Hi, I'm a new member and this is my first post. I'm currently
polishing a set of 91 z28 rims that I purchased used. I just got
done with the first one and was wondering what everyone
thinks. By the way the are going on my 84 z28 with 255/50/16's.

Before:

 

After:

 

Another before with a little better angle.

 

Same angle after

 

Good polishing.

 

Great job. Here's mine.

 

Thanks I did them by hand with a sanding block. I still want to go
over them with a 2000 grit paper. By the way Mark I am waiting
for my camaro to come back from the shop. I am putting in the
Goodwrench 350 with a performer intake, 600 cfm carb, TES
headers, high flow cat, 3" exhaust, and electric fans. I am hoping
for mid 14's as a starting point until I put in a better cam and
possibly upgrade the cylinder heads after the warranty runs out.
How has that engine treated you?

 

Sweet man, I wish I knew how to make mine that reflective

 

Nice work.

I still have one more to do. Man I'm lazy.

 

LOOKING GOOD!
Never mind with the 2000grit. Get some white polishing compound and hit it with a polishing wheel on your drill or air grinder. That'll do it!

 

Polished factory wheels look real good. I even did one of mine. But I hate the upkeep they tend to need compared to chrome.
Nazzz, you did a terrific job.

 

FOR THE LOVE OF G0D change the cam first. It's a .390/.410 lift cam. I didn't know that, which is worse than the peanut cam. Stops power at 3500 rpms, of course this is after I had put in 3:73s that I found all this out. Totally messed my 1/4 times up. Though once I get a new cam, watch out. I plan on a cam/head work/higher stall TC/ and intake by next summer. Hopefully in the low 13s then. Other than the cam and some minor head work needed the engine is great.

I've had it for about 1.5yrs and only 15k miles at the most.

 

Dude, what are you talking about, we were talking about polishing wheels. Not cams

 

That is what he is talking about.

 

Thank you StnKlr.

 

Thanks for all the comments, and Mark I will be changing the cam
as soon as I break the engine in and make sure there are no
problems with it. I don't want to void the warranty and have
something seriously wrong. By the way I know alot of people
use different techniques to polish their rims and get good results
but I figured I would include what I did.

1. Removed the clearcoat with remover from Advanced Autoparts
2. Wet sanded with 3M papers: 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000,
1500, 2000. I sanded over the entire rim twice thoroughly
with each grit. I used a sanding block and did it by hand.
3. I then cleaned the rim with Eagle One aluminum wheel
cleaner. I like this cleaner because the pH is neutral and it
will not oxidize and dull the finish even after polishing.
4. I took steve89gta's advice and got a polishing wheel for a
hand drill. I then polished twice using Mothers aluminum
and mag polish, using a terry cloth pad.
5. Buffed out any remaining polish by hand.

In the above pictures the befores were after the clear was
removed so as you can imaging they were even duller than that
when I started.

Also, the afters were taken before I sanded with the 2000 grit
paper and used the polishing wheel. I did hand polish them though. They are much more reflective now, can see things in them from over 20 feet away. I will post some new pics this week after I finish polishing the center caps.

Thanks again for the comments and sorry for the length.

 

N/P.

Nazzz, thats pretty much the same process and materials I used. Except, I started with a 80, then so on to 2000. Again, nice job. Yeah, its uncanny how reflective they are after the polishing.

 

Nazz, you said those are Z28 wheels you bought yet they look a whole lot like the ones on my RS.
http://www15.brinkster.com/bfspace/c...erside-big.jpg

Did you get confused or have I got better rims than I thought?

Anyways... dont suppose youd trip down here and pretty mine up like you did yours would you?? Didnt think so.

How many hours was it to do all that by hand? If mine would look that good im seriously wanting to do this.

 

Looks really good. I'm halfway done with mine. They're not perfect (still have some small, light scratches but shine like hell from far). I only sanded up to 1500.. would 2000 help much?

 

It took me 4-5 hours a piece, thats with the Mouse doing all of the hard work (machining grooves), 80, 120, 180, 220. The rest was done with a sanding block, wet sand: 220, 400, 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000. It takes awhile, but the end result is well worth it.

I noticed a difference going from 1500 to 2000, its a little bit more reflective, from what I had seen. After four wheels, I just dont see how you can get each and every little scratch to come out. Hopefully somebody will tell me. I even experimented with a couple different polishing compounds, none worked. But all in all I'd have to say I'm impressed with myself.

Good luck to anyone else who does this. You will like it.

The right side is polished, the left side was untouched. A little difference.

 

You might need a few of these. Well maybe something better.

 

V8 91-92 RS's also got these rims I think. My 92RS had them.

I think I'm gonna do some 2000 on mine, its worth a shot.

 

Reborn92RS - MetalliCamaroRS is right these rims came on RS's as
well I just got mine from someone with a 91 z28. There are 3
91-92 RS's around where I live and all of them have these rims.
They took me about 6 hours a piece to sand by hand with a
sanding block (my car is in the shop and still has the 15's so it
doesn't bother me). After all of the sanding was done I used the
polishing wheel for a handdrill I got from Advanced Auto Parts,
with a terry cloth pad and polished with Mothers polish. This took
about 30 minutes a rim. All in all it is time consuming but the end
result is amazing.

MetalliCamaroRS - Yes going to 2000 grit paper did help. The
after pictures shown were only to 1500 grit and hand polished,
and the rims are more reflective now. The main difference I noticed
was that at 1500 grit there were still very small scratches present, but
when 2000 grit was use the scratches became much less
noticeable.

StngKlr - your rims look great, and you are right about the
scratches. I have sanded over and over and polished and
polished and some are just there to stay. However, by going to
the 2000 grit they are so small that you have to be about 2 feet
away from them to notice.

By the way I have polished the center caps and will post some
new pictures soon.

 

I just bought a set of those rims. The clear is pealing so I will have to polish them. Did you shoot clear coat over it when you were done?

 

I have not clearcoated them. This is a question that I have asked before also. Anyone?

So far they look OK. No clouding or anything so... They have been done for about 3 wks also, well at least one has.

 

Won't changing the cam void the warranty? Or are you doing both heads and cam after it runs out?

 

Camrs89 - I am not going to clear coat mine. I have heard that
clear coating after polishing can take away a good percentage
of the luster and reflectivity that you have worked so hard to
obtain. Also, my uncle owns an automotive paint shop and
advised not to do it. He said that it is hard to get the clear to
permanently bind to a finely polished surface. I know there
will be more upkeep involved but to have a nice set of rims I'm
prepared.

StngKlr - As long as you polish them every few months and keep
them clean they should be fine. Also, I have hear that there are
some protects made for polished aluminum and I am currently
trying to find out what they are and who makes it. If I find out
I will let you know.

Sauron91 - I know swapping the cam will void the warranty .
That is why I am going to wait until it runs out and I know that
there is absolutely nothing wrong with the engine before I touch
any of the internals. After that I will be looking the swap in a
better cam and either get aftermarket heads or have the stock
ones worked over .

 

Stngklr, Did you re-paint the grey? If so where did you use? Im considering polishing my whole wheels but Im sure that would be a major task so I may just paint the painted part again.

 

Lock,

I still havent painted the wheels yet. I guess I'm a little undecided at the moment. I'm thinking I might go black, it seems to show the polishing a little better. I dont know, we'll see.

Yeah polishing the whole wheel would take forever, seeing how polishing the aluminum parts only, took me about 4-5 hrs a piece. I'm glad I'm done with that.

Good luck.

 

I must say you all did a sweet job on your wheels!! If you didn't use some sort of electric tool, your arms must be almost ready ta fall off! lol. I opted for the 91-92 style rims for my car as well. I had mine done by a shop though since my dad got me a deal on it I figured why not. But I think you guys did just as good on your rims!