sawblades

[urleycay]

has anyone polished their wheels. From what i,ve read so far someone said you have to remove clear coat first. can you use a spray on stripper to do that then polish wheel w/ aluminum polish and buffing wheels. last should you re-clear wheels when done? if so, what type of clear.
thanks

 

[Toms007]

From what I have read, you are correct. Strip the clear-coat off first. Then to polish, I have read were they talk about starting with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and work down to 1200-1500 grit. Some people say to re-clear some say they just keep them cleaned up.

Sounds like a bit of work, but well worth it. Good luck and post some pictures, before, during and after you get them done.

 

[Vettelt193]

has anyone polished their wheels. From what i,ve read so far someone said you have to remove clear coat first. can you use a spray on stripper to do that then polish wheel w/ aluminum polish and buffing wheels. last should you re-clear wheels when done? if so, what type of clear.
thanks

I used a brush on stripper on my '87. Don't bother with any 'safety strippers'. you need full power stuff to get the clear off.

It requires a TON of work. The wheels are not smooth under the clear, they are machined in a circular pattern and the grooves are thicker than they look with the clear on. You'll have to take the wheels off the car, and I don't think you can do it without a good power polisher of some sort.

 

[jrzvette]

Also, make sure you don't get any of the stripper on the tires.

 

[j-wireman]

Sounds like it is definitely a job for a professional.

BTW, Is there such a thing as "clear powder-coat"?

 

[jrzvette]

Sounds like it is definitely a job for a professional.

BTW, Is there such a thing as "clear powder-coat"?

It's very time consuming but a good DIY project if you store the car for the winter. Take off one wheel at a time and devote a Saturday to each one.

 

[3dale1]

I used "aircraft remover" with good , easy results. If you're careful, you can swab it on and not hit the painted recesses as well.

It is a lot of work, but well worth it. I went to 2000 grit then used mothers aluminum polish and they look great. If I remember, each wheel took about 4 hours straight. I did not reclear them, and surprisingly, its been easy to keep them looking sharp, even after 2 years. I thought oxidation would eventually dull them, but so far, so good.

 

[Zo6 LVR]

I just got done doing this. My 95 blades had some corrosion and curb dings. I removed all of the tires from the wheels. I used a 3M citris stripper that worked great and did not have a noxious odor. True there is a machine surface under the clear cote, but the first compound smoothed that out. I used two different grades of compound bricks ( red & white)and two grades of polishing wheels ( firm & fluffy) that I bought from a vendor at the Chicago Chevy/Vettefest and a cheap Black & Decker drill. I had to spend about a hour with the first compound and about 45 minutes with the final compound. After that I hand polished with Mothers. They came out great. I am not going to clear them, just touch them up with Mothers as needed. Bout two hours per wheel, well worth the time!