I have the clear coat off my left rear wheel, I've worked up to 1000 wet sanding, and now I'm starting the final finish with 1500 wet. I did a 2-3 inch section of the rim lip and I want your opinions...

Does this finish look acceptable? It's highly noticable in the picture so I'm sure you will see where I started with 1500 wet and where 1000 wet starts on the lip.

 

Looks like a nice finish to me

I just finished my 2nd Z28 wheel.

 

Thanks, I just finished the entire lip of the rim, now I'm going to do the 'spoke' part of the rim. Man, if the clear coat only came off easier this project would be a breeze!

 

LOL I hear ya.

I use a scotch brite pad wheel on a Craftsman drill for the clearcoat and paint. Works a little better than hand sanding!

 

I don't have much for tools, how do you think steel wool would work?

 

Only way to find out is to try

It won't hurt it.

 

ive done z28 and iroc wheels. To take off my clear was slick i used a small can of "heavy dudy furnature paint stripper" from walmart. I dabed a bit on and the clear bubbled up in mins. Just keep it off the tire (just to be safe) and use gloves. Then after I wetsanded them I took a polish wheel (on a drill) with some "Autosol" tube metal polish to the wheels then wiped it good with a clean rag. Looks real good! I also find "Mothers" or "Eagle 1" alum/mag wheel polish (comes in a tin/dish) is real good to finish them off with.

 

Hey guys, I am in the process of stripping my IROC wheels. Just got the paint stripper today. I put a little on the grey portion of the wheel (just to test, I didn't have time to really get into the project yet), and to be honest with you, I am a little scared to start this whole project, I am really afraid I am going to screw up my wheels. I am hoping that since I did a little portion, that removed the clearcoat, I didn't sand or polish it so that's why it looks like crap. If I leave the stripper on for too long or if I do more than one coat of stripper, is it also going to strip the original grey paint underneath the clear-coat? Because I REALLY want to avoid stripping the paint (I don't want to paint these wheels, just strip 'em, and polish them and be done with it.)

O.K., so let me get this straight- after I strip the clear coat off with a plastic puddy knife type thing, I use a wet rag to get the gel stuff off? Then do I use steel wool to get the stuborn stuff off? Than as far as the sanding goes, do I only WET sand? If so, where do I get this sand paper, how much does it cost, what grades of paper do I use, and what is the technique for wet sanding? OH boy, I got to get this all done before I get my new tires in a week or so. LOL, yeah right. Anyways, I REALLY appreciate the help guys. I've asked around about this stuff and haven't gotten much help. Thanks!! -89IRO

 

89IRO - you have nothing to be worried about.

Anything you screw up, you can fix. If you are really worried about the paint stripper, then don't use it. Go buy a really coarse sand paper and sand it off.

Once you get over 400 grit sand paper, you should consider wet sanding only.

The sand paper is only 2-3 bucks for 5 little sheets of each or so.

 

mask off the areas you dont want the stripper to get to (with what...who knows, i knwo the tal strip i used on mine is soem of the most nastiest burn a whole in yoru finger **** ive played with in a while).

Then youll have to sand off the stubborn parts, i used 100 grit, then just hit everythign up with 100 grit to get the casting ridges out (KEY!!), then 200, then 320, 400, 400 wet (i belive the more 400 you do the better it turns out, so take your time and really do a bang up job on the 400), then use emery on a hard buff, tripoloi on a hard buff, then white rouge on a soft buff.

 

Looks good in the picture, but look at it under a bright light. Bright light will show any fine scratches you may have left to get out.

 

89IRO- yes tape off any paint you want to keep cause the stripper will get on it some how if you dont, you cant just take the clear off the painted parts it will take the paint off too. I use a dry rag to wipe it up instead of a wet rag like you said. I used to strip furnature for a living so you can say i have lots of experiance with it. Yes steel wool is great for the harder spots. Id say strip off the paint cause it looks crapy anyhow,,,,,the bare finish under it looks better to me IMO and its still a nice grey color, try a small spot.

 

Here's a pic of one of my wheels in original form:

 

Here is a polished wheel. The picture didn't come out too well, but the reflection on the wheel messed with my camera pretty bad. I'll try taking another one today.

 

Okay, heres a better picture of the original wheel, and a better picture of the finished wheel.

In the 2nd picture my paint looks like it's swirly...thats because I got a ton of overspray from the wheel wells and I had to wet sand the fender & door. I missed a bunch of spots, but I'll fix that tomorrow.

 

#1

 

#2

 

Thanks for the help guys. Yesterday when I put the stripper on that one grey painted part, it stripped the clear as well as the paint, like you said, but under the paint looked like a copperish color, not a nice grey like you described. I was reading that one report that some guy put together and he recomended not using the stripper at all. He said to just sand away to get the clear off. Now my question with this is if the 100 or so grit will take off the clear-coat, but will it take off the grey paint (which I want to leave.)??? After I have it all stripped, will I be able to buff/polish those painted parts? And I know I can get the tripoli and other stuff (2 stage) and the wheels at the eastwood company, but where can I get the sand paper? Can I just use regular sandpaper that you get at the hardware store (in the right grades of course)??? And as far as sizes of wheels, I am going to go for the smaller ones, like the 1-2" sizes, just wondering how I will put it on my drill. BTW, I have a dremel, can I use that? THANK YOU so much guys, you've been a big help. -89IRO

 

sure if you find a dremel with a 1/4 collet that ive noticed most buffs use.


if yo dont want to go through paint, dont sand the painted inserts, just the metal.


go to home depot, get mass paper for cheap, but be sure that you get wet sanding paper for the grits youll do wet in.

 

http://www.gmtips.com/3rd-degree/do...f/info/info.htm



There's the link boys.

guess it doesn't work

 

O.K., so those smaller wheels should take the 1/4" thing for the dremel right? I wonder what the 4" wheel takes, probably too big for the dremel though, but I've got a drill so that's all good. What bit am I going to need for the drill? As far as the sanding goes, should I use the 180 dry to remove the clear-coat and smooth out the metal, and then fpr the remaining two steps, I will wet sand. Sound good? Everything sounds good to me now, except I am still a little worried about those grey inserts. If I were to sand the clear-coat off of those areas, just so the grey paint is there, would I be able to polish those up to? I just need a little agreement from you guys: Will I be able to take off the clear coat by sanding? Thanks guys. -89IRO

 

If all your asking is if sanding will remove any clear coat..yes it will.

 

I can see why you don't want to take the dark grey paint off because it looks good and offsets thr rim, but if you did 1 already and took it off and don't like it much, just paint them gloss black or something close to factory.

In those pictures it looks like it needs more polishing.

 

Actually Here is the Link the above post was trying to suggest.... or at least close to it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red 86 T/A 5.0 TPI (LB9/WS6)
~HyperTech Cap/Coil/Rotor/AFPR
~Derale Adjustable Fan Switch ~ 170° Stat
~Flow Matched Injectors ~ K & N Air Filter
~Ported Plenum ~ Pirelli 245/50/16
~SLP TB Airfoil ~All Else Stock

 

Will polishing remove pits? You know the kind, pretty small and shallow but all grey and not shiny like the rest of the wheel?

 

Where are you guys buying these grit levels over 400? Everywhere ive gone 400 is the highest ive seen. Also, when you use WET sandpaper do you actually apply some water to the paper then sand or is WET sandpaper a actual type of sandpaper you buy off the shelf? Total newbie question but my cousin swears up and down you add water to it. Is this right? Thanks in advance.

 

Your cousin is right. You apply water to it (preferrably fresh running) to carry away particles so they don't scratch the finish and to keep the paper clean.

You probably should go to an automotive supply store to get good quality (3M) wet/dry sandpaper HOWEVER you don't need a grit above 400. Anything above is an absolute waste and can actually hinder the polishing process.

 

Those rims are starting to look good. The more you use the polish the clearer the shine will get.


Mike I tried only polishing up to 400 grit like you suggest. But it left scratches. Are you saying this works when doing it by hand with polishes. Or just when your using buffing wheels and compounds. Maybe i could have sanded better with the 400 but it just seemed to leave scratches that i couldnt get out using a rag and polish.

 

1

 

I just expirimented using 400 wet and it left scratches that I couldn't remove with polish either.

I went looking for this White Rouge polish everyone talks about, no where to be found here. Tried Sears & ever hardware store in town.

 

I just finished doing all four of my '88 IROC rims and they came out looking awesome. I found the fastest way to sand was to use a Black and Decker Mouse sander. It has a detailing sanding attachment that makes a long job shorter. It uses a hook and loop style sandpaper to attach to the bottom. Lowes sells round hook and loop sandpaper in stacks of about fifty for ten bucks. I used 80,120,220, and 400 with the Mouse sander, then the wet sanding by hand. Used Blue Magic wheel polish from Autozone and they all look sweet.

 

I just went to a local jeweler and he ordered me tripoli & white rouge compounds

 

Oh, BTW - I have a dremel...but I need/want some sort of attachment that I can use to polish the wheels with. I've done everything by hand so far, but the jeweler recommended I'd get something to polish with.

 

400 is all you need when using Tripoli and White Rouge. Sears does have it in the tool section, thats where I got it. It will be a pack of 4 bars, not liquid. $5.99. Home Depot also carries it too.

 

I just ordered all my stuff off of Eastwood.com

I got the tripoli and white rouge, as well as two 4" spiral wheels and two 4" canton wheels. For the sanding, can I get this paper at like Home Depot? I've already got a sanding block, so will this paper fit on it? One more question: Is the sandpaper some special stuff, or is it just normal wood sandpaper? Thanks. -89IRO

 

Well here's what is throwing some people off track. Polishing and Buffing are 2 different things. They get lumped together which causes problems in understanding. Understanding the process and why problems develop. Maybe this will shed some light.

Raw metal to a lustre (mirror) shine would be buffing. The final step of buffing is polishing. The after step in maintaining it is also polishing.

Products like Mothers, Autosol, Eagle one are called Aluminum Polishes. Folks are trying to buff with these. Can you do it, YES eventually because they contain abrasives. But they will never produce mirror. Only white rouge will do this. If you ever took a white rouge finished piece and polished it with Mothers and such you will see the swirls and scratches it leaves.

If you are going to try and buff/polish your wheels via abrasive aluminum polish then YES you will need to go above 400 wet to achieve decent results.

In general the principle to achieving mirror is:

180 Dry for Clearcoat Removal or Deep Scratches
320 Wet to Remove those scratches.
400 Wet to Get to Satin Finish No scratches.
Stop

2 variables: Smooth Surfaces (Runners) Skip the 180.
Metal Removal (Leveling a Plenum) Drop to 80 on a Block.

Switch to Compounds: Method 1 ~ 3 Step
1. Tripoli on Hard Wheel
2. White Rouge on Soft Wheel
3. Carnabu Wax for protection

or the one I'm using now.
1. Emery on a Hard Rough Wheel
2. Emery on a Hard Smooth Wheel
3. Color Compound on Softer Wheel
4. White Rouge on Soft Loose Wheel

There is NO way to a #12 mirror without compounds.

 

Cool, I think you cleared some stuff up for everybody there. Man, I'm still having trouble finding this "pure" Carnaubu wax to protect them after buffing. All I can find is "cleaner wax". Are you sure the cleaner wax isn't ok for protecting them, or maintaing the shine? Thanks. -89IRO

 

Eagle One with jewelers rouge gets pretty close to a 'mirror shine'... (a pita using it by hand though...)

 

The way the jeweler explained to me...tripoli will take out many surface imperfections, and the white rouge will give it the mirror finish.

I had to order this stuff from a Jeweler, the local Sears here looked at me like I was nuts when I asked for the stuff. Then proceeded to say they don't carry such a product.

 

I have the tripoli & white rouge now.

I'm not sure how to use this stuff...

 

That is weird. Sears sells kits with buffing wheels and four different compounds including tripoli and white rouge. They also sell larger bars of the stuff. That is where I got mine.

:shrug:

As far as how to use it, I just hold it up to the buff wheel to get some on it and then apply the wheel to the surface that you are polishing.

MikeinAZ's web site is awesome for tips and techniques. I believe it was referenced earlier in this thread.

HTH

-Schultzy

 

Also, "Pure Carnabu Wax" is like a brick. The commercial product that is considered pure only has 15% carnabu wax in it.

If you use a cleaner wax you are back to square one. It has abrasives, abrasives will swirl.

Meguairs has it. Purple bottle just called wax. It is I believe the 3rd Step of a 3 bottle (3 step) process where:

1. Cleaner/Scrub
2. Polish
3. Wax

All you want is bottle 3