MikeInAZ

Buffing vs. Polishing - Tips - Tricks - Facts & Myths


I keep getting emails wondering "why is my part not as shiny as some other polished piece I've seen" or "should I clear coat".

I have put together an article covering these topics. I will say that this article is not meant to criticize, demean, make fun of, or otherwise slam ANYONE that uses a different method than I.

But rather to eliminate the error part of "trial and error" of which I have made many and to help anyone experiencing difficulty in the "fine art of buffing".

Adam62083

Hey thanks for the good info.

However I still have a question. I sanded my plenum up to the 2000 grit and polished it out with Aluminum polish. I know this isnt what I am supposed to do for the correct shine, as the black oxidation can fill the pores.

What the question I am asking is, how can I clean them out and rebuff it? Do I have to resand it or can I just rebuff it with a better compound?

87_Camaro

thanks dude, I was looking for just the thing

Mark A Shields

Crap and I just put Meguiar's Carnuba Wax on, didn't seem to hurt it, but guess never again.

I wish I would have tried wetsanding with 400, I only did it with 1500 grit.

I used a dremel to polish one of my wheels and it has bad clouding on it, how do I get rid of it now?

The last wheel I did turned out the best.

MikeInAZ

Mark......... LOL. I'm the one that told you to put Meguiars Carnabu Wax on your polished aluminum. And that is correct. What is not correct is I told you "Pure" Carnabu Wax which it is not. Pure Carnabu Wax is not available for automotive use.

Otherwise, Mark and Adam. The way I learned was sanding with too fine of paper..... which means I had to back up resand and rebuff. This is ONLY if you are unhappy with the final results.

You can do it either way. Either resand with 400 and hit with buffing compound or just use a 3 step compound process starting with Emery (to take the place of sanding) then Tripoli then White Rouge. Be sure to use different wheels for each and not mix compounds.

MetalliCamaroRS

iTrader: (15)

Wow, thats a good article. Im sure it will come in handy when I finally do my wheels.

Inwo

Nice article. Now I have another excuse to delay driving my car for ANOTHER week!

Mark A Shields

OMG , SON OF #@$%,

I really don't want to resand another wheel.

However, on my last wheel, I used 600/800/ 1500 wetsand and that one turned out the best I think.

MikeInAZ

Mark please re-read this part:

"This is ONLY if you are unhappy with the final results."

Dude ..... if it looks good to you and you are a happy camper by all means leave it. Rest assured that you will want to polish your wheels again in a few months, or years. Nothing is permanent. This is EXACTLY why you don't want to re-clear..... you can touch up or re-do at any time.

The biggest problem is encountered when you get in a hurry. It took me a month to do my wheels. Not the actual labor but the timing. I dismounted each tire, removed valve stem, sanded, polished, resprayed the honeycomb, new lug covers, chrome stems, new center cap and emblem, mounted and balanced.

This was, however, when my car was in a 10 month resurrection. In a daily driver you don't have that luxury. A good time to do your wheels, which to me is the single most important buffing job outside of the plenum and runners, is when you are doing other work that puts your car out of commission for a while.

MetalliCamaroRS

iTrader: (15)

Hmm.. doesn't OMG mean "Oh my ***"? So you said "oh my *** ***"

Mark A Shields

that's what I get for not sleeping enough.

85SportCoupeto89RS

Ok I'm not trying to dis anyone that wetsands their parts, but I do my stuff with die grinders, da sanders with 180,320 grit paper, and the thing that does most of the work" polishing wheels". I know its a little expensive for the stuff I buy but I dont have to sand until my face turns blue. I am working on my last Z28 rim tonight. So far I have only worked 1 and 15 minutes and I'm on my last step, da with 180 then 320 then to the cloth polishing wheels and yello grease polishing compound. It should only take me another 45 min and I will be done. I know this pic doesnt have the rim on the car but the shine is there and i dont have to worry about black oxidation from wetsanding.I might be able to have them put on this thursday, and while they are doing that have my right front brakes checked"it locks up real easy"

Twistopher

I was looking at eastwood at some of their compounds... I see the tripoli and the rouges... They come in 13-17 oz tubes.. How long will these sizes last? One thing I didnt noticed touched upon was the amount of compound used for each application. And what kind of rpms are you guys turning your wheels at?

Adam62083

That was done with the process I aforemnetioned. It came out pretty nice. If I get SLP runners I'll polish them with your process and see the difference. If it is big enough, I'll repolish the plenum.

Jza

One tube will last a loooong time, since you use it pretty sparingly (use too much and you'll get black streaks on your piece). I did my plenum, runners, TB, fuel rails, and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff and I don't think I've used 3% of the tube.

I did everything the first time with just sandpaper and Mother's. I wasn't happy with the results. They were reflective and all, but just wasn't as nice as I wanted, so I ordered the Aluminum and Brass Buffing Kit from Eastwood and don't regret it one bit.

MikeInAZ

Adam I had a similar picture, similar angle of my plenum/runners as you took. Although it was one of my first projects I used the methods I described.



Also.... I recently did the SLP Runners for Desert86Roc. All I can say is you're in for a treat. These were the hardest polishing bit I have ever encountered. Never, never, never....... did I say NEVER will I do another set of these.



They are "Polish Unfriendly" and Labor Intensive

Adam62083

Yeah I do think yours turned out better than mine. Did you use any sort of wheel on yours? I did all of mine by hand. I think with a wheel I could get a better shine.

DAVECS1

iTrader: (2)

Did your TPIs come with a metal distributor cover. All of the TPIs I have seen have plastic covers. In your pictures the cover looks buffed to me and I am curious as to how it was done.

MikeInAZ

Adam.... yep used several buffing wheels, one for each compound as described in the articles.


Dave..... order GM P/N 10108425 Aluminum Plenum Extension
for app. $ 19.50 which was made for the Corvette, then polish it.

DAVECS1

iTrader: (2)

Thank you for the tip! I appreciate it. If you guys need any technical advise fire away.

Jza

Don't forget PN# 14082425; the screws for alum. plenum extension $0.42 x 3, 'cause they're different from the ones for the plastic cover.

87transam5.7tpi

everybody listen to MikeInAz....... he knows what he is doing? here a few pics of my first polishing project using his method. I plan on redoing all of it end of summer

87transam5.7tpi

another.......oh and these are before and afters I hope you can tell the difference :-)

87transam5.7tpi

and the last one this one actually was getting some light so you can see how it somewhat shines

89 Iroc Z

Can you please rewrite this? I can not understand what you said, maybe you wrote it when you where half asleep or something.

RSRagtop

I've got one question: What is the best way to restore wheels to their factory appearance? I've have a set 91'-92' Z28 wheel that have turned pink and the clear is chipped and yellowed. I was think of stripping of the pink and clear, and then using a scotchbrite pad to clean them up for the repaint. I don't want a mirror shine, just fresh, clean wheels that still have the machined look.

MikeInAZ

You are on the right track. When I try to do what you are talking about I have a small arsenal of:

Scotchbrite - Red/Gray/Gold
Wet Sandpaper - 320/400/500/600
Steel Wool - 00/000/0000

I use trial and error to see which one replicates the grain or appearance I'm looking for. Sometimes it's best to sand to a smooth satin first....... then grain it. Depends on any damage that might be present.

Being smooth and not in a hurry is the key.

RSRagtop

Thanks for the info. My rims are in good shape, the turning is still visisble, they just look dull and cloudy, I would guess from the clearcoat. I'm hoping a pass with scotchbrite will remove any light oxidation so I can repaint and re-clear them.

85SportCoupeto89RS

OK, I use professional equipment. The stuff is as follows:You will need an air compressor for 1,2 and a bench grinder 1. Die grinder 2. Dual Action sander 3. Sanding rolls for the die grinder(120,400 grit) 4. Sand paper for the da sander (180,320) 5. Polishing wheels (8 inch cloth and 8 inch (not sure what this wheel is made of but I think its carbon fiber, so thats what I will call it in my process)Carbon fiber? wheels that are attached to a bench grinder) 6. Polishing compound for the polishing wheels 7. 6 inch buffing wheel 8. A 5 inch grinding stone.
The process that I use in polishing
1. Use the grinding stone and all easy to reach spots(I wouldnt recomend this step on a IROC rim) Go up the angle part of the spoke until you get all rough casting out.Do not use on the edge of the rim, just on the angled parts of the spokes.
2. With the die grinder I get all hard to get areas that I couldnt get with the sanding stone, sand them smooth with 120 grit sanding rolls.
3. With the die grinder go over the same areas that you had done in step 2 with 400 grit sandign rolls this time.
4.Now go to your carbon fiber polishing wheel and go over all areas that you want polished, use polishing compound as much as you want(it has sand in it that helps to polish).
5. Now with your da sander sand everything you want polished with 180 and then repeat with 320 grit.
6. Now use your cloth polishing wheel with polishing compound and go over everything you want polished.
7. Last step now with a buffing wheel and polsihing compound go over all spots that you polished.
8. Enjoy what you have accomplished

Jza

This guy I was talking to at a hot rod shop gave me a tip to get that machined look. He said (on wheels with no tire mounted on them) to mount the wheel on your car while it's jacked up, and put it into drive and let it idle. Then hold a scotchbrite pad against it for a little bit to get that nice even machined look. He was talking about smooth solid-faced wheels, but it could concievably work on parts of whatever wheel you (RSRagtop) are trying to restore. Just an idea.

MikeInAZ

Jza.... that also works well for sanding the clearcoat off of your wheel. Gotta' CAUTION anybody thinking about this make sure you have a wheel that your fingers or hand can't go in.

T/A Honeycomb wheels yes.
Camaro Spoked wheels NO!

bandit45

Whats eastwoods website?

MikeInAZ

http://www.eastwoodco.com/

MrKingrey

I must have missed it somewhere. but what am i supposed to use to seal??? sand paper, buffer then?....

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

WOW old OLD thread... but very interestnig and useful. I wish I had seen it sooner.

The article says to seal with pure wax. polished aluminum resists normal oxidation anyway so if you just maintain the polish by hand thats enough generally.

Jeffs82TA

iTrader: (1)

I got this shine with 120grit and compound. Anything more then 120 is for the birds.