Polishing wheels
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:51 pm
I tried my hand at polishing some wheels tonight. They aren't for my Bronco. I will probably never have any wheels for my Bronco that would require polishing! I just figured I would share with you guys in case anyone has some wheels they are thinking about polishing!
The wheels are some used wheels I picked up off of craigslist for my mother-in-law. I got them for $125 for the set. They have seen better days for sure but they are straight, decent style and the right lug pattern and backspacing to fit her car. I wasn't sure I could bring them back and I know I could have done more on them but they are good enough for now! I am very pleased with the results for a first timer!
I started with rinsing the wheels off. Then I blasted them with brake cleaner to see if that would do anything...it didn't. Then I scrubbed them with a bristle brush and A to Z wheel cleaner from eagle one. They looked a lot better already! Then I started with 400 grit wet sandpaper to the non-painted surfaces. Followed that up with some 800 grit wet and, finally 1000 grit wet. I definitely could have spent more time with the 1000 and probably gone to 1500 or even 2000 grit but this is just a stock Impreza, not a show car! I finished them off with a powerball and Mother mag and aluminum polish. Not bad for a couple hours work! Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics! Yes the close up shots are the same wheel and pretty close to the same angle(look at the dot stamp)!!
If you are considering doing this I would recommend it! The wheels look 10 times better then before and I didn't spend nearly as much time as I could have. Just be patient and you can make your wheels look better than new!
The wheels are some used wheels I picked up off of craigslist for my mother-in-law. I got them for $125 for the set. They have seen better days for sure but they are straight, decent style and the right lug pattern and backspacing to fit her car. I wasn't sure I could bring them back and I know I could have done more on them but they are good enough for now! I am very pleased with the results for a first timer!
I started with rinsing the wheels off. Then I blasted them with brake cleaner to see if that would do anything...it didn't. Then I scrubbed them with a bristle brush and A to Z wheel cleaner from eagle one. They looked a lot better already! Then I started with 400 grit wet sandpaper to the non-painted surfaces. Followed that up with some 800 grit wet and, finally 1000 grit wet. I definitely could have spent more time with the 1000 and probably gone to 1500 or even 2000 grit but this is just a stock Impreza, not a show car! I finished them off with a powerball and Mother mag and aluminum polish. Not bad for a couple hours work! Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics! Yes the close up shots are the same wheel and pretty close to the same angle(look at the dot stamp)!!
If you are considering doing this I would recommend it! The wheels look 10 times better then before and I didn't spend nearly as much time as I could have. Just be patient and you can make your wheels look better than new!