Buffing aluminum wheels ?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,668
Likes: 118
From: St. Charles Mo
CI 5 & 8 Veteran
Originally Posted by GDaina
That's a lot of work and...a person who does this for a living has the equipment and will do a better job than the back yard mechanic.....I'd have a pro do the wheels
It's a whole lot of work! But the problem in my case was that the "pro" wanted darn near as much to restore a couple of TT II"s as it would have cost me to just go out and buy new one's 
Project RamJet was harder to keep on the road than I expected
Anyway, I opted to "Do it myself". Turned out pretty good, and was definitly a learning experience. If I had it to do over, I probably should have bought new wheels 
Here is a good place to start for those of you wanting to try:
http://www.jestcoproducts.com/
Bullshark
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,269
Likes: 54
From: Orlando Florida
St. Jude Donor '05
OK, I agree that the professionals do a better job but that's expensive.... if you want to spend that much money, then you may want to consider the chrome reproductions for $1300....
I polished my wheels and they look great. Start with paint stripper to get the clearcoat off, scotch brite and 1500 grit sandpaper, then a lot of chrome polish... I used a Dremel, a polishing adapter for a drilling machine and Mother's aluminum polish for the final finish...
It takes some time, I'd say you can easily do all four wheels on a weekend.... that's when working slow....
Look in my gallery, there are more photos of my aluminum wheels.
I polished my wheels and they look great. Start with paint stripper to get the clearcoat off, scotch brite and 1500 grit sandpaper, then a lot of chrome polish... I used a Dremel, a polishing adapter for a drilling machine and Mother's aluminum polish for the final finish...
It takes some time, I'd say you can easily do all four wheels on a weekend.... that's when working slow....
Look in my gallery, there are more photos of my aluminum wheels.
Race Director
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 16,978
Likes: 7
From: In Dreams There Is Truth Ohio
Originally Posted by Bullshark
Here is a good place to start for those of you wanting to try:
http://www.jestcoproducts.com/
Bullshark
http://www.jestcoproducts.com/
Bullshark
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
www.eastwood.com
look in their metal buffing area they have everything you need...figure on 10 hrs per wheel....ask me how i know....and lots of manual work.....
http://www.eastwood.com/jump.jsp?ite...ORY&itemID=432
look in their metal buffing area they have everything you need...figure on 10 hrs per wheel....ask me how i know....and lots of manual work.....
http://www.eastwood.com/jump.jsp?ite...ORY&itemID=432
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Originally Posted by CA-Legal-Vette
A slight side question. When people have redone their aluminum wheels, what have they done with the black painted areas? Are these normally repainted? If so, with what?
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Racer
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 388
Likes: 3
From: Centennial Colorado
Originally Posted by RedBad1979
OK, I agree that the professionals do a better job but that's expensive.... if you want to spend that much money, then you may want to consider the chrome reproductions for $1300....
I polished my wheels and they look great. Start with paint stripper to get the clearcoat off, scotch brite and 1500 grit sandpaper, then a lot of chrome polish... I used a Dremel, a polishing adapter for a drilling machine and Mother's aluminum polish for the final finish...
It takes some time, I'd say you can easily do all four wheels on a weekend.... that's when working slow....
Look in my gallery, there are more photos of my aluminum wheels.
I polished my wheels and they look great. Start with paint stripper to get the clearcoat off, scotch brite and 1500 grit sandpaper, then a lot of chrome polish... I used a Dremel, a polishing adapter for a drilling machine and Mother's aluminum polish for the final finish...
It takes some time, I'd say you can easily do all four wheels on a weekend.... that's when working slow....
Look in my gallery, there are more photos of my aluminum wheels.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,269
Likes: 54
From: Orlando Florida
St. Jude Donor '05
Originally Posted by snakeman56
Did you remove the tires before doing the polishing??
The tires were not on the rim when I did it. The paint stripper is not good for the rubber - however if you're careful it can be done with tire on the rim...
I re-painted the center with "appliance epoxy" from Lowe's
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,269
Likes: 54
From: Orlando Florida
St. Jude Donor '05
Originally Posted by bobs77vet
there may be little to no clear coat left on the wheels.....you might want to start with that scotch brite pad first....
Yes, it very much depends on the condition of the wheels.... You can apply the stripper with a brush, for example to get the black paint off inside these holes...
The aluminum surface is not bad at all - after the clearcoat is off you may not even have to use scotch brite.... like I said , it depends..... I did not have any pitting on mine when I started, if the clearcoat was damaged and the aluminum was exposed to water and maybe even salt then you'll have a hard time getting these surfaces clean and shiny....
The easiest way is to remove the tire and the valve and then mount it on a car (a FWD would be best, Impala or such) and let it spin to polish it.... if you want to use the Corvette you would have to position jack stands under the rear trailing arms - this way the half shaft geometry is correct and you don't destroy your U-joints...
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Originally Posted by RedBad1979
The easiest way is to remove the tire and the valve and then mount it on a car (a FWD would be best, Impala or such) and let it spin to polish it.... if you want to use the Corvette you would have to position jack stands under the rear trailing arms - this way the half shaft geometry is correct and you don't destroy your U-joints...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,161
Likes: 0
From: pr, frederick md.
id do it that way but if your scared say your scared right?! the way i see it, a spinning buff is a spinning buff. the pros just have better compounds to polish with. and i was watching trucks tv and saw ZOOPS SEAL. supposed to keep aluminum from tarnishing for months after polishing. anyhow my wheels had almost no clearcoat, so the wife stripped the wheels and polished with mothers. to look better theyed have to be cromed 
but if your scared say your scared right?! the way i see it, a spinning buff is a spinning buff. the pros just have better compounds to polish with. and i was watching trucks tv and saw ZOOPS SEAL. supposed to keep aluminum from tarnishing for months after polishing. anyhow my wheels had almost no clearcoat, so the wife stripped the wheels and polished with mothers. to look better theyed have to be cromed
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,269
Likes: 54
From: Orlando Florida
St. Jude Donor '05
Originally Posted by bobs77vet
are you saying to work on a wheel that is spinning from the engine turning...if so, i would never do that, that scares the crap out of me....
As long as the wheel is not spinning at 2000 rpm it works fine and is safe... of course you have to be careful, just like you have to be careful when working on a lathe.... you would have use for example a piece of wood, f.e. 2x4 (at least 12" long) and attach a rag with polishing compound to that piece of wood... the holes in these rims are relatively small but big enough to catch your fingers....
I did it once, a few years ago....it works..... and I still have all my fingers....
