2000_SS

iTrader: (24)

ok...got some C5 Z06 wheels i'm working on, polished aluminum, sorta. here's what i've done so far:

-cleaned wheels thoroughly with meguires gold class car soap with lambskin mit
-wiped down with wax & grease remover
-cleaned again with meguires wash
-mother's billet polish applied with mini-powerball, scrubbed pretty good
-residue removed with cotton towel
-more mother's billet polish applied by hand with a latex glove

below are some before/after shots. i can't get that black **** to come off to save my life. the hoops seem to be pitted fairly bad all around and the neither the hoops or centers seem to shine up like i want them too. i understand these wheels aren't the same quality as a set of Fikse/iForged/CCW/etc....BUT they should still look 10x better than the do right now. let me know what i need to do here. i'm about to pay a "professional" to take care of them for me...the last pic shows polished vs. unpolished. it's obviously an improvement, but it's far from what i'm looking for. it's kinda hazy and not really that reflective...

'Trust'

iTrader: (24)

If they are just polished metal you can take some 0000 steel wool to clean off the black spots and polish them with a polishing wheel w/a metal polish, then a buffing wheel.

chupr0kabra

iTrader: (10)

If they're clearcoated, Mother's Billet Polish won't do you any good. You'll have to remove the clearcoat and get down to bare metal. THEN you'll get the luster you want.

As for the black spots, I'd start with a 50/50 mix of Simple Green and water and scrub them down. Just make sure you rinse THOROUGHLY. If you're wanting to remove the clearcoat, you'll probably have to use something like aircraft stripper, but I've never done that, so I can't help much.

Once the clearcoat is gone, as 'Trust' said, some 0000 steel wool will help. I did that to the hoops on my old Fikses before I sold them and it made a world of difference.


-Mike

2000_SS

iTrader: (24)

where do i get that steel wool? when you say polishing wheel/metal polish are you talking like a 6" sewn wheel with white rouge or something?

i don't think there's a clearcoat....but i guess i don't really know

chupr0kabra

iTrader: (10)

Home Depot and most auto parts stores carry 0000 steel wool.


-Mike

HavATampa

iTrader: (49)

That's just nasty. Why would anyone let such nice rims get in such bad shape. I'm guessing they are clearcoated because of the milky looking film. When you polished them, did the rag turn black pretty quick? If not, they are coated. Like stated above, go to a parts store in the paint section and pickup a can of stripper. The brand I used is called Aircraft Stripper. Follow the directions and don't let it get on your skin because it burns like an SOB. That will get it down to bare aluminum to see what you really have and how bad they are pitted.


See this thread starting at page 2 post #80:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...=813077&page=2

2000_SS

iTrader: (24)

i'm *pretty sure they're bare alluminum. the rag turned black pretty quickly, as did the powerball when i started rubbing.

i just got some 0000steel wool and some tripoli & jewlers rouge. i've already got some white, green, red, and black rouge somewhere. also got a couple 4" wheels and an adapter for the drill. i'm gonna get after it here in a bit...

2000_SS

iTrader: (24)

ok...i went over a spot with the steel wool, then hit it with a couple buffing compounds, then a little mother's polish by hand, and i'm getting the cleaner reflective look i'm after, but the pitting in the metal is horrible. is there anything i can do about that? or am i stuck with a cheap-looking wheel?