Just a quick post to share the start of my Aluminum Wheel clean up and polishing. I had already stripped the clear coat off the wheels and have stripped the black paint from the center hub so that is removed. The stripping materials stained and left water spots on the wheels as you can see in this picture.



After about an hour of pretty tough rubbing by hand and by machine and then buffing out the wheel with soft cloths they turn out a little more like this one which I had just finished.



So now I have hope that my previously ugly and stained wheels will be converted back to a shiny new set of four. No decision yet on painting the center black or leave it aluminum when I clear coat the wheels.

So one down, three to go...soon. Then these will be up for sale.



Thanks for looking.

David Howard

 

I think they look great!

While we are on the subject, I like the un-painted center look of the 80-82. Imo they are the best looking car/rim combo I have seen. I believe there is no aftermarket wheel that looks better, but that is just me.

 

What did u use to polish the wheels?

 

Right on, i did mine too, then masked them off and did the black paint.

 

I have been using Adams polishes and pads. Works well for me.

 

I hear you. Might make sense then for me to finish these and leave the black off and let the new owner decide if he or she wants them clear or black. Good call. Thanks for the opinion.
David

 

If you do decide to paint the centers, see my thread on painting the centers. I agree though, if you are just selling them, I think I'd leave them bare.

 

Recently stripped the clearcoat paint off my aluminum wheels. Tried alot of different compounds and polishes. The best was Mothers mag and aluminum polish. Really put a chrome like shine on the wheels. Finished up the process with a paint sealant, then a few coats of wax. They look better than new.

 

I just refinished mine. I removed the tires from the rims, jacked up the rear of my vette and supported the axles so I could use the car to spin the wheels/rims at idle. I started with 800 grit paper (wet sanding) and worked my way up to 1500 grit. Finished up with compound then polish and they do look new.

 

All great stuff guys, keep the information coming as we all learn together.
David

 

I use mothers mag polish and a mothers ball. I can do them in no time at all. About as easy as I could hope for

 

Anyone else polishing up those wheels???

 

Mount them to your car and run them at about 25mph and you can sand them down real quik and have a chrome shine in about 45 minutes a wheel.

 

I am in the process of polishing mine now. My car set up for 8 years and we had two hurricanes blow through here with salt water spray everywhere, so the wheels were not pretty. The clear had been removed long ago, so there was a lot of pitting.

My car is a 79 and I know the factory finish is supposed to be dull, but I got spoiled to the super bright wheels that I had on my '81 years ago. I also plan to paint the slots black like the early 80s wheels.

I too am at the 1 wheel point of the process. I rubbed on the one with 1000 grit sandpaper (I know now I should have started off with some coarser paper) and some stuff I got from a local wheel remanufacturer called "Way 2EZ Wheel Cleaner & Polish." I used that with a variable speed drill & Mother's Super Ball and finished up with another rubbing with Never Dull and a coat of paste wax. At the recommendation of the reman guy, I am not going to spray any clear on the wheels. He said that the clear will help keep the wheels from dulling out as quickly, but will also slightly affect the shine. You can keep a brilliant shine on the wheels without the clear - as long as the wheels are properly maintained and lightly polished periodically.

I read on the forum that someone recommended using a die grinder with polishing attachments to clean aluminum wheels, so I got one of those from Harbor Freight and hope that will speed up the process on the other three. I will say that the grinder is not variable speed and the one attachment that I stuck in it bent almost as soon as I turned the grinder on, before it ever touched the wheel. I am thinking that is because I should have had the polishing pad on the wheel before I turned the grinder on - or the polishing kit I also got from Harbor Freight is cr@p. Waiting for some warmer weather to get on with the process. Any tips on working with this grinder would be appreciated.

 

I've used that "Way2EZ" polish on American Racing TT2 and really liked it. In fact, I bring a bottle along, to shows, for that last minute touch up. I picked up a bottle at Gateway Tires (local tire & wheel shop). You might want to try "Bling Master"...I've used it too and liked it. It gives a chrome-like shine. If you're interested, google the name & read up on it. After all, we Louisiana guys have got to stick together

 

I used a product called "White Diamonds" on a set of AR Vectors recently and it cut the heavy oxidation without resorting to sandpaper. The only drawback I see to this stuff is it does not leave a protective coating behind, so waxing or similar is required. A little of this stuff goes a long way. It came from my local Harley outlet.

 

Alohas,
I like to use Bomsaway for polishing my wheels with a buffing wheel I got from Ecklers.Comes out pretty nice but here in Hawaii the shine lasts about 2 weeks.Just got a product called Alumnaclear and will see how it holds up.The truckers say that this is the best lasting product to keep the shine.Will post how well it works when I get to doing the application.I really like the look of the slotted wheels and would like to keep them but hate the constant upkeep.Chrome plating is an option but how long would that last in Hawaii's salt enviroment.Here's a few pics of my freshly polished wheels...Mahalos [IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]

 

This sounds very dangerous. If you were to get your sleeve or the rag or anything caught in the wheel when spinning (even at idle). argh..

When I was farming, a neighbor died getting his clothes caught in the PTO on a tractor while grinding feed. Not pretty.

Be careful.

 

I used wizards polish from a local shop and a microfiber pad on my 80 and they look as good as chrome. In fact a lot of people thought I had them chromed- ill post a picture later when I get home

 

I sanded mine from 1000 to 2000 wet. Then used a polishing wheel on a drill with the various polishing sticks until I got them to a chrome like shine. Now I just use Turtle wax cleaner with silicone. No need to ever reclear. They look great.