Has anybody ever tried to polish the rims for the firebird? Was just wondering what this would look like. I mean actually polishing out the black stuff too.

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91 bird - stock 305 tbi for now, auto, t-tops
-Panasonic CQ-DF600U head unit w/8 disc cd changer, JBL 6x9s, Pioneer 4x6s, Alpine V12 MRV-100M amp powering two 10 RockfordFosgates in a homemade sealed box, kind of a motley crew but works so far

What type of firebird rims are they... 16" GTA(likne mine down below), 16" Formula or other?

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92' White Trans Am Convertible, 305 TPI, 5 spd. 2:73's, Edelbrock TES, Accell 8.8's, Hypertech Stage II, TPIS Air Foil, Ported Plenum, K&N TB Cone Filter, AFPR, & A Little Bit Of Attitude!
-Best ET: 14.944 @ 93.11

88 Gunmetal GTA Hardtop... Project In The Works!

"GUYS, WE NEED TO FIND A MUSTANG TO RACE... THERES ONE! HOLY SH*T SHES HOT! SHES NOT GONNA GO... NAH... HOLY SH*T SHES GOIN!"

Yeah I tried to polish mine. I didnt have the right tools to get it done right so I tried a small spot with a dremell. Man that dremell nearly Fu**ed it up. So then I tried some steel wool to get that break dust that has been sitting on thire for 3 years before I bought the car.

That was a mistake because there is a this plastic coating on the rims. If you try to polish them of even clean them with the wrong tools it will scratch that coat and make you rim shine in one area and look dull in another. Unless you have the right tools DONT DO IT.

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89 Formula Firebird
Red with T-tops
5.0 305 FI
Soon to be a 400sb or 350.

Get in touch with *****. He did excellent work on his wheels. He had a whole tech article with pictures.

Sorry guys, been away for awhile, but the type of rims are talking about are on this guys car
https://www.thirdgen.org/rides/rideimages/front04.JPG

I was just wondering what it would look like, if it would look any good, and if there are any pics?

Thanks

Those look like the 16inch turbo rims for the formulas...ive seen them polished to a mirror like finish...they are sweet...but it takes a looong time...im going to try it with my rims too...
Snuffit
89 firebird formula

It can be done, it just takes some time. I used an old rill, three different grades of compound, and some NeverDull to finish off. Then I masked and painted the inner areas with hi-temp paint. I had planned on polishing this area, but I ran out of patience. Plus it would be one more thing to keep polished. I hope this link works...
www.angelfire.com/fl5/thirdgenbird/newrims.jpg

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1989 Firebird 2.8L MPFI
K&N cone filter
Flowmaster series 80 w/ custom 2.5in Cat-back
Accel Cap, rotor, coil, 8mm wires, Rapidfires
Energy Suspension bushings
Edlebrock springs
Bilstien Shocks & Struts
Shift Kit
245/45-16 Goodyear GSC's on polished stock rims
Lots of TLC
www.angelfire.com/fl5/thirdgenbird/

I also wanted to clean the brake dust off my rims when I bought my car and I ran into a big problem with the plastic coating on the wheels... I used gum cutter to remove what was left of it and Mothers Aluminum Polish on them. They look pretty sharp for the most part but there are still spots with the coating on it plus I have to keep them polished. I would be interested to know if anyone has any ideas on how to get the rest of the coating off so I can try to finish what I started.

The "coating" is a clear paint. Use a heavy duty chemical stripper and it should come off. Keep in mind with polishing anything aluminum, you'll need to periodically repolish the wheels. If the clearcoat on the wheels isn't chipping off, you'd be further ahead to leave the coating and work the scratches, brakedust, etc out of the finish. With the clearcoat on, the wheels aren't quite as shiny, but they're virtually maintenance free.

BTW the wheels he posted are the 15x7 Firebird, T/A, wheels.

[This message has been edited by Drew (edited November 22, 2001).]

I am trying to clean mine and need help!
I tried some cleaner from wal-mart and it helped a little.
Ig you could give me some steps to cleaning them. Be easy with me because i don't know anything about cars.

I just used a palm sander with 220 grit paper to get the clear-coat and the machining ridges off the the dremel with a plastic bristle cone shaped brush and some mothers aluminum polish, thats all and lots of time. I wouldn't even attempt to polish the painted areas, too much roughness there.

Everything I've read so far about polishing aluminum wheels ends up with people saying that you need to keep polishing them once a month or so. Is it not possible to re - clear coat the wheels after polishing? Or is it that the mirror polished surfaces will not hold the clearcoat?

Damn this post is old as hell! I dont even live in the same apartment as I did when I first posted this. LOL!! See my other post up there? I have used paint stripper since then and it shined them up real nice.

Let's see the pics....

Well here are mine, I didnt polish them, instead I just stripped the old faded yellowing clear coat and recoated them. I think they look pretty good. I still want to repaint the inserts dark gray, anyways, heres one of them..

looking nice!!