I have started to polish my rims. Im using 250 grit dry, 320 grit wet, 400 wet, tripoli with a medium buffer wheel and white rouge with a soft wheel. Im using the buffer wheels on a regular drill. I got the tripoli on the buffer wheel but as soon as I started to buff on the rim the polish turned black. Am I burning the polish??? I had the drill going at full blast but i wasnt really grinding into the rim, just lightly running the wheel on the surface of the spoke. The rim buffed up really well but there seems to be some tiny black marks in certain spots. So whats the deal? Am i doing it right? If not what should I do? Its kinda hard to keep the drill at low RPMS. Should I maybe switch to a dremel instead cause it has variable speeds? Can I get hard and soft buffer wheels for the dremel? Thanks for the info.

 

that is completely normal, its just the oxidation of the wheel. dont worry about it. remember to use the compound sparingly...you really dont need much at all.

 

so even if the polish gets kinda hard thats ok? It will still work right?

 

if the polish gets hard on the buffing wheel, that means that it is drying. You want to keep the compound soft, or 'melted' on the buffing wheel. The hard compound may scratch the surface.

 

I mean as soon as it starts to turn black it starts to get hard. Soon there is a crust of hard black polish on the buffer wheel.

 

hmm, that shoulnt be happening. What wheel are you using and what compound is it?