help! wheel restoration.

[Switchfoot004]

hey guys. me and a buddy of mine are restoring a set of old wheels.i was just wondering if you had any tips on painting the spokes and polishing the lip.

i searched this and i couldn't pull anything up.any help will be awesome.

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Modified by Switchfoot004 at 7:56 PM 3/31/2007

[AZhitman]

I've done a few sets, post up a pic of the wheels and I'll take a shot at it.

[Switchfoot004]

the paint isn't a big deal for me, i was just wondering how to polish the lip. the lip isn't very big, but i just wanted to polish it to class it up a bit. as far as i know the wheel is aluminum. one other thing is, should i use a powerdrill with some sort of polishing wheel?

thanks.

ps. i'll post up some pics in the next day or so.

thanks again. i love nico, fast responses
Modified by Switchfoot004 at 7:46 PM 3/31/2007

[Switchfoot004]

pics are up!

[babowc]

best bet.just take the face off, it looks like its a 2piece wheel.. face and drum.

take the face off and what you'd need to do is wash the wheel, wetsand it with VERY light grit.. like 2k or so and start polishing with an aluminum polish.

at least thats how i did mine before i sold my last set of wheels.

[Switchfoot004]

best bet.just take the face off, it looks like its a 2piece wheel.. face and drum.

take the face off and what you'd need to do is wash the wheel, wetsand it with VERY light grit.. like 2k or so and start polishing with an aluminum polish.

at least thats how i did mine before i sold my last set of wheels.

i dont think they're 2 piece, how would you tell? i tried looking, but its all welded together.

[AZhitman]

Yeah, those allen head fasteners are fake.

Best bet, actually, is to take it to a pro polisher - I've done a TON of polishing, and unless you have ALL the proper equipmnt, those guys do a much better job.

Otherwise, you kinda started off backwards...

Polish 1st, then paint. I spent a WEEK restoring a set of similar wheels, it sucked.

1) Get ALL the old crap off - I recommend aircraft paint stripper (home depot).

2) Sand FOREVER. Start with 800 grit, keep it wet, and sand the piss out of them.

3) You MAY want to cheat here: Jack up your car, mount a wheel on the rear, and let the car run, spinning the wheel. Wear gloves, sand the lip as it spins.

4) Move down to 1000, 1200, 1600, 2000 grit. Wash thoroughly in between.

5) Polishing wheel with black Rogue, followed by white Rogue (or not, I skip the white). You must get the aluminum hot for it to work well - friction is your friend.

6) Buffing wheel with talcum powder (don't ask why, just do it).. Again, get it hot.

7) Wash it down w/ brake parts cleaner or Windex, mask and paint.

No shortcuts. If you don't wanna do all this, have them powdercoated or take it to a pro polisher.

[babowc]

^sick.lol didnt know those are fake bolts.. tsk..^wow, that is seriously alot of work.lol i just used light wetsanding and polished the hell out of the wheel with meguiars aluminum polish.

i polished until the polish didnt turn black when i rubbed it on the wheel.

[Switchfoot004]

Yeah, those allen head fasteners are fake.

Best bet, actually, is to take it to a pro polisher - I've done a TON of polishing, and unless you have ALL the proper equipmnt, those guys do a much better job.

Otherwise, you kinda started off backwards...

Polish 1st, then paint. I spent a WEEK restoring a set of similar wheels, it sucked.

1) Get ALL the old crap off - I recommend aircraft paint stripper (home depot).

2) Sand FOREVER. Start with 800 grit, keep it wet, and sand the piss out of them.

3) You MAY want to cheat here: Jack up your car, mount a wheel on the rear, and let the car run, spinning the wheel. Wear gloves, sand the lip as it spins.

4) Move down to 1000, 1200, 1600, 2000 grit. Wash thoroughly in between.

5) Polishing wheel with black Rogue, followed by white Rogue (or not, I skip the white). You must get the aluminum hot for it to work well - friction is your friend.

6) Buffing wheel with talcum powder (don't ask why, just do it).. Again, get it hot.

7) Wash it down w/ brake parts cleaner or Windex, mask and paint.

No shortcuts. If you don't wanna do all this, have them powdercoated or take it to a pro polisher.

looks like i'm in for a bit of work.thanks. i will let you know how it turns out. by the way. the two wheels you see there are the only ones that i have found, i found them at a junkyard. they will be my drift set.