so i have some polished aluminum wheels. they need to be shined up.

ive heard lots of good stuff about mothers billet polish. is this the best stuff (i want something good, but not overly expensive) i can get locally?

also, what method should i use. ive never polished anything. should i do it by hand or get an attachment, like a polishing wheel for a drill? i know there are several types of polishing wheels, what should i get?

[Edited on August 28, 2005 at 10:44 PM. Reason : proper punctuation]

8/28/2005 10:44:06 PM

jack up your car, put the wheel you wanna polish on the drive wheels and put the car in reverse, or drive (opposite the direction of the polisher) and that makes life easier.

8/28/2005 10:48:36 PM

Mothers is okay stuff, but then I've only used it and Duragloss, and both work relatively well.

I've used a buffer wheel, and I've done it by hand. By hand is a bitch, but then it's a lot easier to control what you polish and what you don't (in case you have paint highlights or if you have any faux chrome plastic rivets or the like; the wheel will remove what you want to keep DAMN quick).

I've managed to polish ONE of a set of four wheels that I have. It's such a pain in the ass.

8/28/2005 11:06:50 PM

xtreem

8/28/2005 11:11:50 PM

I used NuVite for my customers airplanes. It is a three stage process and is verify labor intensive but leaves the best shine I have ever seen.

8/28/2005 11:55:32 PM

yeah for aluminum thats already poished and needs to be shined up a two or 3 stage polish works best, truck stops carry them

8/28/2005 11:57:20 PM

there is some minor pitting in the aluminum.



[Edited on August 29, 2005 at 12:32 AM. Reason : img]

8/29/2005 12:31:38 AM

xtreem, its slightly abrasive (VERY slightly) and should help with the pits

i think its available at wheel warehouse in GSO (if that place is even still open) and from dayton wheel co:

http://www.daytonwirewheels.com/store/default.asp?numperpage=1&images=on&display=full&categoryid=27&searchstr=77011&itemname=X%2DTREEM+Metal+Polish+

8/29/2005 1:30:56 AM

thanks.

a friend has some of the mother's polish. we're gonna try that sometime this week. if it doesnt work like i want, i will try the xtreem stuff.

8/29/2005 1:33:57 AM

well let me know if mothers works for you, i want to shine up the polished lips on my new car and mothers hasnt worked too well on pitting in the past. the blue majic polish worked better than the mothers did and left a cool waterproof coating behind like wax. I havent tried on my new wheels yet cause i have to figure out to do about the clearcoat. I have priced a set of refurbished wheels but thats $600 and for $600 i might find some 18" basketweaves that I could paint gold with a polished lip that would look sick on this car

oh and the blue magic carpet cleaner rocks too, but the leather cleaner blows, just found that out today

8/29/2005 3:04:22 AM

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=275042
thank you P Nis and underPSI

[Edited on August 29, 2005 at 5:57 AM. Reason : damn link's broke]

8/29/2005 5:57:08 AM

yeah.. i had that bookmarked and found out last night it didnt work anymore.

its a good writeup, but it is more for polishing something that wasnt polished before (sand up to 1600, use this compound/this wheel, etc).

my wheels are already polished, but have had some pitting.

8/29/2005 9:40:27 AM

its time comsuming, but you can wet sand out the pits with 2000 grit sandpaper, and make sure you remove all the clearcoat with it, then polish it with a dremel tool and felt pad with mothers billet polish, then clean it well and clear coat it

8/29/2005 10:58:38 AM

right now, i dont think they're clear coated.

8/29/2005 11:27:13 AM