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Started polishing my wheels....some pics inside


jeremy

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Well I started the polishing process on my wheels last night. The first thing that I realized is that this is going to take longer then I thought. I decided to take pics as I went along and I will keep posting them until the process is entirely complete. I am going to paint the center caps black with either a silver or red olds logo. Any opinions on which color logo to use would be appreciated.

 

I started out with a can of the "aircraft finish remover"8c9757c3.jpg

 

Removed first tire that I was going to "attack"

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Sprayed Finish remover on the rim and let it set for ~10 minutes

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Used a puddy knife to scrape of the clear and the silver paint, then sprayed down with hose

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Started the sanding process using a 60 grit sanding wheel for the dremel.....see the inside of the top right two spokes to see the little area I started in...

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Continued to sand using the 60 grit wheel, I got about 1/4-1/3 of the way through the wheel and my fucking dremel died....do you believe that shit? +$100 Dremel fuckign quit after 1/3 of one rim

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Here are a couple of pics to show you the rim as it looks right now in comparison to the stock finish one on the rear. (please take note of the blue parking pass still in the window from May Kensington meet :lol:) I am going to have to finish sanding with 60 grit, then move to 120, then 240, then 600, and I will probably go as far as 1000 grit to get the finish as smooth as possible. I am guessing that I am looking at around 5-6 hours per rim to get it to look the way that I want it to.

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how the rim looked when I started

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how the rim looks currently....I have a LONG way to go

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Why are you using such low grits? You could get away with using: 80, then 160, then 320, then 600. After that you can wetsand with: 1000, 1500, 2000, or however high you want to go. Plus, using a Dremel will take ALL DAY. Get a glove and do it by hand with a bigger sheet. That way you can hold the sheet of sandpaper and wrap it around one entire spoke. Then all you gotta do is move it up and down like you're punching one out. :wink:

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I was actually planning on trying this when I get into the new house in August. But I gotta ask how did the metal look after all the paint was removed? I'd like to think that the alloy is pretty smooth and if you get all the paint off chemically, just need to wetsand from 1000+ then beat the shit out of it with different grades of compound.

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b5a89d03.jpg

 

Looks like someones face who just got half their flesh blown off..

 

Depending on the condition of the wheels, I would've started with 320, maybe even 800... my final would be 1500 probably. No need to start so low unless you have major corrosion issues that you're trying to get rid of, which you don't.

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Curious to see how it will look when finished! Also where the fuck is the jaskstand! :lol:

 

it's not like he's laying under the car

 

btw i have that exact same jack.

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Such low grit and using round dremel bits - I hope you end up with a smooth finish and not all lumpy with sags in certain areas. I agree should have done it by hand or used a larger power tool of some sort..

 

I tried using a wire grinding wheel on one of my rims and said f*ck it, and painted them instead. My friend works at an aluminum polishing place I might see if he wants to do them for free. :lol:

 

BTW are you gonna seal them after with clearcoat or what?

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Curious to see how it will look when finished! Also where the fuck is the jaskstand! :lol:

 

it's not like he's laying under the car

 

btw i have that exact same jack.

 

Doesn't matter i've seen jacks fail before, better safe then sorry.

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Curious to see how it will look when finished! Also where the fuck is the jaskstand! :lol:

 

it's not like he's laying under the car

 

btw i have that exact same jack.

 

Doesn't matter i've seen jacks fail before, better safe then sorry.

 

if someone isn't working under a car, then the car isn't a hazard to their safety

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Curious to see how it will look when finished! Also where the fuck is the jaskstand! :lol:

 

it's not like he's laying under the car

 

btw i have that exact same jack.

 

SO DO I!!

 

$19.99 dollar Grand Opening special from the local O'Rrieily's(I still can't spell it correctly)

 

I have the matching jackstands that I purchased the same day for $9.99.

 

They are good little jacks, BUT keep them on concrete. Once on dirt or gravel of any kind, the want to sink down into the medium, and since they have no wide base, they will easily flip.

 

I want to polish the aluminum wheels on the Loomie, so this will be an good thread for me to read.

 

Keep it going!

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for my birthday last year my brother got me a set that had the jack, 2 jackstands, and two wheel chocks in a duffel bag

 

Now that's the setup to have! The duffel bag can be purchased individually. I thought about buying one for the jack and stands to go in. Sounds like a good purchase to make tommorrow! :!:

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it's a good setup. isn't very expensive either

 

i keep the jack, inside the duffel bag, inside my trunk, because

 

1. it doesn't weigh shit compared to other jacks

 

2. the jack that comes with the car sucks ass, espically when you're changing a tire at night on a muddy road.....one of the reasons i'll never buy Cooper tires again

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Guest Anonymous

Looks good...

 

whats the best way to get color keyed crosslaces clean without ruining the paint... there are some things wheel cleaner just doesnt get rid of.

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