I did not clearcoat or seal them with anything. I wanted the best shine possible. Surprising, they stay VERY good. I only touch them up about 2 times a year with Mother's Billet. It takes about an hour or so (15 min per wheel).

The dirtiest they get is when I drive in the rain. The rain seems to wash the brake dust from behind the wheel face and I get black streaking in the "teeth" of the sawblades. It washes off very easy so no big deal. This also happens with clearcoated wheels so it's got nothing to do with polishing.

I did not polish the "teeth" to mirror finish for two reasons. 1 - leaving them rough cast keeps the factory look (light grey) which I wanted. 2 - Too much work!

It's the best thing I ever did to my Vette. I wanted a factory but "clean" look. The wheels are definitely clean!

 

In my case, what I'm wanting to do is retain the factory satin look. NOT polished. Can I just use a stripper and then re-clear coat them? Anybody have any experience?

 

Zoop Seal - Protects and won't peel! Not cheap

 

Absolutely! I used this stuff on my old 86 rims and it was awsome. I applied it with a paint brush, let it sit for a few minutes, and you can actually see the clear plastic coating bubble and peel off right before your eyes. Then you just hose the coating off with some water, and you are left with a clean looking and better shining rims.

 

Here is the complete process I used:

First, let me tell you it's LOTS of work, you need to be patient and give youself lots of time.

1. Use Tal-Strip II aircraft paint stripper. After applying this stuff the clearcoat and paint literally fall off in seconds. I used the "gell" stuff and painted it on with a brush. Two applications was enough and the second one was just to get in the corners real good. I got mine from a friend who own airplanes but if you browse the Internet you will find suppliers that sell it. Not something you find at your local car parts store. It's REALLY good stuff.

2. Now the fun begins. Your wheels will have machining grooves in them from the lathe they were turned on. I started with 360 wet paper and sanded them by hand under a continuous flow of water from a garden hose. This is the critical sanding step. The 360 paper will remove material very fast. It will take between 30 and 60 minutes per wheel, maybe more. Just keep sanding until the grooves are gone. When you're done you'll have smooth scratched up wheels (scratched because of the 360 paper).

3. Do the same with 400, 600, 1000, 1500 grit wet paper. Don't skip a step, stick 1200 grit in there if you can get it. When you're done this sanding the wheels should have a little shine (especially when wet), but not spectacular yet. They will be hazy when dry.

4. Use a fine cut compound and buff them until you get tired of buffing. I used the 3M compound below:

http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/e...er/output_html

By now they should look pretty good, but still not mirror like.

5. Now go at them with Mother's Billet polish. Polish them 2 times with Mother's and they'll look like mirrors. Up-keep is easy. Just re-polish with Mother's every few months. If you get scratches from dirty washing cloths, use the fine cut compound then Mother's.

It took me about a full day per wheel to get the shine I wanted. Good winter project!

 

Did you strip and sand the "teeth"? Thanks

 

I stripped the teeth because if you don't the clearcoat will start to peel and it'll look like crap. I sanded them lightly but not to a mirror finish. I wanted the teeth to look a little darker like the factory wheels. I suppose if you wanted to you could re-paint the teeth.

 

I'm going to do it. Anyone know where I can get the Tal-Strip. I'm not having much luck finding where to buy it. Thanks!

 

rbesq, you can get aircraft stripper from Autozone, which should also have a good supply of the different grit sandpaper you will need.

 

I used a product called Zip Strip on my 85 wheels. Worked great. Didn't hurt the aluminum at all. Stuff is very aggressive though. You gotta where gloves.

 

dont mix the flour with the polish, its for after u polish to help get all the polish OFF.....throw generous amounts of flour on the wheel after polish is on and buff, it helps get it all off......if u want yer aluminum to shine big.....first strip off the clear....then use acid to whiten them, they will turn hazey white....then use jewlers rouge, first black to cut the fine machining, and scrathes, then green to finish up, then seal it with, yer polish, and i assure u, u will blind people with those wheels, i know this cause A, i drove a big kenworth, and we did our tanks and wheels like this, and B i build custon show harleys, and havent lost yet...try it you'll like it.....good day...Joe

 

Joe, do you use the compounds with a buffing wheel or by hand with a cloth?

 

This is the traditional way to polish metal. I tried it myself. Bought the black stuff, then went to red rouge, finally to white diamond. This was after I wet sanded all the machining grooves out. I used buffing wheels but to be honest they didn't come out nearly as good as wet sanding by hand down to 1500 then compound/polish.

 

both i use my grinder for small parts and my hand buffer for larger stuff, no matter what u use, even a rag mix the rouge with polish and u'll get a way good shine....as far as sanding wet, yes it works, but makes a mess...another good product to use is black indian ink, after the rouge is done, rub briskly with some of that, and it will deepen yer shine tremedously....remember dont do it with out polishing the wheels first or u will stain the aluminum

 

Thanks, I'll check them out.