Glutamine83

the rims on my 79 vette are fairly dull, and I would like to shine them up
first i want to use a fine sandpaper to work out the crud before i use a good polishing cream

what type and grit of sandpaper do you recommend to polish my aluminum rims?

79VetteMike

I used 400. Make sure not to get too rough a grit or you will get grooves in the aluminum that will be difficult to get out.

bloodvette80

i suggest, 400 go to 600 then 1000, then buff. Anyone agree? you should put a big sticker on your hood that says Canadian Tire. jk

Rockn-Roll

Unless the rims are pitted I wouldn't use sandpaper. Mothers Aluminum and Chrome polish works for me...use it liberally if there's a lot of buildup. My rims were completely white when I got the car.

page62

Don't know about the sanding part. But Simichrome polish has been used with great success. Any motorcycle shop will have it.

7T9Shark

I recommend 600 grit to start, unless they are really bad, then I'd start with 400. Then use a 6" polishing wheel on an electric drill with either Mothers or Simichrome and you'll be amazed at the results. This is assuming that you have removed the clear coat first.

CorvetteKid82

Mine were white before I polished them as well. I did mine without sanding and used Busch Super Shine Aluminum Polish on a drill buff. I then used the Busch Aluminum Wax/Sealant to fix them up. I ordered both of these from Ecklers. The part # for the polish was: 35904. I dont have the wax handy, but I can dig up the # if you like. Once you're done with the polish, take some spray paint and mask off the wheel and tire and paint the slots black and the wheel will look brand new :thumbs:

Marv

The 79 wheels are supposed to be dull-if originality is a factor. I used a product called NeverDull (not sure about spelling) to do the initial polishing/removing of the clearcoat. It is a steel wool like material that is saturated with a polishing compound. I then finished them with Mothers for the final step. After 3 years they still shine nicely and would probably look like chrome with a re-application of Mothers. Good luck.

Marv-

tersian

What I did on the 81 was to clean them real well with a brake dust aluminum wheel cleaner. I then took mothers and a 3" buffing wheel on a AC drill and went to it. After a few hours(okay, maybe more than a few) the wheels were like mirrors.

I bought the buffing wheel at Lowes and the Mothers at Walmart.

P.S. The first wheel I did by hand, with sandpaper of increasing granularity and then polishing by hand, it took longer(even if I would have polished by drill) and the larger grits left scratches I had to work out when it was all said and done.

HTH,

B

s79vette

My sons drive semis for a living and they have trucks with a lot of aluminum.
They brought me home some polishing stuff in a bottle. Stuff is green and in
a closed room it would be dangerous because of the smell. They said it
was a jewelers rouge. I used it with a buffing wheel and drill motor and it
really works to get wheel to shine. Then I gave it a good polishing with Zaino
Steve

joeveto

I use normal cheapo rubbing compound mixed with water to vary the thickness and grit. But before I do this, I clean them with aluminum wheel cleaner. I use the acidic stuff that goes for $4.00 at Wal-mart. You know, spray it on, wait 30 seconds, scrub a bit, hose off. Great stuff.