DIY Polishing Alloy Wheels???

[zzsprade]

Considering the expense involved in having your wheels polished I was curious as to whether it is possible at all to polish alloy wheels yourself? In other words is there a science or a process to it?

Cheers guys!

-Alex

[wrxhoon]

u can do it its not rocket science just a lot of HARD work , a lot of rubing

[vspec2]

I got a polishing kit that attaches to your drill designed for polishing wheels and engine parts etc... Got it from Magnet Mart for $25 saves so much time, but still alot of work though.

[zzsprade]

wrxhoon - I am glad to hear that it can be done. Not so glad that it may require a lot of work.

vspec2 - This is something I am interested in finding. Do you know the name of the brand that produced the polishing attachment for a drill.

Cheers guys!

-Alex

[wrxhoon]

this is how i did a set of momo arrows , it took me 16 hours to do it . ( i had a quote to do the 4 wheels for $800 ). i used a paint striper on the wheels first , i left it on for about 15-20 minutes , that got rid of a lot of the paint but not all of it . i used a scraper to remove it still couldnt get it all . now comes the hard one , i used 320 grade wet n dry to rub all the paint off ,fairly easy on the big areas of the rim , very hard in tight places (by the end of it my fingers were bleeding ). when all the paint was gone i used 600 wet and dry to take all the fine scrathes left from the 320 . when u get to this stage most of the hard work is done . i used a fine grade compound with a lamswool buff ( i have a 180 mm buffing machine ) done all the big areas then i used my dremel tool with a little lamswool attatchment to get to the smaller hard to get places ( if i had a 100 mm buff i could use that as well ) . when all that was finished i used an alloy polishing cream and a soft cloth to finish the job by hand . it came up like a mirror .

if u have wheels that dont have tight( hard to get places ) u will get a good resault . if u r going to buy an attachment for the drill get 100 mm dont get 180 but the little dremmel was very usefull . if u atempt it good luck and let us know how u went .

cheers , jerry

[vspec2]

Hi read your bit on polishing your wheels I'm in the middle of polishing my engine. I've got it to a stage where its shiny but not mirror like. Its still got fine scratches from the 1200 grit sand paper, you reckon a polish will get it out? I've used Autosol on it but the scratches are still present. Might try a drill and lambs wool pad next with polish. What polish did you use?

cheers

[wrxhoon]

vspec2 , you have done all the hard work if you manage to get the engine all smooth ( rocker cover and timing belt cover i asume ) . now the easy part , all you need is a buffing machine (180 mm will do) if you got the rocker cover off the car its very easy .any buffing compound will do you can get it from a panelbeating supply shop , dont buy the stuff supercheap sell , put a little on the job and give it with the buff it will take out 600 scratches easy .once all finished , you may have to do a little by hand in hard to get places , get some alloy or any metal polish and rub it with that by hand .

[Bobjones]

I got a polishing kit that attaches to your drill designed for polishing wheels and engine parts etc... Got it from Magnet Mart for $25 saves so much time, but still alot of work though.

I have a similar kit and got it from Bunnings, and yes it is alot of work. i previously polished my SR20 rocker cover myself and came up better than quite a few people who have had is "professionally polished"

Honestly it is ALOT of hard work but if you have a free weekend, a carton and a few mates its fine, just get them polishing something...no gay puns thanks...

So after using 1200 or any finer wet and dry sand paper, yes use it wet and clean it off with Wax and grease remover, then use the kit, buffing wheel first then polishing wheel, I then followed up with some autosol and some good ol elbow grease...

[GTRgeoff]

I did my stock 33 wheels and it took 4 days of constant work due to the damage done coming off the boat. The only better result on stock wheels I've seen tho was a full chrome job.

A pro shop will do it quicker but still take a substantial time so the cost is worth it if you can't do it yourself.

Needs regular maintenance too or it starts to look crap.