "bake" the rims in. Preferrably NOT the one in the kitchen.
01-26-2006 | 05:34 PM
#21
Thread Starter
Metatron
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 7,284
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From: A Pacific Island.
Well....
They are in storage now for the Canadian winter - got my 17"snowboots on!
They held up very well, better than I expected, none had any tarnish or surface corrosion, they just got dull, a tiny bit powdery on the surface. I gave them a quick polish before storage at Halloween, and that brought out my only problem- I had waxed one front wheel, and put a coat of clear polyurethane on the other as an experiment. They both dulled about the same amount, the caoted one was indistinguishable from the waxed - until it came time for the repolish!
The waxed one got washed and buffed, came back to its original gleam, but there was NO WAY to clean up the coated one! I first had to remove ALL the clear with some really nasty solvents (my usual acetone and toluene wouldn't touch it, hexane and methylene chloride just clouded the finish, I ended up using methylene dichloride gel - especially icky since it was supposed to be a quick buff, so the rubber is still on the rims!) I won't make that mistake again!
If you want them to be low maintenance, powder coating clear is the only way to go.
This is the best pic I could get in my shed, but they don't shine until the sun hits them, which may be some time in lat APRIL!
S
They held up very well, better than I expected, none had any tarnish or surface corrosion, they just got dull, a tiny bit powdery on the surface. I gave them a quick polish before storage at Halloween, and that brought out my only problem- I had waxed one front wheel, and put a coat of clear polyurethane on the other as an experiment. They both dulled about the same amount, the caoted one was indistinguishable from the waxed - until it came time for the repolish!
The waxed one got washed and buffed, came back to its original gleam, but there was NO WAY to clean up the coated one! I first had to remove ALL the clear with some really nasty solvents (my usual acetone and toluene wouldn't touch it, hexane and methylene chloride just clouded the finish, I ended up using methylene dichloride gel - especially icky since it was supposed to be a quick buff, so the rubber is still on the rims!) I won't make that mistake again!
If you want them to be low maintenance, powder coating clear is the only way to go.
This is the best pic I could get in my shed, but they don't shine until the sun hits them, which may be some time in lat APRIL!
S
01-26-2006 | 11:25 PM
#22
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2003
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I was just thinking about polishing my wheels the other day, and I thought I'd check this post again but I couldn't find it in the search engine. I think it was because I searched for polishing stock wheels and not factory wheels.
Anyways, Stealth, I was just wondering what tools/compounds you used to do this. I suppose you polish just the inside part of the wheel that's visible, right? And you had to work the hard to reach areas by hand? Also, how do you work on the little dimples that come two on each spoke?
Anyways, Stealth, I was just wondering what tools/compounds you used to do this. I suppose you polish just the inside part of the wheel that's visible, right? And you had to work the hard to reach areas by hand? Also, how do you work on the little dimples that come two on each spoke?
04-12-2006 | 11:52 PM
#24
Registered
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shine holds up decently. I had a local shop Wheel Techniques do the hard work, getting them polished out to a mirror finish ($750). From there, every few months, I whip out some MOTHERS polish and polishing ball (goes on drill) and about an hour later, good as new. Key is to wash the rims with DAWN dishwashing liquid. Gets silverwear nice and clean and also happens to work well on polished rims. Just dont use DAWN on your car as it will strip wax.
