My junkyard x-laces.

[1tinindian]

I had posted a picture of these wheels shortly after getting them, and just this weekend, I started to clean them up a little and see how well they would look with a little polishing done to them.

I also tried on some different center caps, and I like how the black ones look.

 

Leon

 

 

 

 

 

[j_mezz]

Black ones FTW!

[CSI_MuNkY]

Those clean up quite nicely! I like the black center caps too, but I'm bias, I have those ones, haha!

 

Jamie

[Addicted To Boost]

Wow those look amazing! How did you do that?

[BXX]

Wow those look amazing! How did you do that?

x2, Ive seen and heard of a few different ways, but what worked out for you???

[Rdrckt_92]

those look awesome, I'm guessin a lot of sanding and polishing?

[AL]

how much did you pay for them

[1tinindian]

I paid $100 for the 4.

And you guys are right, it's been alot of sanding.

I mounted the wheel to the rear hub on the car, and startred sanding with 80 grit to remove all the curb rash along the bead, and also to clean up the inside area of the wheel to ensure good sealing, when the tires get mounted back on.

And then the 80 grit is used by hand to carefully remove the clear, up to the gold, without damaging the gold.

And then the steps are just repeated with 320, then 600 grit, before starting the polishing process with the red bar and and cloth wheel attached to the die grinder and Dremel tool.

I then finish it off with Simichrome by hand, and they are done.

Each wheel has anywhere from 6-8 hours, each, from start to finish.

The machined centers also get the same treatment.

 

It's funny how only the machined areas go bad and the gold is left unaffected.

 

Thanks for your interest, guys!

 

Leon

 

 

 

 

 

[Venom]

Nice job, looks great!

[GP1138]

Damn.. I wish I had that kind of patience. Awesome!

[AWeb80]

Looks great

 

and yes, 6-8 hrs is right.....I went through the same thing.

[Scottster]

Wowee. Beautiful work.

[dohc v6]

Damn those are sexy.

[mediabandit]

Very nice work.

[rockfangd]

god i would drool if i could make my 5 spokes look that good. I have to be honest i definately dont have the time or patience though

[1tinindian]

god i would drool if i could make my 5 spokes look that good. I have to be honest i definately dont have the time or patience though

 

Well, after I get these done, I plan on stripping and polishing my 5-spokes.

And my finger tips are already raw, I may have to wait a while for them to heal!

 

Leon

[mra32]

god i would drool if i could make my 5 spokes look that good. I have to be honest i definately dont have the time or patience though

 

Well, after I get these done, I plan on stripping and polishing my 5-spokes.

And my finger tips are already raw, I may have to wait a while for them to heal!

 

Leon

 

my fingertips were sanded smooth, it was kinda strange not being able to feel your fingerprints

[mfewtrail]

IIt's funny how only the machined areas go bad and the gold is left unaffected.

 

 

The gold is powder coat, so it usually holds up exceptionally well. The lips are just clearcoated and do not hold nowhere near as well. If I were you, I would have tried to find some without any curb rash to start with. That makes them considerably easier to sand. Nice work on those wheels. I'm fixing to start on a set of mine. The have zero curb rash, so they'll be relatively easy to polish. Good job on those by the way!

[1tinindian]

IIt's funny how only the machined areas go bad and the gold is left unaffected.

 

 

The gold is powder coat, so it usually holds up exceptionally well. The lips are just clearcoated and do not hold nowhere near as well. If I were you, I would have tried to find some without any curb rash to start with. That makes them considerably easier to sand. Nice work on those wheels. I'm fixing to start on a set of mine. The have zero curb rash, so they'll be relatively easy to polish. Good job on those by the way!

 

Thanks for the compliments.

The curb rash on these wheels were pretty minor compared to some other wheels I have done in the past.

These are actually coming along nicer than I was expecting.

How do you know the gold is powder coated, over just being painted gold, and the the whole wheel being clear coated?

I would be very interested in reading anything of a technical description on these wheels.

 

Leon

[mfewtrail]

Leon, I'm going by what members from the TGP Forum told me. The gold is really tough, I purposely tried to scratch it up on a spare wheel I had and it was extremely tough compared to your typical painted wheel.

[95naSTA]

Those look great!

 

Good idea on mounting them to the hub. I with I would have done that.

 

And I feel your pain on the 6+ hrs. per wheel, that's what I spent on them. 180, 220, 320, 400, 500, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 grits by hand and some mothers aluminum polish and a cloth wheel for about an hour.

 

Mine had gold lace to start with but I had it media blasted off before I polished them. It was included in the price to have them powdercoated so that worked out.