Proper technique for polishing polished lips

[southpaw]

Anyone have a DIY or something for how to properly polish wheels?

I don't want to get used to doing my routine and find out i'm doing the wrong thing and fuuck up the wheels. :rofl

[SeanDub]

Sand the piss out of them, then polish the fuck out of em. Then they will be piss and fuckless

[Feelinit18]

Sand the piss out of them, then polish the fuck out of em. Then they will be piss and fuckless

I chuckled out loud

[TheStig]

HAHAHAHA wtf does that mean?

[M.Burroughs]

Lol that joke went right over your head. :rofl

[TheStig]

Lol that joke went right over your head. :rofl

Haha clearly... I get it now... I was sooo out of it last night. Excuse my sillyness :D

[sb253]

ive done it a couple times. Just did lips on a pair of extra wheels i had lying around yesterday.

Can I get some more info on the lips? removable? clearcoated? What wheels?

[Exami]

For the basic styles.. (if clear coat on...)

First: Paint remover of some kind to get clear coat off..

2nd: Lots of sanding.. Dependin on condition of Lips to choose starting paper..

300 Drysanding paper (To smooth every thing off the rim scuffs etc)
500 Drysanding paper (To smooth 300's papers marks)
800 Drysanding paper (To smooth 500's papers marks)
1000 Drysanding paper (To smooth 800's papers marks)
1200 Wetsanding paper (To smooth every little bits on rim and to check if you need to go some part of other papers again..)


3rd Polishing waxes.. (you need various metal polishing tools)

4th Metal polish wax (protection against water and brake dust...)

Start:
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/4220/vanne1.th.jpg (http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/4220/vanne1.jpg)

After polishing waxes lips should look something like this
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/374/03052009001h.th.jpg (http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/374/03052009001h.jpg)

Tips:
Sand well... lazy sanding normally ends up dull finish.

Buy good polishing wax (hardwax made for polishing metal, aluminium etc.)

Take your time... Don't try taking short cuts.. if you start using 300paper you need to go trought them all or after 1200 wetpaper you see some weird scrathes going on there..

Becareful! After polishing (Before metalpolish) barealuminium scatches real easy..

Other than that just straight forward easy job!

There is lots and lots of good DIY's on internet hit google by "rim polishing".

[southpaw]

Wow! great writeup!

I was actually talkin about like polishing wheels with everywash, to keep them super shiney. Not really refinshing them. But wow. great work!

[Mscire2]

i usually just hit them with quick detailer in between washes to keep the lips fairly clean and not let brake dust sit on them. then like once a month or so give them a good polish with mothers mag/aluminum polish. Youd be amazed how long they hold there luster if you just wipe them down with quick detailer.

[Chris@MemoryFab]

Doesn't Maguires sell a kit for doing that?

[GATO]

i usually just hit them with quick detailer in between washes to keep the lips fairly clean and not let brake dust sit on them. then like once a month or so give them a good polish with mothers mag/aluminum polish. Youd be amazed how long they hold there luster if you just wipe them down with quick detailer.



what kind of quick detailer do you use>?

I keep my wheels pretty fresh all the time...to avoid dust...

but was thinking of using like a mothers once in a while....

just curious on the detailer..

[schroedin]

Redundant thread title is redundant :rofl

I guess there is no other way to say it though :shifty

[SeanDub]

Maintaining polished lips would have worked...

[Tuck&Poke]

ceramic brake pads are the best investment Ive made to keeping my wheels clean, i know its too late now but for future reference.

[SeanDub]

I will keep that in mind!

[Exami]

I use Autoglym Metal Polish every second carwash.. takes some brake dust etc dirt off them..

[ProjektONE]

After cleaning my wheels I add a little wheel wax or carnuba wax to the wheels to keep them clean.

[Tuck&Poke]

oh and another tip my friend fucked up the lips on his Works when the carwash dude left degreaser on them. Stains the shit out of raw metal

[TheJakeR]

oh and another tip my friend fucked up the lips on his Works when the carwash dude left degreaser on them. Stains the shit out of raw metal

Yea.... that was a BIG no no...

Brandon, you could've just called me :D

I would apply a synthetic sealant before I assemble the lips. Good protection for around 6 months. Me being the meticulous detailer I am, I'd probably disassemble them every 6 months and reapply. You can reapply while assembled, but getting it around the bolts is a bit difficult to do...

Q-tips are your friend :]

to clean: P12S wheel gel with your washes. It clings to areas between the bolts since it is a gel and not a liquid, really nice and easy to use.

Get a toothbrush and scrub between bolts for extra "squeaky-clean-ness" :)

Meguiars mag aluminum polish works well too! Now that you have that damn PC, throw on a 3.5 inch backing plate, 4 inch Lake country spot buff ccs pad, spread some mag aluminum polish on that beezy, and go to town :)

If I see your style 5's dirty at any point, I will be a VERY sad panda :(

<3

[Mscire2]

what kind of quick detailer do you use>?

I keep my wheels pretty fresh all the time...to avoid dust...

but was thinking of using like a mothers once in a while....

just curious on the detailer..

just meguiers quick detailer, the one in the red bottle. works perfectly for keeping them fresh.

[Royal_T]

I found this little guide,,,check it out

http://www.poleringsguide.se/english/

[bjh102]

i got secrets up my sleeve.

300 grit. go around the lip, then sand down into where the face of the wheel is, then sand in an x pattern then around the lip again.

repeat this step with 500, 600, 800, 1000, wetsand 1200, 1500, 2000 and 2500 if you can get it.

get a rubbing compound i used a turtle wax rubbing compund. its in a white container. smear it on then rub it into the metal then clean it off.

use a ryobi drill attachment thing. there are 3 different compunds in it go from light to dark. instructions are on the back of the package.

use a blue magic metal polish (dont smell it it will make your head burn) and done! your lips are polished.

[WhiteStripes]

Sand the piss out of them, then polish the fuck out of em. Then they will be piss and fuckless

:rofl

That's good stuff.

[Thatguy_JZ]

Have any of ya'll tryed this stuff?

http://gordspolish.com/

I used it w/ steel wool on my chrome window trim that was stained and faded to a white haze and it did a great job of polishing it back out like new. Everything else I used couldn't touch it but this stuff did the job. It holds up well, been about a year now. I'll reapply it with a rag every so often and the shine gets better each time.