nukefivesix
01-15-2010, 12:30 AM
ok.. so i thought id be helpful and tell everyone how to polish a set of wheels, or at least the way i do it..
materials-
180,320,600,800,1000,1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper
good aluminum polish, i use mother's
polish rags, they will get very dirty, i find that old tshirts work the best
mother's powerball (optional, saves lots of rubbing)
cordless drill (also optional, your fingers will thank you)
time
wheel clearcoat, if you plan on clearing
ok so heres what i started with, i wish i knew what the heck kinda wheels they are but i have no clue, they could be aftermarket, they could be stock off of something, i just dont know.. this is the best of the 4, they are all curb'd (how the f do you curb a 14?) clearcoat chipping, corrosion everywhere.. not a pretty sight..
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm85/nukefivesix/IMG_0342-1.jpg
step 1- remove clearcoat, you can use stripper for this if you dont mind the casting marks, i used 180g sandpaper because i wanted them smooth, remember, the smoother you make the surface, the more bling you get later.. i did this by hand, it took me a good hour and two pieces of sandpaper. depending on the wheel design it may take you more or less time. be careful not to dig to deep and scratch the aluminum to bad, all you want to do is remove the clear, and the casting marks
step 2-sand out scratches from 180g.. i wetsand from here down, wetsanding keeps your paper cleaner, and leaves a better surface. i also put a dab or two of dishsoap in my water to keep things clean and to help the paper glide a bit better, starting with 320g, sand out all the marks you made with the bigger paper, keep progressing down to finer grits as you sand, eventually youll remove pretty much all the sanding marks, i go down to 1500 because the polish can remove very small scratches
step 3-clean and dry the wheel thoroughly, if there are any particles of metal left on the wheel, pieces of sandpaper, teeth, or anything else still on the wheel, clean it now, also make sure the surface where you will be polishing is dry
step 4-polish! this is fun part where all that labor turns into happiness, i start by dabbing aluminum polish generously around the whole wheel, you can either do it the hard way and rub it all in until the polish turns black, or you can use a powerball and do it in 5 minutes.. if you are using a powerball, polish until the polish turns a hazy color, dab more on and do it again, wipe it off, and repeat that process a couple more times.. if you are doing it by hand, just rub like crazy, itll turn a nasty black color, buff it off with a clean rag, and repeat once or twice.. after youve polished two or three times you can do a final quick polish, and buff it all off with a clean rag.. and hopefully you get something that looks like this-
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm85/nukefivesix/IMG_0342-2.jpg
step 5 (optional)-clearcoat, i use duplicolor wheel clearcoat for this, ive used it a couple times before and its pretty durable, and leaves a nice finish, just follow the instructions on the can
and heres some after/before pics!
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm85/nukefivesix/IMG_0343.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm85/nukefivesix/IMG_0342.jpg
lastly.. if anyone has any idea at all as to what kind of wheels these are, or what they came off of.. let me know, there are no stamps or stickers of any kind, and the center caps were missing when i got them, thanks!
materials-
180,320,600,800,1000,1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper
good aluminum polish, i use mother's
polish rags, they will get very dirty, i find that old tshirts work the best
mother's powerball (optional, saves lots of rubbing)
cordless drill (also optional, your fingers will thank you)
time
wheel clearcoat, if you plan on clearing
ok so heres what i started with, i wish i knew what the heck kinda wheels they are but i have no clue, they could be aftermarket, they could be stock off of something, i just dont know.. this is the best of the 4, they are all curb'd (how the f do you curb a 14?) clearcoat chipping, corrosion everywhere.. not a pretty sight..
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm85/nukefivesix/IMG_0342-1.jpg
step 1- remove clearcoat, you can use stripper for this if you dont mind the casting marks, i used 180g sandpaper because i wanted them smooth, remember, the smoother you make the surface, the more bling you get later.. i did this by hand, it took me a good hour and two pieces of sandpaper. depending on the wheel design it may take you more or less time. be careful not to dig to deep and scratch the aluminum to bad, all you want to do is remove the clear, and the casting marks
step 2-sand out scratches from 180g.. i wetsand from here down, wetsanding keeps your paper cleaner, and leaves a better surface. i also put a dab or two of dishsoap in my water to keep things clean and to help the paper glide a bit better, starting with 320g, sand out all the marks you made with the bigger paper, keep progressing down to finer grits as you sand, eventually youll remove pretty much all the sanding marks, i go down to 1500 because the polish can remove very small scratches
step 3-clean and dry the wheel thoroughly, if there are any particles of metal left on the wheel, pieces of sandpaper, teeth, or anything else still on the wheel, clean it now, also make sure the surface where you will be polishing is dry
step 4-polish! this is fun part where all that labor turns into happiness, i start by dabbing aluminum polish generously around the whole wheel, you can either do it the hard way and rub it all in until the polish turns black, or you can use a powerball and do it in 5 minutes.. if you are using a powerball, polish until the polish turns a hazy color, dab more on and do it again, wipe it off, and repeat that process a couple more times.. if you are doing it by hand, just rub like crazy, itll turn a nasty black color, buff it off with a clean rag, and repeat once or twice.. after youve polished two or three times you can do a final quick polish, and buff it all off with a clean rag.. and hopefully you get something that looks like this-
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm85/nukefivesix/IMG_0342-2.jpg
step 5 (optional)-clearcoat, i use duplicolor wheel clearcoat for this, ive used it a couple times before and its pretty durable, and leaves a nice finish, just follow the instructions on the can
and heres some after/before pics!
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm85/nukefivesix/IMG_0343.jpg
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm85/nukefivesix/IMG_0342.jpg
lastly.. if anyone has any idea at all as to what kind of wheels these are, or what they came off of.. let me know, there are no stamps or stickers of any kind, and the center caps were missing when i got them, thanks!