polished up a rim today. gonna take it to get clearcoated tomorrow let me know what ya think of it.

 

another pic

 

Looks good!

Matt

 

ummm keep on sanding. looks like there are still alot of surface scratches in it . so what steps did you take so far?

usually the shine is more like a mirror when done. Let us know the steps you took and maybe we can get you going in the right direction. i'd wait on the clear coat.

Jeff:

 

stripped the clear coat and then used White diamond polish
dont really wanna sand it as im terrified ill Fvck it up beond repair. it already looks a thousand times better than it did before i started.

thats why i like steel rims. if they were steel i would have taken the wire wheel to em and then polished em but since they are aluminum cant do that.

 

are those scratches in the pics on the rim? if so then i would say there already f'd up. to get over your fear of sanding grab a used or jy alum t stat neck, ya know the one that your upper radiator hose connects to. they are great for practice, and the altanator is another great item to practice on. those two items will help you get the feal for sanding. Get a vibrating sander like a ryobie the one that is triangled shape and some sticky sandpaper, very easy to work with takes little bites and keep it moving at all times and you can't go wrong. Check out the tech article for all the tips and the eastwood products to turn out a sweet shine.

But if you like how they came out and are pleased with them i would skip the clear and spend the money on zoop seal for a protectant. then if you decide to get adventurious and want to really buff out the wheel then there is no need to strip the clear again.

Jeff

 

the scratches in the middle area were there i dunno what i wanna do now. im just so damn scared i dont wanna ruin my rim
how is white diamond polish. whats your opinions or should i go really big and get polishing kits?

 

is there a center cap that covers the rashes in that area?

never heard of the polish ou used but it looked like it did a good job. i just tend to go big and do the sanding buffing route. it is messy as hell but it is fun when it is 100% and you know you did it and the compliments people give since it is not that common.

no kits... get the parts you need and not what they want you to get. i got a kit and used 2 peices out of the 5 they sent.

this was polished months ago and then sat out side in a few rain storms no hood on car.

 

some of it is and some isnt
want me to take a pic with the center cap on forya?

 

did you shine the centers also, yes snap a pic

 

nope they are plastic im scared to. they do look like **** but new ones are $42

 

how can u mess up sanding?

low grit------> high grit

when it all looks the same after sanding for awhile with one grit move up to the next grit.

 

is this your cap 16" rim

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2449236424

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2449901629

5.00

 

heres a coulple more pics

 

another

 

hard to tell but it looks like oxidation around the center caps. really kills the polish job.

but if your happy with em thats is al that matters.

i would go the next steps if you have the tools avalible to you and check out some more posts on polishing using eastwood white rouge for the final buff and the pre buff was tripoli works like a sand paper. but you need to sand first. very good tech article on sticky i belive that is where i learned how to buff.

Jeff

 

well thats a little more work than what i want to do and a little more money also. plust no where around here has that stuff. i dunno the stuff i used is a liquid should i be using something solid? i wouldnt mind getting rid of that oxidation crap but would just sanding it work? or would i need to buff it and do a ton of ****. plust im not good with little crevisis. i am just fine with large flat areas but little spots kill me.

 

well any sanding will require buffing to put the smooth finish which is the shine back into it. i wonder if a 3m pad would do the trick. it is a type of sand paper. never tried it maybe someone else has.

oh and the crevaces don;'t need a buff. if you sand a polish the flat areas and the lip of the rim those little groves would not be visible by the time the shine is done. and you could spray some paint in their to really set it off and be diffrent.

 

*** i hate living in ruarl bumb fvck ville no access to any of this stuff

 

internet for all those products

www.eastwoodco.com

 

i dont really have the means to order stuff on the internet. no CC and i hate waiting
i started a project and i like to finish it
if i dont finish something quick i end up forgeting about it and hten i will end up with a car that has a polished rim and 4 stock ones. oh i dunno what im gonna do. so maybe use an orbital sander on the surface of the rim? and work my way up to what? 1500-2k grit? if i go that fine would i have to buff?

 

yes there is no way around buffing. i would just grab a buffing pad and toss it on your drill and continue doing what you are doing. after all you said they looked much better

skip the clear and then plan for the future sand buff ect when you can get the supplies.

check out your local ace hardware ours has a small section of buffing pads and even carry the white rouge and tripoli.

 

nearest Ace Hardware is over and hour and a half away. i know this may seem stupid but what does a buffing pad look like?

 

check out that eastwood site look under buffing they have em all there and then you know what your looking for. they should be local to you autoparts store maybe

 

only autoparts store within 2 hours is napa

 

derr i feel stupid i have a few buffing pads for my dremel. how well will they work? they are tiny so i dunno.

 

same thing they just wear fast. give it a try go slow with it and look at the pad to see if there is a sewn thread in a spiral on it. if there is it is directional and it should spin in the direction of the dremel. if it is on backward they fall apart and toss little strings all over. found that one out the hard way.

 

keep working....you are no where near where they could be. they should be as bright as a mirror.

 

so i how does this sound


220 then to 400 then to 600or 800 then to 1000 then to 1500 then wet 1500 then wet 2k?


then buff with the polish i have?

 

Old Dirty Picture of my rims. I should pull em off and touch em up a bit.

My Z and my Fiancée

 

did you polish the center caps and get rid of the chevrolet and other writing?

 

92MaroRS - you can polish the centercaps, but only the outside lip. The center "nut" is plastic, but the edge around it with the lettering is actually aluminum. Here is a picture of the centercaps I polished before I sold my 91 wheels.

 

Yes I removed the logoa just like the Pic above also..

 

i just finished polishing my center caps. i did a 220 sand then 320 sand and wet, then 400 sand and wet, then finished sanding wiht a 600 dry and wet. i then buffed with 3M rubbing compund. i could have used somethign more aggressive but couldnt find any at the store. still did the job and looks great. let me know what you think. im gonna sand and do the same to the rim tomorrow.

 

looking alot better, see if you can't find something finer to get the swirls out.

 

would more buffing take care of that
this was the finest stuff i could find.

 

also whats a good color to set off a dark Purple?

 

there ya go that center is looking real good. more buffing will remove the swirls. never tried the 3m stuff so i can't comment on that product. but it is looking very good.

Jeff

 

i think something like gunmetal gray or metallic silver or something like that would look good with dark purple....

 

i think ill do the rim first tomorrow and see how that comes out and decided if i wanna spend more time on that center cap. i prolly will. but who knows. also how would that look with a dark/grsyish/gunmetrtal look with the polished? or should i use a color that will stand out more to the shinny rim?

 

I painted the inserts on my wheels a Charcoal grey metallic. I think that darker colors help to accent the insert on a polished wheel.

 

finished polishing the rim this morning. im gonna go get a can of Black Engine Enamel and tape the rim off and paint the grooves and the area between the spokes like that rim above. thanks for all your help guys!!!

 

also can i used the was i use on my car to protect my newely polished rim? i use Mothers California Gold Carnuba Cleaner Wax?

 

anyone?

 

i am completely done with this rim now other than a few touch up spots on the polish(some overspray got on it. nothing huge.

 

any opinions on how that looks? will it be ok to give it a coat of Carnuba cleaner wax to protect it or will the cleaner in the wax take the polish off?

 

Looks alot better. great work man. took longer but looks wayy better