As posted on this forum:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=304765

I have recieved emails regarding the condition of my spare set of rims. I have been restoring these rims and I am very happy with the results.

First, some history on them:

I have two sets of 15"x7" Turbo Casts. One set I have completely restored and I have mounted on my car right now. The other, I'm in the process of restoring. They were taken off of a white 1982 Pontiac Trans Am 4-speed with the WS6 option. These rims have never been mismatched with others and have always been on the one car until now. When I took them off, I had the intent of restoring them and using them as full size spares for my other car. The difference between them then and now is already remarkable and I'm not even finished fully cleaning them yet. I intend to do a full polish job on the fins/rims as with my other set.

Here's some pics of the rims when I took them off the car:

 

Someone had once used a "chrome" spraypaint on these rims and I have to say they looked horrible. One thing I learned quick with my other set is that painting over these rims justs ruins them. They look 10x better looking naturally clean.


Another pic:

 

One more:

 

The set on my car vs. the spare set:

 

First, I used Aircraft Remover to thin out the paint. Here's the stuff I used:

You can find it at the local WalMart.

 

Sorry about this 56k users. Dont' hate me too much...

The paint should bubble up. When it did, I used a fine brush and loosened the paint. Then I sprayed it off with a high power hose.

 

This process had to be done a couple times due to the paint being thicker than I thought it would be.

 

I then used 3 bottles of Eagle One Etching Mag Cleaner. This cleaner is made for use on rough cast alluminum alloy wheels. This stuff does magic. You can find it at a local AutoZone.

 

Here's the results so far after the mag cleaner.

 

Here's the backside of the rims before:

 

After:

 

After applying the mag cleaner, I scrubbed intensely and rinsed off the rims with the hose. It took me a couple of applications to get the results shown above.

Next, I bought some Mother's Aluminum Polishing Compound. This can be bought at the local hardware store.

 

I used a dremel and a small buffer to apply to the sidewalls, fins, and the outher rim of each wheel. This compound is made up of a white pastey-like substance that turns to dark black when applied and buffed into the alluminum. Here's the results of the first rim after polishing:

 

The sidewall of the rim looks like a mirror and these pics just don't give them justice at all. The fins/rim are also very smooth and shiny and I'm happy with the total transformation.

 

This concludes my progress so far. I leave you with one last pic of what the polished rim looks like when placed next to one that has just been scrubbed with the mag cleaner.

Be sure to reply with any further comments or suggestions. Above all, I hope this thread is helpful and informative to someone out there in the third gen community.

 

Congrats on getting those so clean, especially with over the counter products and a little elbow grease! I've tried cleaning mine & they were a biatch!

I went a slightly different route... my concern with your rims, they look really clean, but how long are they gonna stay clean with that rough cast surface & brake dust...

I had mine bead blasted, edges polished and clear powder coated... they look sweet & wet... they get dirty, but they get clean really easy with soap, lite scrub and water...

Here is a pic...

http://www.knightreplicas.com/databa...RReplicaID=409

I paid just over $400 to have the procedure done...

Raf

 

They look good but ditto on the clear powdercoating. I opted for the professional restoration process also and paid a pretty penny, but it was so worth it. Soap and water are all I need as well when cleaning. Here's a pic of mine.

 

Damn! Looking good! I heard that a clear coat can get yellow after awhile though, so I wasn't planning to go that ruite, but powder coating clear is definitely an option! Especially after seeing those wheels! Those Turbo Casts have to be the best I've seen hands down.

I don't know if it'll be worth it though in the near future. I'm having six caps restored/painted at the local body shop and spending the money right now seems kind of pointless when I already have a decent set of Turbo rims on the car right now. I have to prioritize things and there's a lot other things that need tending to. Maybe if I sell out some other parts...

These turbo casts make the fourth complete set of Trans Am/Firebird rims I own.

2 15"x7" sets of Turbo Casts
1 15"x7" set of Pontiac Snowflakes w/ center caps
1 15"x7" set of Rally II look-a-like 1987 Firebird Rims w/centers

Needless to say, I really need to clean out the garage a bit. Selling a set or two is a must - and I could really use the dough. If anyone is interested, please mail me at Bahamut443@aol.com

 

..

 

I'm not sure what to do here. We have a 3 picture limit per post, but this actually falls into the restoration category....decisions, decisions.

Is it possible to have these images hosted on a server somewhere and linked?

 

Scott why don't you simply let the picture limit go this time around.

 

I haven't deleted the pics. I'm just trying to adhere to the board rules also. That's what I'm supposed to do. We'll see what happens.

Update - Pics can stay. They are very much related to the restoration of the car. Thanks for bearing with me.

 

The only thing that EVER gets my white wheels (clearcoated) clean is mag cleaner. havn't had any yellowing yet. It's really awesome stuff. smells really bad though haha.

Nice cleanup job!

 

Roger that on the smell man!

 

Great job man

I couldn't have done it better myself.

 

Thank you for the great advice in this thread! I just got a set of old turbocasts and they have cleaned up pretty well after a couple of applications of mag cleaner. There are still little spots of grime however, would scrubbing with a steel wire brush be too much for these wheels? Also does anyone have a good procedure for curb marks on the outer rim? I've heard that people usually file them off? Many thanks!

 

Yes, agitate the stain with a brush after putting on the Mag wheel cleaner.
If you take it to a rim shop, they can weld in more metal to "fill" the scrapes...