picking up 7 spokes, polishing them, one question

[SketchyRollin564]

yeah so im picking up 7 spoke SE's from a guy today for $45 and i want to refinish them/polish them/whatever i gotta do to make them look OEM or just nice

what tools to i need to do this? i have a powered buffer thing, so is it basically just like mothers wheel polish or somthing that i buy and then just put in on the pad and polish away or is it more than this?

the rears have black paint on them which im gonna strip off and make them look oem



the fronts are just dirty

[cmfireman]

This is for bike frame polishing, but same deal with your wheels. It IS a pain in the ***, and you will have some trouble inside the holes.

http://forum.caswellplating.co...=1755

[SketchyRollin564]

wait so i need ALL of that junk just to polish a set of wheels?

i dont neccisarilly need them to look polished, i just want to make the non painted ones look clean again (so i would need somthing else besides that wheel cleaner spray from autozone), and i want to get the black paint off the other pair and make them look oem/clean

so what do i need?
Modified by SketchyRollin564 at 12:48 PM 4/12/2008

[SketchyRollin564]

come on sombodys gotta know how to get rid of the paint and make the wheels look clean again

i just need to know what products to buy and yeah... im not literally polishing them (unless its that easy), i was just using it as a general term

if i cant get em to look new and i have to leave the black paint on, then im just not gonna buy them

[rn79870]

Use paint stripper to get the paint off. You may need to sand with 240 then 400 grit using a very flat sanding block for the flat areas. Sand in a circular motion. Then buff in stages. You'll need a couple of cotton buffing wheels and a buffer capable of running at about 3500rpm. (A drill won't buff them, you need higher rpms than a drill delivers) I used stainless steel buffing compound (the white stick), then finished with the redbrown stick (forget what it was called). Don't use different compounds without changing the buffing wheel. Use the edge of the buffing wheel - you'll get the hang of it quickly.

You'll leave a ton of black compound buildups all over the wheels, use regular kitchen (baking) flower to get off all those buildups. Just put the flower on the wheel and wipe with a clean soft rag. They will shine like chrome. The bad news is that you'll be touching them up about 2 times a month with a quick buff. Be careful to keep the surface flat or the dips will show.

Make them shine like chrome and you'll not believe the complements you'll get.

[anti_flag_army]

go to the parts store and buy a can of aircraft stripper, it will get rid of all the paint, though it might take off that clear coat on the wheels too... i did it to my miata wheels that were painted and then bought a can of silver paint and they looked like they were never painted black.

[Dittoz7]

I've Heard Aircraft Striper Works Good For Taking Crap Off Metal.

[SketchyRollin564]

alright ill try aircraft stripper

i just looked at my polisher/buffer power thing... it came with two free terry cloth bonnets (wrap around the foam 6 inch pad thing), both are different materials

however, it only said 2,600 rpm.... so this means its only good for the paint.. not necisarily the wheel?

i dont want to go out of my way spending $70 in parts just to give my wheells the polished look

if its the teardrop, then yes, they have no hope unless they are polished with painted accents, but for the 7 spoke SE's which im debating picking up, i just want to get rid of the black paint, and make them look OEM ish (doesnt have to be chrome)

i guess i could spray my own clear coat on there, if itl hold up

the other thing is, i dont want to have to buff my polished wheels twice a month... what happens if i dont do this?

[SketchyRollin564]

one last bump?

all i wanna know is if its possible to make them look new (one with the paint looks harder) without spending a ton of money in parts?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

if you strip them and buff and polish them, it would be a damn good idea to prep them and clear coat them.You could also try sandblasting them.

[Oatmealman]

Take some 800grit wetsand paper and get to work slowly working your way up to like 1400grit.Enjoy

[SketchyRollin564]

that doesnt answer my last question lol

[Oatmealman]

Ya do what I said,then buff and then wax them.Or just strip them to bare metal and re-paint them.

[SketchyRollin564]

do i only sand on the one with paint?

also what kind of paint would i re spray them with to make them look OEM?

for buffing, what type of polish do i put under the buffer cloth? mine only goes up to 2,600 rpm btw

[PapaSmurf2k3]

do them all so they look uniform. When buffing, start with a rubbing or buffing compound, then move to a polishing compound, and finally finish with a glaze. Remember to switch pads when you switch from one step to another. 2600 RPM will probably be enough, it'll just take longer.

[SketchyRollin564]

Alright, this next question is more of an opinion question

is it going to be worth all the work? heres the situation:

i made up my mind im going to do the 5 lug swap as soon as i get a new battery, an allignment, and new suspension bushings... so thatl be within the next 6 months for sure

the tires on these wheels are bald, so id have to pay extra to rock em instead of my teardrops. im thinking about polishing the teardrops and painting the accents in the mean time till i get the 5 lug because

A: itl look really nice and wont be as annoying for the mean timeandB: itl help me make a profit and make the 5 lug swap less painfull on my wallet

also, if i already have the materials and everything to do them on my teardrops.. then itl be no problem doing them on the chuki SE's... and vice versa... and then maybe even my S14 SE's if i wanted to

but i might just forget the idea (even tho $45 is a good price for all 4) and just wait it out untill i get the 5 lug swap....

What do you guys think?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Alright, this next question is more of an opinion question

is it going to be worth all the work? heres the situation:

i made up my mind im going to do the 5 lug swap as soon as i

I stopped reading right there. If it were me, I wouldn't do it. Maybe if you want to get some practice with a buffing wheel, but other than that, no.

[PoorManQ45]

Use paint stripper to get the paint off. You may need to sand with 240 then 400 grit using a very flat sanding block for the flat areas. Sand in a circular motion. Then buff in stages. You'll need a couple of cotton buffing wheels and a buffer capable of running at about 3500rpm. (A drill won't buff them, you need higher rpms than a drill delivers) I used stainless steel buffing compound (the white stick), then finished with the redbrown stick (forget what it was called). Don't use different compounds without changing the buffing wheel. Use the edge of the buffing wheel - you'll get the hang of it quickly.

You'll leave a ton of black compound buildups all over the wheels, use regular kitchen (baking) flower to get off all those buildups. Just put the flower on the wheel and wipe with a clean soft rag. They will shine like chrome. The bad news is that you'll be touching them up about 2 times a month with a quick buff. Be careful to keep the surface flat or the dips will show.

Make them shine like chrome and you'll not believe the complements you'll get.

An angle grinder with a wool wheel works great for the polishing stage.

BTW, 400 grit sand paper will leave your wheels scored as hell. To properly polish aluminum/metal you NEED to wet sand up to 1500grit minimum, 2000 for optimal shine. Also,dont make large jumps in grit.

Order should be:

Paint stripper250wet320wet400wet600wet800wet1000wet1500wet2000wetRubbing CompoundMetal poishing compound

This will leave you with an almost mirror perfect finish

[SketchyRollin564]

totally different situation now (i know im constantly changing my mind)

yes, im doing 5 lug, but thats not till after i do basic maintainance (and i need an allignment and battery) and suspension, so its gonna be about two months or so, and then thats when i start saving for 5 lug

what im thinking about doing is buying them, stripping the paint (or sanding if i can do that instead? and then painting them somthing like this?

[imghttps://forum-attachments.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/pb/halfjapjosh/nn239/My240sx011.jpg[/img]

thats a lot less money and work... but i still dont know if its worth it since ill be using the teardrops and not the 7 spokes... how much of a profit do you think i could make if i do that?

[Jesda]

Scrape it with a rock.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Profit?

[OldmanPurdy]

I wouldn't refinish stock wheels under the plan of making a profit, basically you have 4 wheels in 2 colors just buy some wheel paint in a color you like prep them paint them mount them and you're done.

[HashiriyaS14]

aircraft stripper

+1