I just finished stripping the clear coat off my '93 wheels and it all came off just fine. I hand polished two of the wheels(my arms got too tired to finish the other two) and they look really great. Problem is that just for the heck of it, I thought I would just go over the two I just polished and to my dismay, the rag became black with oxidation. How can this be after I just finished polishing them the day before? Is it possible that I simply didn't get all the old finish off or all the oxidation off? They shine great but not quite like a mirror finish, but they do have a nice look. Is there something I am not doing correctly? Maybe I need to clear coat them too? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all.
I am doing my '85 wheels now as well, and going through the same thing. Seems like a one step forward, two steps back process. After stripping the clear I began with 400 wet/dry, 00 steel wool, then 600 wet/dry, 000 steel wool. They finally start to get shinier with each step after polishing with 1500 grit and mothers aluminum polish, but look duller inbetween each step. Strong buffing will then make the shine deeper each time.
I cleared one wheel just to compare with a polished, uncleared wheel, and it made no difference to me.
Funny that the shine looks brighter, but not deeper, when you go against the "grain" than with it. Continued polishings with the grain eventually produce a deep bright shine IMO.
Tried several combinations and steps and this seems to work best for me. I have no scratches at all and although they look great, I think I could STILL get more out of them. Avoid rubbing compound like the plague though! Brought me back to square one each time.
Just two to go...... let us know what works best for you. Good luck!
I guess that the properties of alum produce the nasty black residue from polishing and re-polishing. It may be possible that the black will never stop b/c of those alum properties of oxidation and the simple polishing process itself. My wheels came out really shiny and maybe I am just doing overkill on them. Some guys have used the wet fine grit sandpaper as well and steel wool but I would think that would really create some micro-fine scratches in the finish and it will take hours of hard labor to buff them out. I used mothers polish and also Semichrome(made in Germany I think) and for wheels that are over 16 years old, I guess I shouln't complain. Just keep buffing by hand. When finished, I rinsed all the black residue off with a mixture of TSP(trisodiumphosphate) and sudsy amonia--be careful of the strong fumes. This cut all the black residue off and rinsed clean and shiny. Good luck. Buy TSP just about anywhere.
Same problem with my 85. I took some bad advice and started sanding with 500 on a palm sander. I scratched the wheel and then used 800 and hand sanded. Finished with 1000 cleaning and using never dull in between. I get a good shine but when I use the buffer it turns really dark really fast. I just leave it once I get a nice shine. I am not sure if I can get the mirror finish.
The black stuff on your rag is just leftover compound.
'I started wetsanding using soapy water with 320 (should have started with 220) and worked my way up to 1500. Keep that sucker wet.
Used a standard buff with the green compound, then switched to a finer buff and used the white compound, the farther down you take the machining lines (til they are gone) the better it comes out. Cant really take shortcuts like skipping over grits, it will show in the final finish.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CORVETTEIII
I thought I would just go over the two I just polished and to my dismay, the rag became black with oxidation. How can this be after I just finished polishing them the day before?
Every time you polish, you will get a black rag. Polishing is removing metal, and very fine metal particles are black.
You can continue to polish...and get a black rag...until the wheel is literally gone.
Airstream Trailer owners have had this trouble for years and it is an easy fix. Go to the kitchen and get into the wifes flour, put some on a rag and it will remove the black from your wheels and leave a nice shine. I know it sounds funny but give it a try, it will work.
Once you've got them polished by hand keep them shined using a Mother's Powerball . Walmart sells them now, I bought mine last year and shine the wheels up at least once a month with it. It still looks like new and cuts the work down to an hour for the entire car,vs. an hour per wheel.
I totally agree with Larry. Every time you polish, you'll get black residue. I'm fighting an ongoing battle with the wheels on the '90 I just bought 5 1/2 months ago. I've tried everything (every metal polish known to man) to try to avoid having to strip them. The clearcoat is intact in places and completely gone in others, which creates a dilemma in and of itself. I have finally found a solution that works for me (but isn't a total fix). I finally tried Megiures heavy duty car cleaner, followed by Klasse All-In-One, and the wheels have finally begun to take on that like new appearance. Unless you want to achieve that chrome appearance (that your wheels DIDN'T come with), I've found that you need to polish with the grain of the machine marks that the wheels were produced with (unless you want to eliminate them altogether). I just prefer a stock look.
Just keep on polishing. You could sand them first like a few people mentioned. Pending on how bad they are you could start as high as 320 or 400 and work your way down to 2000, then polish with 0000 steel wool dipped in Mothers Billet.
I just picked up a mini power ball and love it, it saves a lot of work/rubbing.
I also use Simichrome as my final polish since I feel it gives me the best shine. Mothers Billet is the next best shine and what I use for most of my grunt work.
I also protect mine with Zaino Z2 Pro to extend the life of my shine.
Once you've got them polished by hand keep them shined using a Mother's Powerball . Walmart sells them now, I bought mine last year and shine the wheels up at least once a month with it. It still looks like new and cuts the work down to an hour for the entire car,vs. an hour per wheel.
The black residue when polishing is just the nature of polishing most soft metal. Same thing happens when you polish gold or sliver.
I stopped at a bike shop at Precision Bikeworks in Erie and asked what they use to polish aluminum rims. They suggested a product called Extreme. I saw some of the bike rims and they looked pretty good. He sells this product over the internet and their phone number is 814 866-5795 or precisionbike.com.
Every time you polish, you will get a black rag. Polishing is removing metal, and very fine metal particles are black.
You can continue to polish...and get a black rag...until the wheel is literally gone.
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let us know what works best for you. Good luck!
Don't skip grits. Sand all the way to 2500 and finish with an aluminum polish. 
