polishing rims

[gmccruzr]

bought a metal polishing set from princess auto, when starting what color of polish are you supposed to use first the red ot the other color? want to polish a set of aluminium rims ant clear coat them before having tires mounted on them, there are a couple of small marks that need to be sanded out .

[Gramps]

I know this is slightly off topic however, I purchased one of those Mothers Powerballs that hook up to a drilll. Not impressed....could have cleaned the shiny stuff just as easy by using a cloth and my hand. Maybe I was expecting too much.

[49stovebolt]

GMCcruzr, here is a link to some of the different compounds. If you view the more info. tab it gives a discription of the apprasive qualities and uses.

http://www.hobbytool.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=16

From my past experiences I wound not recommend clear coating the wheels after you polish them. The clear coat will likely peel off and then you will be doing it all over again. When they put the tires on the clear coated wheels they have a tendancy to mark the edges and the clear coat peels off and oxidizes.

I found that polish them up to a brilliant shine and put a good coat of carnuba wax on a few times throughout the year works best. Or you can use Autosol a few times a year to keep up the luster.;)

I did a 91 GMC pickup and drove it year round but I did have to touch them up a few times during the year. If you drive it only the summer months they should stay brighter longer. Good luck it is a dirty job.

Todd

[dale48mrc]

GMCCruzr,what kinda wheels are ya tryin' to shine?Are they billet or cast?Here's a process I used on a pair of old M/T valva covers that were severely oxidized;start with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and a little albow grease and work your way up to 2000 grit,then polish with either white rouge and a buff wheel or the hard way(The way I did it)autosol or any other good quality metal polish and lots of elbow grease!The results will astound you,a mirror like finish,and if you maintain it ,it'll stay that way.Oh yea,ditto on the carnuba wax,helps seal the surface.
If your dealin' with billet wheels,there's one word I have for ya,Mother's!!!Their billet polish is is the best I've ever used!

[gmccruzr]

The rims are an old pair of ET and a pair of Superior aluminium rims with the four sort of kidney shaped holes in them bought them both at a flea market want them to dress up the chevette. Sounds like clear coating them would be a wste of time.

[bullet]

I believe Zoops has a kit for polishing and coating aluminum wheels to protect the finish, NOT cheap stuff.

[dale48mrc]

I you use the Zoops stuff and follow the instructions to the letter it works real well,but like you said Darrell it's expensive !

[Rochie]

Cruzr,
I did a set of 86 IROC wheels for my 57. More time than money so I figured I could polish them and put the money elsewhere. Over the winter I put 20 hr per wheel in. The IROC's have a pebbled surface in the middle of the spokes and are only factory polished on the outer rim and tops of the spokes. I started with 80 grit flap wheels on a die grinder to get into all the nooks and crannies and worked up from there to the best metal polish I have ever come accross. It's called Wizards Metal Renew www.wizardsproducts.com
Heres what they ,looked like done.

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x310/Rochie_2007/1957Chevcar75.jpg