Polishing SS 10 spokes
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 10
Likes: 2
From: Hamilton, ON, Canada
Polishing SS 10 spokes 
I had my 10 spokes sand blasted today. Im preparring to polish the aluminum. I know the 4th gens came with a chrome SLP option. A 35th anniversary, machined face wheel with black in lays. But never polished. Any advice is helpful. I was going to wet sand them with 2000 grit sand paper to get them going. Then looking at 3M polishing compounds and polishing wheels to get them to a mirror finish. There was a member years ago who sold a set here on the forum. He had them professionally polished. Photo attached of the finished.
heres a set with a polished face and lip with silver in lays
Last edited by 99vert; Mar 28, 2021 at 10:32 AM.
You’re already on an uphill battle since the wheels were blasted. Blasting (depending on grit) provides a tooth/etch which promotes coating adhesion. You essentially gave the machined surface of the wheels a textured finish which you’ll now have to smooth out.
Polishing can still be done but it is going to take longer than I think you would like. Chemical stripping of the existing coating would have been best if polishing was the desired finish.
Post progress pics so we can see how they turned out.
Polishing can still be done but it is going to take longer than I think you would like. Chemical stripping of the existing coating would have been best if polishing was the desired finish.
Post progress pics so we can see how they turned out.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 10
Likes: 2
From: Hamilton, ON, Canada
True. So I consulted a pro who basically said the same and it woukd require quite a bit of sanding before polishing.
His advise, start wet sanding with a 600, working up to a 2000 grit. Then 2 stage polish. Sort of gritty pad with a cutting compound and a finishing pad and compound.
From there, it would be like a mirror. These wheels as I found out from the shop who did it after the post, was actually walnut blasted. Which I had never heard of.
His advise, start wet sanding with a 600, working up to a 2000 grit. Then 2 stage polish. Sort of gritty pad with a cutting compound and a finishing pad and compound.
From there, it would be like a mirror. These wheels as I found out from the shop who did it after the post, was actually walnut blasted. Which I had never heard of.
Walnut shell blasting would have removed the topcoat paint and left the metal untouched. So you might have lucked out on the aluminum surface being smooth enough to ease your polishing. Look at the surface with a magnifier to see if it's smooth or pitted.
