Detailing Discuss detailing and the appearance of your ride inside and out here.

Aluminum wheel refinishing..

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Sep 29, 2009 | 04:34 PM
  #1  
AntiRiceRacing's Avatar
AntiRiceRacing
Thread Starter
2nd Gear Member
 
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 422
From: Illinois
Default Aluminum wheel refinishing..

Alright so i have a set of draglites that dont shine like they use to and could use a freshen up. I was told i should wetsand them with 600grit then polish them with mothers wheel polish, what do you guys think?
Old Sep 29, 2009 | 07:56 PM
  #2  
ryan1994mustang's Avatar
ryan1994mustang
4th Gear Member
 
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,555
From: San Diego, CA
Default

i would try polishing them first, before you take sand paper to them... its amazing what a little bit of elbow grease and some mag polish will do to a set of aluminum wheels. might even be a good idea to invest in a mothers powerball, or if you know someone who has one and will let you borrow theirs.
Old Sep 29, 2009 | 09:13 PM
  #3  
bassfiend's Avatar
bassfiend
1st Gear Member
 
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 66
From: Kansas
Default

600 sounds a little extreme to me. If you do decide to sand them, I'd start with maybe 2000 grit. I would think 600 would take too much material off. 600 is almost rough enough to prep for paint, so it would be tough to polish the marks back out. I could be wrong though, I've never sanded wheels.
Old Sep 30, 2009 | 06:15 AM
  #4  
AntiRiceRacing's Avatar
AntiRiceRacing
Thread Starter
2nd Gear Member
 
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 422
From: Illinois
Default

Well my rear wheels have little pits in them, so they need to be sanded. Any other ideas on what kind/brand of compound should i use?
Old Oct 1, 2009 | 08:20 PM
  #5  
AntiRiceRacing's Avatar
AntiRiceRacing
Thread Starter
2nd Gear Member
 
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 422
From: Illinois
Default

Do you guys think if i just repolished them it would get rid of all the imperfections in the coating? (little spots and surface scratches?)
Old Oct 2, 2009 | 07:39 PM
  #6  
ALMOST STOCK's Avatar
ALMOST STOCK
4th Gear Member
 
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,926
From: Calif
Default

Originally Posted by AntiRiceRacing
Well my rear wheels have little pits in them, so they need to be sanded. Any other ideas on what kind/brand of compound should i use?
In my opinion a lot would have to do with the depth of the pits holes you're talking about. I've done some polishing so 600 grit isn't that out of the question.

If it were me I'd try Emery compound on a buffing wheel with the use of an electric drill, and from there you'd know what direction you'd need to go. If the Emery compound and the buffing wheel removed the pit marks then from there I'd go with a Tripoli Compound followed by a White Rouge all applied with different buffing wheels and the use of electric drill.
However if the pit marks are not eliminated with the Emery compound I'd step down to the 600 grit sand paper and then go with the Emery, Tripoli and White Rouge compounds.
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
jwog666
Pipes, Boost & Juice
11
Dec 27, 2021 08:09 PM
Vrooom
4.6L General Discussion
13
Feb 21, 2016 05:25 PM
mungodrums
S550 2015-2023 Mustang
10
Sep 28, 2015 10:54 PM
lincolnshibuya
V6 (1994-2004) Mustangs
1
Sep 24, 2015 10:46 PM




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:02 AM.