I ran a post earlier in regards to bringing the shine out on my rims and got several links to retailers specializing in body work etc. My question is the buffing wheels. I have bought a few, usually in Home Depot, and what happens is when I use it with my Dewalt drill is.

1. The polish (Mothers) flys everywhere when I apply it even on low speed settings.
2. The shine is not any better than by hand, and time saved hand buffing is spent getting Mothers off the paint and everywhere else it goes..ceiling.
3. The wheels always come loose from the shaft their connected to and spin slower or not at all when I apply any sort of pressure.
Bottom line I want to make sure before I order/ buy polishing wheels I'm getting a good wheel that will stand up to adbuse. Looking for a 4" to 6" wheel and a small 2" to 3" wheel for tight spaces or corners. Thanks for your input.

David :auto:

 

I'll toss in my Q.

is it better to take the tires off the rims before polishing or is it relatively safe to leave them on?

 

If you are having them DONE then there is only one answer: They will not take them in unless they are dismounted, or if they have a tire machine on premises. :party:

 

A drill does not really spin fast enough or have enough power to do a good job. You need a high speed polisher that does 3000 RPM or better to get a good shine. Use a solid polishing compound on the wheel, not a paste. Regardless I have found that nothing beats finishing up with the Mothers by hand.

 

My experience was the opposite. I did all 4 wheels in an hour with a $10 kit I got from sears and a $5 tube of SimiChrome. No problems with the drill. You have to put the simichrome on the wheel and sort of let it rub in a little at a very low speed. Then start off slow on the wheel and work your way around. Wipe it all off with a good clean cloth and repeat.

Mine are not like a polcished finish, but that wasn't what I was looking for. I think they look great now. Better in person then the pic as I hadn't washed them all off yet.

You can still see the paste around the outside of the wheel on the tire.

 

I found the buffing wheels sold at hardware stores to be too soft for polishing the wheels. I purchased some cone shaped buffing wheels and a drill
shank to mount them from the Eastwood Company. They are firm enough
to do a decent job. The cone shape also parallels the shape of the wheels
and makes it easier to polish them. I have used them with good success
on a variable speed 3/8" drill. I use semichrome polish. Use mother's
for the final finishing or on a wheel that is already polished and just needs
a touch up. I did not have any luck with the jeweler's hard polishes
using a drill. As someone else suggested, the drill did not spin fast
enough to heat up the polish.

 

I use cutting compound and some elbow grease... Dang good exercise.:thumbs:

Is this why all you americans are getting chubby. :reddevil

:cool: :cool: :cool:

 

Well did just that, 4 hours worth, BTW I'm 10% body fat and working on the car doesn't do me any good. Working out at the gym, running 20 miles weekly seems the only answer, guess my metabolism died when I reached 36 years old. :nonod:

Well anyway here's how the rims look now, of course the deep scratches are still there.



BTW 85 degrees yesterday, cruised the Vette in shorts, no shirt, love CA!

:party:

 

78Vette-SA heading to Sears today. If you get a chance IM me the kit's name/ part number whatever.

David

 

Okay,, I read all the posts on the polishing subject and none of them are going to save you anytime while getting professional results...This is how you bring out the best mirror finish you can get at home....Remember,, if your polishing your wheels now,, you will be doing them again soon...So spend a few bucks and buy yourself the right stuff to do it right every time...For best results, you need to get a 4 or 5 in elect. disk grinder such as the makita..
2 or 3 buffing wheels... no larger than 4 inches in diameter...get one stiff cotton buff and one soft cotton buff minimun,, and buy some aluminum polishing compound of cut grit (500 grit) and buff (1000 grit)....If your wheels are just needing light cleaning, use just the 1000 grit and soft cotton buff wheel...Remember,, your buffing wheel needs to be no wider than 1/2 inch thick..and adaptable to the grinder arbor shaft.....(most are ready to use)...
I find it easier to remove wheels and tires from car to do this, but can be done either way...dont remove tires from wheels....
turn on grinder and hold buff against compound untill you see some compound getting into buff... and start buffing wheel surface using light pressure and keep it moving .. do a small area... and stop grinder to check for material from wheel clogging on buff wheel... if so you need to dress the wheel clean so as to not scratch your wheel... dont rush it and find the best way to polish the wheel that works for you,,, keeping firm grip on grinder for it will grab edges and scare the hell out of ya a few times...A little practise will have you doing all 4 wheels in a hour or 2 and they look outstanding... I only use Mothers or the fine product semichrome, when i can do a quick touchup inbetween polishings.. Good Luck... If you would like to see the results,, i can email you some pics... contact me at stinger66@earthlink.net :thumbs: :thumbs:

 

Stinger66, I know maybe a stupid question but would this body buffer work with a 4" pad? Too big??
(sorry for the dark pics, not much light in garage)

 

Actually,, its a good question to ask, and the answer is no it wont work..
The 4in. buffing wheel needs to be used on its edge obviously,, and i doubt you can get in there close with that big buffer you have,,, but, hey, give it a chance ..I may be wrong..With the small 4in makita angle grinder, you get plenty of the rpm's needed and it has the torque to accept some working pressure,,,
ask away if any other questions