StanceWorks » Style » Wheels and Brakes- Sponsored by Rotiform

[Arth43Will]

Gregg Valentino

[yotatuner]

finished stripping and polish my LM's
used dumond smart strip,1000 wet, 2000 wet , sure bright tool box polish and a mothers power cone. After i finished polishing them i gave them a coat of canuba wax to protect them from the water .they look way better now

sorry for the crapy cell phone pics

[Nicolaus Pro]

Jaze, you just using caranuba wax for the lips?

[yotatuner]

Originally Posted by Nicolaus Pro

Jaze, you just using caranuba wax for the lips?

yeah just to protect them from water stains.water just beads right off.

[336motorsports]

Great thread...

What are you guys using as far as waxes go, to finish?


Here are a few things Ive done...










pro tip: For those looking for a true mirror shine, please do not use micro fiber towels, they scratch the aluminum. Use an old torn up t-shirt.

[E30Jim]

I did a small movie while polishing one of my RS yesterday. Enjoy !

http://vimeo.com/40784963

[gman1227]

^^^holy god all of those wheels/lips look flawless great job^^^

[electricalbox]

Originally Posted by E30Jim

I did a small movie while polishing one of my RS yesterday. Enjoy !

http://vimeo.com/40784963

What is the wheel hooked up to, I have been thinking of how to create something like this that will accept multiple hub size/ PCD?


Great video BTW!

NM I just saw the beginning again lol, great idea!

[E30Jim]

Originally Posted by electricalbox

What is the wheel hooked up to, I have been thinking of how to create something like this that will accept multiple hub size/ PCD?


Great video BTW!

NM I just saw the beginning again lol, great idea!

Like you saw, it's a simple E30 strut.

[thesull]

I have VERY fine micro scratches on some areas of my wheels...
I have been using neverdull because it was left over from a while ago..

I have read and read and read.
There is no need to sand the wheels as I have polished them out greatly...
Now I just have small imperfections.

Once I am done.
Whats a good sealer?

[Vict43Nau]

will sand right through the tape
__________________

[Matl43Owa]

lot of work to do..

[SAMSHIZZLE]

Does anyone know where to find that Diamond Bright Truck Box Polish? I've searched all my local stores and none carry the stuff?

I have some new wheels, just wanna strip the clear off and make those babies glow! Any good alternatives to the Truck Box Polish? Would the Maguires wheels polish kit be sufficient?

[eddie7978]

what would be the steps to polish a lip like this

[NathanHeeney]

Great DIY!

[Eman.]

This is a great thread! but I need help on how I should polish the lips on my rims since I can't take them off, also they go into the rim. I don't have a power drill of any sort so ill probably be doing it buy hand so any help on steps and products is appreciated!!


IMG_2732 by Simpson.Photography, on Flickr


IMG_2733 by Simpson.Photography, on Flickr

[asmo]

First you'll need them off the car, use aircraft stripper on them be becareful not to get it on the painted parts/centers of the wheel. I use small paintbrushes to get in tight areas, you cant really mask it off becouse the stripper gets under the tape and ruins everything. Always wear gloves! let it sit and then wash it off after 15-20 mins. they should be really shiney after the faded chipped clearcoat is removed.
then if you want more shine, polish them more.
I usually finish with a couple good coats of wax.

[Eman.]

Originally Posted by asmo

First you'll need them off the car, use aircraft stripper on them be becareful not to get it on the painted parts/centers of the wheel. I use small paintbrushes to get in tight areas, you cant really mask it off becouse the stripper gets under the tape and ruins everything. Always wear gloves! let it sit and then wash it off after 15-20 mins. they should be really shiney after the faded chipped clearcoat is removed.
then if you want more shine, polish them more.
I usually finish with a couple good coats of wax.

Thank you sir

[ashleyg101]

Originally Posted by 336motorsports

Great thread...

What are you guys using as far as waxes go, to finish?


Here are a few things Ive done...










pro tip: For those looking for a true mirror shine, please do not use micro fiber towels, they scratch the aluminum. Use an old torn up t-shirt.

Wow oh wow, these are really great, well, I used to use fiber towels for I know that it can make them shine and one of my friends told me that also, but now I'd better go for your suggestion.

[evilchargerfan]

how often do you guys have to re wax the wheels?

[Eman.]

So I was able to find most of the basic stuff from this thread the only thing i'm not sure about is the stripper. I went to my local Ace Hardware store and they didn't have air craft stripper but he suggested another ( pictured below ). Will this one work also or should I take it back?


polishing gear by Simpson.Photography, on Flickr

[bimmerchop]

Question for the Mother's Powerball folk...

For 2/3-piece wheels with step lips and wheel bolts, BBS LM's for example, Powerball Mini or Powercone? I've heard horror stories of the ball shredding apart.

[andybob]

Lots of good info in here. When I got my wheels back in May 3 of the 4 were in decent shape and the one really needed some work. The 3 decent ones I just hit with some McGuire's Ultimate Compound and then Mothers Mag/Aluminum Polish. They turned out ok but this winter I plan to take them all the way apart and do them the right way. The one wheel turned out really good. I'll let the pics do the talking.

This was the really bad wheel:



Here is the first wheel I did with just compound and polish. It looks good from far but up close its kinda dull. I'm not sure what is on the lips but they really need to be sanded down to fresh aluminum:



I was able to get all the rust looking stuff off the bad wheel but it left a line like this:



They must have been coated with something from the factory. I'm not quite sure.

After a lot of wetsanding I was able to get rid of that line:



The full wheel:



Then I did the compound and polish:



and the full wheel again:





I did the wesanding in these step: 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, and 3000, then the compound and polish.

I think when I do them again this winter I want to do 600, 800, 1000, and then use more aggressive compounds. I read somewhere if you use more aggressive compounds the aluminum doesn't fade like it would if you use higher grit sandpaper. I'm not sure if that's true or not but I want to try it and see.

I then waxed all the lips with Turtle Wax Ice Synthetic Paste. Stuff works really well. I'd recommend it.

[dzidziusbmw]

[Masonbarnard]

If your wheels are already polished, and you want them a little shinier would a basic polish be fine, or would i have to re-polish the hole wheel.