Polishing lips, DIY

[fatboy.yoshi]

i'd like to contribute...this is something a friend of mine found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxxG4A4OgHI

[Russell_G]

i'd like to contribute...this is something a friend of mine found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxxG4A4OgHI

my friend tried cleaning his chain on his bike like that you should see all 9 of his fingers


im working on building something like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwat_...eature=related

[luzi]

That's the stuff I like Here some pics of my rims (DIY polished :P)

Mirror Style LOL

[kdog1818]

Great write up. Hey its my lex from like three years ago.

[Effin' Euro]

why not the aerosol stripper? in my experience it works better than the brush on stuff.

[mpv]

great write up on a diy for polishing. I have a commercial setup so I get to skip a lot of those steps. If you are local to the bay area and need polishing hit me up. Some of my work

[BadSeed]

I'm tryin to polish the lips of my BBS RZs, and was wondering which order I should paint/polish. I need to repaint the centers but I want the lips polished, and I can't figure out which one to do first, because of the masking off situation...

And also, if I clear the face, do I clear the polished section of rim? I would not right? Because I need to keep that finish...?

[dubbed_up_daz]

polish the lip>paint the centre>do NOT clear the polished lip(well not if its polished properly)

[BadSeed]

polish the lip>paint the centre>do NOT clear the polished lip(well not if its polished properly)

Thank you!

[Fender Filler]

wow,
nice write up. I've had the idea of polishing my brocks for a while now. The only thing really stopping me is that the lips are kinda badly curbed and they are powder coated.
I guess the questions I have are:
Can I fix the curb rash and still polish the lips?
Powder coating must be a pain to take off, right?

[estwokayy..]

does it not become dull after a few months?

[Rally]

does it not become dull after a few months?

You have to maintain them by giving them a good hand polish whenever you wash your wheels. Otherwise they will oxidize, yes.

[Neb]

does it not become dull after a few months?

yeah just hit them with a metal polish like mentioned and you'll be good. Oh and don't drive them during the winter if they salt your area.

[Minuki]

Great write up. I'll be doing this with my wheels.

I have a question though - i want to get the centers painted black with the lip polished. Should i get them lacquered too? I have heard that this "dulls" the shine?

[cardoza]

Question, when sanding do I need to do in the same direction the entire time? This is my first time polishing and I'm doing a set of RS lips, and after some 320 grit sanding (no aircraft stripper) I see some little hooks from where I switched directions while sanding. I really want to do this myself but am thinking about just taking it to someone just because there are so many intricacies in the lips.

[JustinE36]

why no clear coat?

[JustinE36]

and did you re-use the bolts?

[Lux]

I think the clearing is dependent on what the manufacturer has done. For example if it was cleared than you want to clear it but if it was not and you want to stick to the original finish dont clear it. Thats just my thoughts. I would recommend clearing it myself just to keep it lasting longer. One thing about that however is you should also wet sand and buff the clear and you could fuck up and dig down into your hard work.

About the curb rash. I have painted a few wheels before and in all cases regardless of the lip if its curbed I just paint it a very nice silver and do a flawless job wetsanding it and polishing it before a clear. Not exactly a mirror finish but looks good. This is cause I use the red metal filler so of course that wont polish up to a nice mirror finish.

What would you recommend using to fill curbage to get it to polish again?

Also, the stripper you recommend,... is that thin liquid or gel? I have used the gel and the aerosol versions of Tal-Strip in the past and I have been able to just spray/brush it on and often the stuff was so good I could just blast it and the paint off with a hose.

Now, Im working with a powder coated set of wheels and I just cant get the damn paint off with any paint removers. Dont got the funds to take it to a shop for a blasting either. Sanding has been taking days!

[Lux]

Question, when sanding do I need to do in the same direction the entire time? This is my first time polishing and I'm doing a set of RS lips, and after some 320 grit sanding (no aircraft stripper) I see some little hooks from where I switched directions while sanding. I really want to do this myself but am thinking about just taking it to someone just because there are so many intricacies in the lips.

Sorry to jack OPs questions but what I have been told and what I have been doing is sanding in one direction \\\\\\\\ then moving to this direction //////,... if you get what Im sayin.

[SeeClass]

Here's some of my work and I love JDM wheels because they always look soo much better than the alloy used on other wheels.

It's easier to sand in ONE direction and BUFF the other way. I always start wet sanding with 400 and use lower grits on curb rash only.

Tools I use:
Belt sander - GET ONE!
Drill
90 degree grinder
Air compressor with die grinder

[Lux]

Man that wheels sick.

I wanna know what color you used on those spokes asap!

[*96tegls*]

do you use the same process for polishing lips and the centers?

[jznsn2u]

sweeet write up bro.

[mad325is]

damn that looks nice... but i must admit im lost on the belt sander... seems like it would be too bulky for a job like this...

[SeeClass]

I use the belt sander to remove curb rash, not to polish the rims. Orbital sanders leave too many sanding marks and are not uniform when taking out curb rash. Belt sanders also have a larger surface area which makes it easier for you to blend the curb rash to the rest of the rim. You don't want wavy lips where they curb rash used to be.