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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ wheel polishing 101

Posted by: trekkor Mar 7 2005, 10:11 PM

I'd like to polish these to a mirrorlike finish.

How much time does it take per wheel to do it right and what should I pay to send them out?

What is the best process? fine grit wet paper all the way down to #0000 steel wool and then Mother's polish?

Thanks.

KT

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Posted by: Unclerichy Mar 7 2005, 10:13 PM

The bird board has a good tech article on wheel polishing.

Posted by: 914forme Mar 7 2005, 10:19 PM

NO Steel wool - it will imbed in the aluminum and rust!

Start with the finest grit you can and work your way to finer until you are using rouge (sp?) It will take a good long time to do it right - 4-6 hours a wheel, pay your self what your labor worth?

Posted by: trekkor Mar 7 2005, 10:53 PM

I have these Pedrini's that someone nicely polished before I bought them.

KT

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Posted by: Gint Mar 7 2005, 11:14 PM

There's a lot of labor in that wheel Trekkor. Mahles and Pedrinis are more intricate than Fuchs.

This one took 30 hours.

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Posted by: Gint Mar 7 2005, 11:15 PM

'nother.

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Posted by: Gint Mar 7 2005, 11:17 PM

Glass bead blast (which I wouldn't do if I did it again), 80, 220, 400, 600, 1000, 1500 ggrit sandpaper. Wet sand, mostly by hand. Couple of different polish levels on a large buffing wheel.

Lotta work... but those wheels you're talking about doing polich up really well. Go for it!

I should add, I would happily pay $75 a wheel to get those wheels fully poliched including the edges of the holes. Well worth it.

Posted by: Rand Mar 8 2005, 12:22 AM

Dang Gint, that's beautiful.

Thirty hours per wheel? Oh man, listen to me whine. Isn't there some kind of soft-tipped polishing bit for a power tool that would work with a good rubbing compound? The flat surfaces are pretty easy to work with a cloth wheel, but there must be some kind of decent wheel/tip for getting into the corners?

Posted by: J P Stein Mar 8 2005, 12:55 AM

No cast wheel' polishes up like a forged wheel.
Ayup, 20 hours depending on your starting point.
This cobbled up rig helps a bit, but I don't go the extreme of Gint's wheel.

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Posted by: anthony Mar 8 2005, 03:12 AM

At 20-30 hours per wheel you guys are doing something wrong. Al Reed will polish your wheels for like $80/each and that's the retail price and he's making money. I figure it must take him an hour at the most.

Posted by: J P Stein Mar 8 2005, 04:10 AM

QUOTE (anthony @ Mar 8 2005, 01:12 AM)
At 20-30 hours per wheel you guys are doing something wrong. Al Reed will polish your wheels for like $80/each and that's the retail price and he's making money. I figure it must take him an hour at the most.

And I figure you've never polished a wheel.

Posted by: redshift Mar 8 2005, 04:24 AM

JP, didn't I see you at the Pottery Barn?

M

Posted by: Gint Mar 8 2005, 08:51 AM

QUOTE (RandyLok Posted: Mar 7 2005 @ 11:22 PM)

Dang Gint, that's beautiful.

Thirty hours per wheel? Oh man, listen to me whine. Isn't there some kind of soft-tipped polishing bit for a power tool that would work with a good rubbing compound? The flat surfaces are pretty easy to work with a cloth wheel, but there must be some kind of decent wheel/tip for getting into the corners?

The small tips don't hold up to the real harsh cutting compunds. They fall apart. I tried the heavy cutting compounds and they suck. I found sanding to perform much better overall. I also polished the edges of all of the holes. Most polishers won't do that detail. Because that's the part that has to be done by hand. With the proper heavy duty machinery, this can be quick work to do the faces.

QUOTE (anthony Posted on Mar 8 2005 @ 02:12 AM)
At 20-30 hours per wheel you guys are doing something wrong. Al Reed will polish your wheels for like $80/each and that's the retail price and he's making money. I figure it must take him an hour at the most.

That why my last set went to Al. You didn't read all of what I said. I would definitely pay top have them done now after that one experience. I only did that one wheel. Too much work. But that experience taught me the value of Al's work.

And it took 30 hours because I had to figure out a process. I could do that now in under 20

Posted by: Travis Neff Mar 8 2005, 12:26 PM

Hey Trekkor, what size tires are you running on those westerns? Of course the follow on question to your answer is, did you have to do a lot of fender pulling to get them to fit in the wheelwells? I have westerns too and wondering how big I can go

Posted by: aircooledboy Mar 8 2005, 12:37 PM

mmmmmmmm polished Pedrinis.....
Dang Trek, those are AWESOME. I thought somebody here said Pedrinis couldn't be polished because they were cast. The silver streak is sporting Pedrinis, and I always thought they would look so much better polished. Guess I better start looking for a local polisher.

Posted by: vsg914 Mar 8 2005, 12:37 PM

Here's mine after hand polishing with a high torque angle drill, 3 1/2" buffing wheel, black emory compound, followed by red rouge, then cleaned up with mother's. They looked just like yours before polishing. About 2 hours per wheel. Not a mirror finish, but I didn't want that.

Travis, I run 205/50 Kumho Ecstas MX and they fit just fine.

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Posted by: Travis Neff Mar 8 2005, 01:40 PM

That looks sweet Curt, that satin finish is nice! Car looks spiffy too! Need to find some center caps of some sort for mine though