Well i got my kit from eastwood yesterday so i tried it out. I had alrdy sand blasted them the week b4. The kit comes with compounds of 80,220,320 that suppose to smooth out the wheels. Well it didnt seem to be doin to well it took forever to get where i am and that was doin alot by hand also. It also didnt come with little enough buffs to get into the lug nut holes or small area's. I spent like 70 dollars on it and im not to pleased cause it suppose to smooth out wheel castings. I read the directions and did like it said also u have to wait on the compound for like 10 min to dry also everytime which was annoying. Any1 know a faster way !!!! or any tips i alrdy read the article. It took like 2 1/2 hrs to get here and i only did the 80 grit didnt get to the others yet .

 

Be patient. If you try shortcuts just cause you want a faster way, it won't look as good. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't sacrifice time for quality.

 

i agree i just seen some wheels that ru-qwik said he did in a hr and half 1 time and i dont see how. The hardest part is the first step i think once i go on to the 220 it should go alot faster. What about the lug nut holes n that should i order smaller wheels i guess.

 

I'm pretty sure RU has some nice, expensive polishing equipment which allows him to do rims in an hour. For the lug holes, try a tapered buff.

 

Yes, RUQUIK seems to be very good at that task. Although, he will not reveal how he does it so quickly. Only thing I can think of is using air tools and power tools to sand and buff.

As Andy said above, I would rather substitute quality for time.

It took me prolly 20 hours for me to be 98% satisfied with my plenum and plenum extension. I'm still not totally happy with it, I think I'm going to tear it apart and do it again.

 

Yeh to get them where i want i think they will take a long time. I might work on them all day 1 day this weekend and see where i get. As u can see the kit came with some tapered peices but i think they r for polishin only and they r too big. They wouldnt pick up the buffin compound they were to soft. Ill just call up eastwood i know they have smaller ones. To get the casting out under where the paint use to be takes some time and u have to do it by hand well that 80 grit compound didnt do it. I used 80 grit paper and it was slowly getting it.

 

ne1 else?

 

looking at you pic's. you said they were sand blasted? the buff you have on your grinder is that it is a buff wheel. looking at the wheel shown you need to sand the grey stuff off first, sand the cast down 1st and then buff with those wheels. there is a tech article on polishing you plenum and runners which would help you get in the right direction. you went with eastwood which was a good choice they have great products for buffing. but you need sanding first. they have a tappered sanding disk that would be the ticket for those lug holes. you have the right tool for the job wish i had that for doing my plenum. Sanding 80/180/230 then buff with the brown compund forgot whats it is called then follow up with the white rouge and get your sun glasses out for a great shine. sanding is what your missing, sanding will remove the cast or sand blasting marks. then you can buff. and one last don't forget to get the arbor for the tapper sanding disks, you'll need a spare if you drop it like i did and bend that arbor, makes a mess of the job if used bent.

kEEP US UPDATED ON THE PROGRESS

Gl Jeff

 

yeh i figured out ill have to sand by hand first cause it wasnt getting it all out but was makin it really smooth.I did sand alot by hand tho. About the sandin disk which ones r u talkin about exactly im not sure what else i need. should i buy some buffin and polishing peices to get in there also. Its hard to get into some areas with that buff that is on the grinder but its the only type that came in the kit. Thanx for your reply.

 

look on eastwoods web site they are called sanding tapered rolls. the have two type cylender and tapered. tapered is the ticket for most all jobs. they come in 3 grits get all 3 start coarse and work you way to fine, which will still look ruff a bit and the buff with the brown sanding compound. get extra arbor!

it will take ya a few hours to get it o where you need to be but once you do you will know it and see it. and the rest of the wheels will go much faster.

the best part is once ya get the hang of it look at al the cool alum you can polish, altinator, plenum, runners. a/c tank......

 

Wouldnt those sandin disc leave grooves i guess u just have to move really fast. Also on the buffin wheels n things i think i might just wait till next week end there is gonna be a huge car show with a swap meet they might have some stuff i need. It just kinda makes me mad cause i told eastwood what i had and they said that kit would do the job. Also a word of advice when you use power tools be very carefull not to slip on the wheel cause u will nick it.

 

no the sanding is the key part, it is the prep you do sanding down the nicks and grooves that gives you the best apperiance. i would not use the sanding wheel in the flat area where it says front or rear on the face of the wheel. if you slip there you will sand down the square edge, but if you get some of the round sanding disks you may be able to run the square edge on the top of the disk along the edge and do ok. i had most trouble nicking things with the tool not the sanding disk. you may want to use a regulator on you die grinder to slow it down some to make slower cutting. this way you can really see the changes. if your going to a swap pick up a alum water neck. you know that part thet your thermostat mounts in. this is a great item to practice sanding on to see what happend when you step through the 3 grits and the compound and buff with white rouge you will see the end results. areas that are not sanded enough will show after buffing. the kit you got from eastwood is probally fine you just need to sand first. also check the locked post on polishing that is where i learned to polish, and check the tech pages great step by step with photos of the tapered sanding disks.

 

here are the sanding rolls from eastwood, not sure about the tubes of greasless compounds you bought. i didn't use them only the brown compound and white rouge

 

here is the taper rolls these are great for the job

 

yup it is just gonna take time i guess ill do some more this weekend i need to buy some 80 grit paper im all out and ill just have at it.Im gonna take sometime and get all the imperfections n things out like u said i think it will make a much cleaner look. Then ill goto 180 paper then the 80 compound seemed to do good then maybe the last 2 compounds. Like you said the sandin by hand is the longest part i think. The 180 paper took the 80 paper marks out the compund wouldnt it seemed to smooth real good tho.

 

yeh i seen those i thought thats what u meant i would def have to regulate the speed tho. Or else u might be takin off to much. Also did ne have a prob with it lookin like it takes off the sharpe edges. I guess it will look ok

 

yes it will take off sharp edges if you sand them. you may want to use a small sander like the black and decker or makita triagled head. those work slower and do a good job. ya know the type that vibrate.

i used 80/then 120/240 and /400 then buffed with tripoli and polished to super shine with white rouge

 

yeh with most the sanders i got its hard to stay flat cause its angled unless i put the paper on a block and go at it. I used the da some cant get to much on my wheels with it. Im sure 91-92 z wheels would be sooo much easier cause there mostly flat.