01MGGT

Ok, so being that I am the third owner of my poor GT and I am pretty sure it was driven in Washington by the first owner before being sold in Anchorage, Alaska to the 2nd owner and then bought by me in Fairbanks, AK, my bullit wheels looked horrible. Even if you don't drive the car in the winter up here (which neither I nor the previous owner did) you still end up with issues from the sand and gravel used on the roads. We don't use salt up here because neither it or liquids seem to melt ice an -50 degrees F and colder. I could not stand the look of the pitted clear coat on my bullitt wheels any longer. It really detracts from the look of the rest of the car. not to mention there was corrosion springing up underneath the clear. Yeah the lips of your wheels maybe polished aluminum or machined or whatever but there is still a clear coat over them. This makes them easy to maintain if done properly, which the previous owners did not. If yours look bad and you want to restore them to BETTER than new I have written this guide just for you. I know the pictures are crappy but with tons of chemicals on my gloves and crap the Iphone was a lot safer than my Nikon SLR Also I am not responsible if you screw any thing up!

The pictures below are thumbnails. Please click them to see all the detail that's important. Just didn't want to clog an already long winded thread!

This is how mine looked to start with:


They may not look terrible in the pics, but they are way worse in person. What do you need to complete this? You most likely have most of this already. Feel free to use different polished and such, this is just what worked best for my budget and what not.

Supplies:
Paint Thinner (enough to do all four wheels)
1 inch paint brush (just a cheap one but not foam as it may melt)
1 can Blue Magic wheel polish (less than 6 bucks)
1 can Mothers Mag and aluminum polish (also about 6 bucks)
Steel wool 00 Grade and 0000 Grade ( should say on the pack. Buy a large pack)
Terry Towels
Microfibers
Mothers SynFX Spray detailer
Rubber gloves


Start out by cleaning the wheel with just some soap and water. You want to make sure the paint thinner can get right down to the clearcoat.

Next throw on those gloves. Paint thinner can burn pretty badly on your skin. You can use aircraft stripper if you want. I used a gel aircraft stripper for a very short period but found it really messy and it's very unforgiving. The paint thinner will give you plenty of time to wipe off accidents, like getting it on the spokes. You DON'T want to get this on the spokes or it will eat the clear. It sounds hard but it's very easy.

Next dip you brush in the thinner of your choice and start brushing away. Be sure and do about 3-4coats back to back before letting it sit. This ensures full coverage and cuts down on having to reapply more and wait around again.


Once you get the thinner in all it's coats on, go smoke or grab a soda or something. Don't smoke to close to the fumes I had my garage door cracked open a hair since it's cold here and wanted plenty of ventilation. Let the thinner set about 30-45 minutes. I suggest doing no more than 2 wheels at a time. You don't want the bare aluminum exposed out in the weather or during driving if you can't finish. It will make it harder to polish.



Once done, come back and you should see bubbled clear coat. This is a hard coat and may take another application. Use the 00 grade steel wool and start scrubbing off the clear. Remember try not to get any thinner on the spokes. If you do just wipe it off with a damp rag. Check the wheel when done really closely. See any more patches of clear coat? They should be really easy to see. If you do see some repeat the above step and reapply thinner.

Now that it's all stripped follow your polishes instructions using 00 steel wool instead of a rag. I used the blue magic stuff first because it's more aggressive. Wipe the excess with a terry towl.

Move to your 0000 steel wool still using the same polish and repeat the above.

Get out the Mothers apply it with a terry towel. Wipe off with a microfiber. this is what gives the luster. Repeat this step until you get the shine you desire!

Once done I hit mine with the FX spray detailer since it's a synthetic and used a microfiber to apply and immediately buff it!

All done as seen here!

BEFORE

After

hockeyman8282

damn good info

01MGGT

Thanks This can actually apply to any clear coated aluminum wheels I guess. Would be great for someone who gets track wheels that need some lovin'!

lizzyfan

Nice writeup
Stickied in the Tech How-To section!

01MGGT

Thanks lizzy

hpwrestler220

This is awesome.. I have heard of people sanding the clear coat too but this sounds easier...

01MGGT

It was way easier than sanding. I tried that method but it take alot of elbow grease and if you use to coarse of a grit you scar the aluminum. I almost want to say they look better now than when they are new with a clear coat. If I end up getting black bullitts I would almost be tempted to do the same to them. The clear coat seems to really dull them out.

hpwrestler220

What is the downfall to doing this on the lip of stock wheels? Will the aluminum oxidize since it is bare without clear coat? Or are you essentially putting clear coat on them by polishing them?

And you wouldn't need to do this to black bullitts bc they come with a POLISHED and MACHINED lip so it looks like yours do now.. Shiny and nice.

01MGGT

Awesome to know. Are they clear coated do ya know? There isn't really a downfall to doing it. The polish you use will leave a protective coating and can be redone a few times a year or something. They even make a sealer you can use instead but I didn't feel like ordering anything. This is just to last tille I can go with black bullitts

naza

Great write up bro!!...you can also put masking take or blue tape on the side were the paint starts...