DIY Wheel Polishing

[Big C]

Figured I'd post this up on the new site since people always PM me about it, so I went and grabbed it from the old site. Any other questions, feel free to ask me :)

Picked up some GSR wheels and wanted to get back the factory finish and then some....Heres the process I went thru, I'm still far from done though, I have only done one coat of polish so far by hand and I'm gonna bust out a drill attachement for some real nice results...

My overall process in a nutshell:
1. "mask" off rim with index cards
2. spray heavily with aircraft paint remover
3. let sit for about 10-15 min
4. rinse wheel off with water....dry wheel
5. sand down wheel with 80 grit to get off any leftover residue
6. sand with 320 grit
7. wetsand with 1000 grit
8. rinse off rim and dry
9. apply Mother's Polish and rub in till it turns blackish
10. buff off with fresh terry cloth

What I started with...u can allready see where the factory clear was peeling
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2781.jpg

1st thing I used, worked ok, just messy and time consuming..
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2783.jpg

only took a few min and the paint started wiping off...
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2782.jpg

damn stuff didn't cut thru the clear coat though :smt011
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2784.jpg

to the rescue!! what I should have used from the start...
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2785.jpg

"masked off" hehe....hey it works...
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2786.jpg

after a couple minutes...
cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2787.jpg

meanwhile....one of the other rims...
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2788.jpg

1st time around I let the wheels sit a lil too long with the aircraft stripper on em, so had to go a round 2 with it..
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2789.jpg

all cleaned off and ready for some sanding...
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2790.jpg

after a lil polishing...
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2797.jpg

http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2798.jpg

after one coat of polish doing it by hand, heres the result...
http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2801.jpg

http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2802.jpg

http://cm-pixels.com/images/diy_polish/IMG_2803.jpg

[integrax97]

nice great job

[enigma94]

damn, i forgot how great those turned out..

[-=tegspeed=-]

mad props to big c, i followed this and mine turned out great a few months back

[Big C]

mad props to big c, i followed this and mine turned out great a few months back

Glad to hear its working out for other people too. Its a lot of work but the result is worth it.

[Integra3586]

im glad you made this a sticky, i just aquired some new blades and they are gonna need some polishing. awesome work man,


ps. i like how you left the wheel weights on there while you were striping :-p

[Integra3586]

did you repaint in between the spokes?

[Big C]

did you repaint in between the spokes?

nope.

[fivesfe]

woah those look real nice :thumbsup:

[B18c3EG]

Yeah this is amazing, where do you learn this stuff from?

[Big C]

Yeah this is amazing, where do you learn this stuff from?

I just gathered bits and pieces of information from the web and went from there and tried it myself.

[vtechnician]

those wheels look good.

[mr.DUNK]

clean.....love how you did that in steps....

i sell similar product made by KLEANSTRIP at my work.
SHERWIN-WILLIAMS AUTOMOTIVE
7029 N. 57th AVE
GLENDALE, AZ 85301
623-931-2421

it runs about 8 bucks a can....

[RhdRicheeee]

damn they turned out great

[akibahn]

swweeet....I need to do that to my ls wheels. the clear coat is starting to look faded...

[Jstarda9]

now the question is how much will you charge to do those to mine

[mr.DUNK]

just did mine....:thumbup:

[Integra3586]

^^^looks good, how long did that take you?

[mr.DUNK]

^^^looks good, how long did that take you?
well this one wheel took me about an hour to do....
http://www.azht.net/forum/showthread.php?t=4514
^^^^^^^:wave:

[blacksihatch]

Hey man great job, i like the attention to detail. overall how many hours did this take to complete per wheel? you had to put good time and elbow grease to make them look show room ready.

[Big C]

Hey man great job, i like the attention to detail. overall how many hours did this take to complete per wheel? you had to put good time and elbow grease to make them look show room ready.

Around 2-3 hours per wheel.

[imm0rtal]

So would you recommend this for wheels that aren't painted, but just beat up from brake dust and wear and tear? Would the procedure still be similar for wheels like I described? My Del Sol fat fives are downright fucked from being so old, so I was gonna try and clean them up as much as possible for a meet in a few months...

[lostone808]

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9247/img3717us7.jpg
here my fives thanks for the info

[Nott_Sure]

/\ looks clean :thumbup:

[JDMitation]

teh pix are down! :hithead:

[Big C]

teh pix are down! :hithead:

Good call. Forgot I cancelled one of my old hosting accounts where those pics were hosted.

Fixed.

[lexus_is300]

Worked realy good, worth the time.. look brand new

[Honduhluv]

I'm gonna do the same for my fat 5's.

[Daddy_Digital]

could this be done only for polishing a lip and leaving the rest of the paint on the rim? anyone ever done that before?

[jdmlude]

were did you buy the aircraft coatin remover .....thanks

[cLeAn_Ek9]

any automotive parts store...autozone...checkers...walmart..

[drift4agze]

came out great. alot of elbow work, as you may already know? lol good job

[Daddy_Digital]

im gonna try this on my LS meshs. im tired of the paint on them. would rather ride some clean polished rims. good thread!

[Rollin_Eg]

Dam great job on those rims man...:thumbup: Might try this on my snowflakes..

[Daddy_Digital]

were did you buy the aircraft coatin remover .....thanks

u can buy it at auto zone or walmart. make sure you buy some plastic gloves that are kinda thick, like dish washing gloves. that shit will burn the hell out of ur skin

[Daddy_Digital]

im doing this right now. i think there should be some additions to the list u need. GLOVES are a must. the aircraft paint remover will burn ur skin very bad. a paint brush to apply the remover helps alot. a wire brush helps get the tough paint spots come off. steel wool also helps scrape paint off. masking tape hhelps keep the index cards on the wheel. the wind kicked up and blew them away. im doing my LS meshes and its not as easy as the fat fives that were used in the example. it is definetly taking longer to get the paint off

[blk00civic]

or you can use chrome polish even on painted color rims makes it come out super smooth no gloves needed just apply and wipe off enamel reducer works good to just what ever you do dont ever use amonia based products on your car and or wheels it will oxadise your paint just some tips for you guys

[Jason.AZ1]

Okay so anyone have pictures from this diy?
I wanna polish my Slip's
but wanna see pictures step by step,
lol I dont wanna mess up my rims

I my rims(pictured)
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/jason_az1/S7301279.jpg
http://i7./y280/jason_az1/shoot/S7300570.jpg

I want them to look like these
http://urbanimport.com/images/products/rota/fullpol.JPG


So once I get my rims dismounted from my tires I

1. spray heavily with aircraft paint remover What brand?

8. apply Mother's Polish and rub in till it turns blackish

Do I buy Billet Metal Polish or Mag & Aluminum Polish
http://www.mothers.com/products/productcatalog/productpics/05106_180px.jpg
http://www.mothers.com/products/productcatalog/productpics/05100-05101_193px.jpg


thanks guys

[bryantiscool]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPy8l_wZp58

done deal homie.

[bryantiscool]

Okay so anyone have pictures from this diy?
I wanna polish my Slip's
but wanna see pictures step by step,
lol I dont wanna mess up my rims

I my rims(pictured)
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/jason_az1/S7301279.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/jason_az1/shoot/S7300570.jpg

I want them to look like these
http://urbanimport.com/images/products/rota/fullpol.JPG


So once I get my rims dismounted from my tires I

1. spray heavily with aircraft paint remover What brand?

8. apply Mother's Polish and rub in till it turns blackish

Do I buy Billet Metal Polish or Mag & Aluminum Polish
http://www.mothers.com/products/productcatalog/productpics/05106_180px.jpg
http://www.mothers.com/products/productcatalog/productpics/05100-05101_193px.jpg


thanks guys

aircraft is the brand.

i used the mag and aluminum polish when i polished my cousin's ls meshies.
turned out great.
just use a drill attachment or some shit
cause doing it by hand is a pain in the ass.

[Jason.AZ1]

aircraft is the brand.

i used the mag and aluminum polish when i polished my cousin's ls meshies.
turned out great.
just use a drill attachment or some shit
cause doing it by hand is a pain in the ass.

oh lol :thumbsup: thanks man....

[Tweeder]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPy8l_wZp58

done deal homie.

:goodpost:

[Jason.AZ1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPy8l_wZp58

done deal homie.

thats easy, thanks

[Method520]

index cards.. what a great idea

[ReyEG2]

damn gottta try polishing the 5 lug prelude blades

[1991crxfreak]

what happens when the paint doesnt come off all the way i dont wanna scracth up the slips or will the wax take the scratches away?

[Civicious]

anyone throwin an aircraft remover rim makeover party? im down

[93DelSlow]

anyone throwin an aircraft remover rim makeover party? im down

X2^^ I need to clean up my Blades and would prefer having supervision considering the pictures no longer work... ;)

[Rufus]

I wanna polish my BBS reps but I wanna go all out and make em look like a mirror

[Atomic-Orange-Turbo-Sloth]

I wanna polish my BBS reps but I wanna go all out and make em look like a mirror
i wanna do the same when i get my Track R's.

pretty sure you cant chrome them.

[DarkTinman]

I wish your pictures were still up!