I got my 16" 88-90 Iroc Rims in today. Tomorrow I will run around and pick up all the things I need to polish them up real nice. As you can see in the pictures, well, I dunno if that's clearcoat rubbing off or if it's scratches. I can't really tell but it feels rough in those places. How much will I be looking to spend and what stuff do I need to buy? **don't say search cuz I searched already and found this**

"Also there is some adhesive 180 paper on a roll. Pretty pricey a 45 bucks a roll but maybe you can beg or borrow some. You can peel off a bit and stick it to your fingers. I find it the best stuff for working down hard to get areas because you don't have to concentrate on holding the paper.
Skip the 600... you're wasting your time and actually hurting your finish by "glazing"..... stop at 400 wet (very thorough sanding... a most important step).

I would use: 180/320/400 but experiment. You may be able to go 180/400.

These are the secrets. Find the shortest route to the best possible finish."

But then I saw like 10 other ways with like 40 different grits of sandpaper. Which would be the quickest and most effective way?

Thanks a lot guys

 

Like said everyone has there own way. It's goin to cost around $50 I would estimate.

I used 80,180,220,320,400, 600, 800, 1500 wetsanded with WD40.

I would suggest against a dremel to polish, as it left burn marks in one of my wheels.

 

The method Mark used and I used on two wheels takes a long time. I would buy supplies from eastwoodco.com. Buy Buy a tube of emery compound, white rouge compound, and tripoli compound. Also buy a canton wheel, 2 spiral wheels, and a sisal wheel. I ordered all these supplies for around $40 shipped. You can do a wheel much quicker with these. Use this post for more details:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...504#post766504

 

if i buy that.. for about $40... is that enuff for ALL 4 wheels? or just 1 or 2? thanks a lot guys

 

I was told it should be enough to do my 4 wheels, my plenum and runners and have some left over so you should be fine. I haven't tried it yet, I just ordered it 5 days ago.

 

Heh... I had a bad experience with a dremmel too. I try one small spot and it burned the clear coat. So I just stripped all the clear coat off and now I cant find the mark made my the dremmel. Guess it didnt get to the metal. Who knows.

 

How well would this work on a plenum?

 

well i got a few days til school starts... car goes in paint shop Friday nite... and i have pretty much nothin 2 do... how long will it take 2 sand each wheel by hand? and where can i get some of this aircraft stripper or whatever? thanks again guys

 

If you're doing the long process (80 through 1500 wet), expect to take about 5-6 hours per rim. The aircraft remover can be found at Wal Mart. I bought the spray one, worked fine and won't harm tires.

 

i'll prolly just do the 180/320/400 like i said in the first post up there... would that be good after i strip the clearcoat? and after i strip the clear coat... and get all that off... so i just sand away with 180 over the whole rim... and then move up 2 the next? and when do i wet sand? at 400?? and i'm gonna repaint the inserts and the other painted parts of the rim... it's like a charcoal color... how can i repaint all that black??

 

180/320/400 should be good if you take your time. Make sure you get it as perfect as you want it before moving on to the next grit. Wetsand at 400... and make sure its wet! I'd use WD40. As for painting, I don't know yet. I'm going to paint mine too. I plan on 2 coats primer, sand, 2-3 coats paint.

 

i have some 120 and 240 grit sheets of sandpaper sittin here... should i start with 120? or start lower at like 80? also how do i know when i should move up 2 the next grit?? sorry for so many questions but i just wanna make it look good haha

 

When you strip the clearcoat off your rim, look closely at it. You will see small grooves machined into the rim. These are what you are trying to remove. If you start with 80 grit, they will be removed quicker than with 120. Whichever one you decide to start with, make sure the grooves are gone. This will leave 80 grit scratches. Sand with the next grit until those are gone and reduced to smaller scratches. Repeat until 400. Take your time and it'll look sweet. Sand with 400 dry really well until it appears smooth (not yet reflective). Try and get all the marks out. Then wetsand. Then buff with Mothers Aluminum Polish. This is when you should see the reflectiveness.

And don't worry about the questions, thats what the boards are for. I was nervous the first time taking sandpaper to my rims too. I can't wait for my Eastwood stuff to come so I can get them REALLY shiney.