Tech

iTrader: (1)

What tool(s) do you guys use to polish aluminum wheels? I sanded mine with 220 on the rough spots, then used red scotch brite on the whole wheel and want to polish the wheel before I clear it.

Should I just leave the light scratches from the red scotch brite in the wheel and fill them with clear? Of course, I want the paint to stick but I also want as close to a mirror finish as possible.

TIA

kulablkta

defniatyley use mothers billet alumnium polish. highly recommend it. easy to use and the wheels come out great. mothes makes 2 different kinds. one is a red ocntainer and hte other is black and says BILLET right on it. therer is a hugh difference b/w the two. good luck.. polishing wheels suck i hate it!

SilverGhost

iTrader: (53)

not sure what grit that scotch thing would equate to but if its left visible marks then it is not fine enough.

when i polish aluminum i start with 400 and wet sand my way through like 7 grits all the way up to 2000 grit..it will leave it with a very nice finish ready to be polished. at that point its just little buffs on a dremel with Mothers Billet and it comes out great.

don't half *** it, especially if you are clear coating it, you will wish you'd taken the time to get the surface right. get yourself some wet/dry 600, 1000, 1500, and 2000 at the minimum and get ready for some arm ache..but it'll be worth it.

Tech

iTrader: (1)

I'm too lazy to do it by hand.

EDIT: I called Eastwood and they gave me some pointers.

I'm going to get some drill attachments from them that will take all the handaches away.

Xsta Z 28

iTrader: (2)

You'll anna work with some different lighter grades of sand paper and wet sand paper, similar to when you buff out a car, and then do the same with polishes, working up to a very fine polish.

Tech

iTrader: (1)

I talked to my painter again. He says "the book" says to sand 'em so we're going to leave one fairly rough. He said that the clear will fill in the scratches. I'm going to hit it with some 320 before he paints it.

Jantzer98SS

iTrader: (54)

Just to let you know, you should polish them up to a mirror finish and then POWDERCOAT clear them if you want them to stay nice. The powder won't have any choice but to stick, where as the paint you'll have a hard time. And the paint clear will chip off, the powdercoat is much more durable.

Eugenio_SS

iTrader: (2)

I polished my wheels.
Stripped the paint, then wet sanded in 2 steps (different roughness) and then polished it with Mothers polishing compound.
Pix in the signature.

Tech

iTrader: (1)

But painting them is free.

I also may have access to a soda blaster should I not like the paint (or they flake).

95CAMz28

Dont you have to bake on powder coat, and wont the heat weaken the rim?

Derek98z

iTrader: (55)

Hey Jason, I thought you were painting the center of the wheel. Are you polishing the entire thing now? Regardless, they are badass wheels.

SilverGhost

iTrader: (53)

eugeno SS, you did a nice job with that. what did you use to safely strip off the factory paint on them?

Tech

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I'm painting the center but I'm going to clear the polished outter rim.

Eugenio_SS

iTrader: (2)

aircraft remover in a well ventilated place... it also works best when the ambiant temperature is hot, rather than chilly.

SilverGhost

iTrader: (53)

thanks, i've heard about that aircraft remover stuff before..you can get it at like pep boys or what not right?

RJMotorsports

i just wanted to comment on the whole "powdercoating" weakens metal theory.. First off I have done tons of peoples rims and I have never had anybody ever say that there rims cracked or even had one iota of problems with the process I have however had many people bring me rims that have cracks in the rims and I have powdercoated them as well and those people have not come back either...

I would assume that if metal was put to an extremely high amount of heat it would obvisouly have issues but that is direct heat... Ir lights and ovens are not direct heat and therefore dont work the same as applying a butane torch to a solid...

and if all that is true then JET HOT would go out of business since your headers are baked for at least 1 hr at 600 degress... and powdercoatins is around 350 for 15 minutes so i dont think the whole powdercoating weakens theory is true.. and not to pile on but when billion dollar corporations are building buildigns, deep sea oil drilers, and everyday items for our use they sure would have researched all of this long before they used it..

POWDERCOATING Painting