Polishing alum wheels...grrrrrrrr
05-20-2011, 01:41 AM
#1
Polishing alum wheels...grrrrrrrr I have speedlines that I have stripped the CC off and polished.......they have never been "chrome" shiny and lately they have gotten stains here n there.........I use a mothers power ball and power cone with their alum polish......its just not cutting it anymore......i even tried to wet sand 1 wheel with 600 grit and then polish.......not 1 bit better after all that work......what is the dealio??? 
05-20-2011, 08:31 AM
#3
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600 to polish is missing several steps in between. 600 for polished aluminum is going to be way too rough. Try incrementally stepping up 1000, 1200, 1500, up to 2000 with wet sanding. Then order one of the aluminum polish kits from Eastwood. I think they have some tutorials as well. It's a learning process and takes a ton of work and is pretty messy to boot. I would focus on one area, maybe a spoke, to get the process down and be able to see your results.
Before I sold my last TA I polished the ZR1's on there to spiffy them up. They were not terrible but I probably spent half a day on each wheel doing what I pointed out above. Turned out like a mirror but I can't say it was worth it just to sell the car. Just to give you an idea, that polish kit got them so nice that going back over it with Mothers dulled it a bit.
Before I sold my last TA I polished the ZR1's on there to spiffy them up. They were not terrible but I probably spent half a day on each wheel doing what I pointed out above. Turned out like a mirror but I can't say it was worth it just to sell the car. Just to give you an idea, that polish kit got them so nice that going back over it with Mothers dulled it a bit.
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05-23-2011, 10:52 AM
#8
the polish that comes with the powerball is for maintaining polish more than restoring IMO
get some good polish like the Adams stuff or Blingmaster and go to town with some scotchbrite pads
once you get them fully polished you can use the other polishes on the powerball to maintain your shine quickly...the powerball works fine just the polish is a lacking IMO
get some good polish like the Adams stuff or Blingmaster and go to town with some scotchbrite pads
once you get them fully polished you can use the other polishes on the powerball to maintain your shine quickly...the powerball works fine just the polish is a lacking IMO
05-23-2011, 11:21 AM
#9
Adams x10000! Their metal polish is amazing!
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Largest Stocking Distributor of LS-x Engines / CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE!
COMP - FAST - PACESETTER - DIAMOND RACING - EAGLE SPECIALTY PRODUCTS - CALLIES - COMETIC GASKETS
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POWERBOND - ASP - AND MORE!
05-23-2011, 11:23 AM
#10
Check out white diamond. Ive tried just about a million different "metal polishes" and nothing compares to this. You can usually find it at truck stops. Its basically like gritty white water but is by far the most effective shine I have ever seen...
05-23-2011, 06:05 PM
#12
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I stripped some painted ZR1s for my old LT1 and I bought an aluminum polish kit from Harbor Freight. I had a good 5 hours in EACH wheel. They came out great though, but I'd never do it again. The right compound, buffing wheel, and a die grinder will take care of it.
05-23-2011, 07:44 PM
#15
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I stripped the paint to bare aluminum, then basically refinished them from dull cast. Once they were polished, I could buzz over them with some good polish and a powerball and it did take 5 minutes.
