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Old 05-29-2009, 11:59 PM   #1
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polishing my wheels

hey guys , I started polishing my wheels today, I think there coming out good.What do you guy's think
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Old 05-30-2009, 04:08 AM   #2
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Re: polishing my wheels

..... How much time did you put in just on that one rim? Give us a little more info on what you did.
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Old 05-30-2009, 11:37 AM   #3
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Re: polishing my wheels

looks really sweet in the pic! Yes, please elaborate on what you did.....sanding before polishing? If so what grit? etc etc.
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Old 05-30-2009, 12:43 PM   #4
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Re: polishing my wheels

step #1: I sprayed some easy-off oven cleaner and let it sit for 30min after the 30min you scrub the with a teflon dish scrubber.By doing this it cleans off all of grime and corrosion.when your done wash off the cleaner and dry the rim.

step #2:now you have to remove the clear and paint i used Eastwood paint remover.Brush on the remove on to the rim and let it sit for 3Hrs.After the 3Hrs you scrape the stuff off or if you have a power washer that works better.

Step #3: Now it's time polish, I use 400grit sandpaper.Start sanding til the finish on the rim is dull now you rinse the rim down and wipe it dry.This process took me about 1.5hrs to do.

Step #4:now your done sanding, you grab the finest steel wool you can get and start scrubbing until the dulness is gone and any light scratches.The steel wool also give it a nice smooth finish.This process took me about 3hrs per rim depends on the shine you want it can take you longer.

Step #5:now rinse off the rims and dry it.Take Mothers mag and aluminum polish.Apply the polish to the rim let sit for about 2min and then rub the polish off and your done. You will be amazed i know i was.I couldn't believe how nice they came out.
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Old 05-30-2009, 12:51 PM   #5
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Re: polishing my wheels

They look good, now is the time for new tires.
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Old 05-30-2009, 09:25 PM   #6
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Re: polishing my wheels

Quote:
Originally Posted by DJP87Z28 View Post
They look good, now is the time for new tires.
thanks, The car is going to the bodyshop to get painted.When i get the car back thats when i'm going to get new tires.
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Old 05-31-2009, 03:28 AM   #7
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Re: polishing my wheels

Quote:
Originally Posted by hotrod78 View Post
step #1: I sprayed some easy-off oven cleaner and let it sit for 30min after the 30min you scrub the with a teflon dish scrubber.By doing this it cleans off all of grime and corrosion.when your done wash off the cleaner and dry the rim.

step #2:now you have to remove the clear and paint i used Eastwood paint remover.Brush on the remove on to the rim and let it sit for 3Hrs.After the 3Hrs you scrape the stuff off or if you have a power washer that works better.

Step #3: Now it's time polish, I use 400grit sandpaper.Start sanding til the finish on the rim is dull now you rinse the rim down and wipe it dry.This process took me about 1.5hrs to do.

Step #4:now your done sanding, you grab the finest steel wool you can get and start scrubbing until the dulness is gone and any light scratches.The steel wool also give it a nice smooth finish.This process took me about 3hrs per rim depends on the shine you want it can take you longer.

Step #5:now rinse off the rims and dry it.Take Mothers mag and aluminum polish.Apply the polish to the rim let sit for about 2min and then rub the polish off and your done. You will be amazed i know i was.I couldn't believe how nice they came out.
Your hard work really shows off. Post some pics when you get the car painted.
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Old 05-31-2009, 11:40 PM   #8
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Re: polishing my wheels

Quote:
Originally Posted by hotrod78 View Post
Step #3: Now it's time polish, I use 400grit sandpaper.Start sanding til the finish on the rim is dull now you rinse the rim down and wipe it dry.This process took me about 1.5hrs to do.
So did you sand until the fine machine lines in the metal (from the factory) were gone?
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Old 06-01-2009, 01:03 AM   #9
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Re: polishing my wheels

excellent - when are you heading over here to do mine?

looks great.
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Old 06-03-2009, 11:54 PM   #10
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Re: polishing my wheels

the wheels look great. i am going to have to try this.
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Old 06-13-2009, 07:22 PM   #11
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Re: polishing my wheels

dude, seriously!

I have those wheels... and they look disgusting compared to yours!

NICE JOB! I wish I had the patience and time for that. Heck, I pay someone to wax my car, truck and wife's car that's how bad I am.
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Old 09-29-2009, 06:43 PM   #12
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Re: polishing my wheels

They look awsome how much time did it took you for all of the wheels and do you got pics of them on the car
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Old 10-01-2009, 07:57 PM   #13
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Re: polishing my wheels

looks good. are you going to paint the insideparts of the rim? clearcoat it?

I had a hard time trying to polish a set of iroc rims a long time ago. the factory had machined groves in them that weren't obvious before i started polishing them. so extensive sanding was going to be required first, more than i wanted to do at the time.

note, if you don't use stainless steel wool, it can infuse steel molecules into the aluminum surface, and those can cause visible rust if exposed to moisture. a preferred method is to use stainless steel wool, or those 3m scrubber pads. they come in different coarseness. basically the thin green or white scrubbers you use for your fryin' pans. I haven't personally seen the rust on aluminum but have on stainless steel when regular steel wool pads were used to polish it. probably not a big problem, but just an fyi for others going to polish their wheels.
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Old 10-08-2009, 08:45 AM   #14
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Re: polishing my wheels

well call me informed.
i did an entire wheel with regular steel wool.
i used WD-40 as a lubricant though just to make me feel better
i was getting a lot of sh!t built up in the steel wool though so maybe i was doing it wrong
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Old 10-08-2009, 01:20 PM   #15
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Re: polishing my wheels

Nice Wheels!!! Im moving this to the proper board so others can enjoy!
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Old 10-08-2009, 03:49 PM   #16
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Re: polishing my wheels

Real nice man, I have to polish up my GTA wheels since the clear coat is flaking off on all of them but really bad on two. This info helps
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Old 10-08-2009, 11:53 PM   #17
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Re: polishing my wheels

No clear coat?

Also, use sticky weights when you grab new tires to keep clean looking.
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Old 10-09-2009, 07:05 AM   #18
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Re: polishing my wheels

Nice job.I also did mine and I will try to get some pics up.I started with an electric orbital sander with 340 paper discs and took all the factory machine marks out.Then wet sanded with 800 1000 2000 polished with mothers and put some sealer on them.They come out amazing look chrome.spent about ten hours per wheel.
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