Polished wheels, finished (pics)
06-19-2005, 07:22 PM
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St. Jude Donor '05
Polished wheels, finished (pics)
Finally broke down yesterday and finished them. Almost 8 hours od sanding. And sanding.....and sanding. 
I'll put the clear on them sometime soon.
What you'll need if you do it by hand:
First, using some aircraft paint stripper, remove the clearcoat. Irecommend removing the center emblem so you don't melt it. Careful, nasty stuff! Rubber gloves and gogles are your friend.
-Start with 220 grit (I started with 320-no bueno) wet and dry. Keep area wet with soapy water (spray bottle works good)and continue sanding with the grain(direction of machining lines) til they are gone.
-Work up to 500, until the sanding marks from the 220 or 320 are gone. Go to 800, 1000, 1200, 1500-Then you are ready for the buffer. i used a standard buff wheel on a 7 inch adjustable speed angle grinder with the green compund. You don't need much speed or pressure at all, or you'll dull the area. Change to a loose buff wheel and use the white compound. Clean your excess compound off (it gets everywhere), and use a wheel rake to clean the wheels frequently.
The right way to do this is to work on a bare rim. Due to my not having a garage, (apt.carport)I did the entire job with the wheels on the car
I removed the center caps and sanded those down separately. The emblems remove from the backside with two keeper nuts, available at any auto paint supply.
Too bad I can't take a good picture to really show them off. I was pleased with the results.
Edit: Wrapping the sandpaper around one of those 2x6(?)inch flexible rubber pads helps a TON:Get them at the auto paint suppl, about $3.
I'm toying with the idea of doing the coves also, just not sure if I want to go there. The cost of all the flapper wheels and the lousy buffs they make for tight spots may not give me the same finish. Maybe I'll clear it and call it a day.
I'll put the clear on them sometime soon. What you'll need if you do it by hand:
First, using some aircraft paint stripper, remove the clearcoat. Irecommend removing the center emblem so you don't melt it. Careful, nasty stuff! Rubber gloves and gogles are your friend.
-Start with 220 grit (I started with 320-no bueno) wet and dry. Keep area wet with soapy water (spray bottle works good)and continue sanding with the grain(direction of machining lines) til they are gone.
-Work up to 500, until the sanding marks from the 220 or 320 are gone. Go to 800, 1000, 1200, 1500-Then you are ready for the buffer. i used a standard buff wheel on a 7 inch adjustable speed angle grinder with the green compund. You don't need much speed or pressure at all, or you'll dull the area. Change to a loose buff wheel and use the white compound. Clean your excess compound off (it gets everywhere), and use a wheel rake to clean the wheels frequently.
The right way to do this is to work on a bare rim. Due to my not having a garage, (apt.carport)I did the entire job with the wheels on the car
I removed the center caps and sanded those down separately. The emblems remove from the backside with two keeper nuts, available at any auto paint supply. Too bad I can't take a good picture to really show them off. I was pleased with the results.
Edit: Wrapping the sandpaper around one of those 2x6(?)inch flexible rubber pads helps a TON:Get them at the auto paint suppl, about $3.
I'm toying with the idea of doing the coves also, just not sure if I want to go there. The cost of all the flapper wheels and the lousy buffs they make for tight spots may not give me the same finish. Maybe I'll clear it and call it a day.
Last edited by cv67; 06-19-2005 at 08:14 PM.
06-19-2005, 07:46 PM
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well they look really good 
I wonder if you can incorporate using a drumel rotary tool with some kind of metal polishing bit. Just so you will not have to sand sand and sand with your hands.
I may have to do this soon.
I wonder if you can incorporate using a drumel rotary tool with some kind of metal polishing bit. Just so you will not have to sand sand and sand with your hands.
I may have to do this soon.
06-19-2005, 07:55 PM
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St. Jude Donor '05
Thanks. There are other methods/tools to save time if you are set up with a garage. I really wanted to take the tires off the rim and fix the curb rash. Next time
06-19-2005, 08:00 PM
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I used a block sander and did them by hand. ANy kind of power tool with sanding disk will not provide a flat finished surface. When you polish them up they have ripples in the finish. It looks like crap- don't ask me how I know- I found out the hard way and did the job a second time.
06-19-2005, 11:26 PM
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St. Jude '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-‘19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
All that time and energy, you may want to consider ZoopSeal instead of clear coating.
06-20-2005, 12:42 AM
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St. Jude Donor '05
Originally Posted by crossfire84
looks good, i guess i have a couple of weekends projects if i do this, where did you get aircraft paint stripper at? i hope i can get my 84 wheels that clean
Beats paying someone for it.
06-20-2005, 05:49 AM
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St. Jude Donor '08-'10
you may have trouble with the clear coat sticking to the smooth finish. At least that was what I was told when I had mine polished a couple of years ago.