Today's Experiment: Wetsanding aluminum lip wheels
 

My CCW wheels have some noticeable clouding on the lips from the previous owner(s) using some sort of unusual chemicals on them.

I was thinking that I would get them professionally cleaned but prior to paying someone else to do it I decided to give a shot myself.

I read this write-up on polishing aluminum lips and loosely used it as a guide.

I simplified that version by only wetsanding and using aluminum polish. Skipped the aircraft stripper & the jeweler's polishing kit.

The test wheel

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps41370f58.jpg

Cloudiness

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps2f808c26.jpg

Scratches and cloudiness

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps18203bdc.jpg

Very hazy

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps0437025b.jpg

Up we go!

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps7f37537d.jpg

Some sort of chemical stain on the haze

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps74512697.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps297eb18a.jpg

After sanding with 180 grit... holy shit this looks scary haha

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps9f53bd36.jpg

Thinking of plastidip as a back-up plan at this point

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...psc8778514.jpg

180 grit on the left, untouched on the right

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps87c3d5db.jpg

I proceeded to sand from 180 > 400 > 1000 > 1500 > 2000. The finish was still dull after the 2000. Didn't take any pics through this period.

Then I applied the Mother's aluminum polish and magically the shine was back!

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps0993ed53.jpg

It's not 100%, but each application of aluminum polish brought out the shine more and more. In this case I did two passes as I was doing it by hand and it was starting to tire me out. I will grab another powerball and use that going forward. Will save me the work.

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps07e546e5.jpg

Untouched wheel vs polished (ignore the faces, I will clean those too!)

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps7b076439.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps7113864a.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...psa540da04.jpg

What I used

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps334c4ccb.jpg

It's helpful to have something that you can rest the wheel on that can rotate. I used my grit guard bucket

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps8099f427.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...psf8b14cc1.jpg

A few tips for those wanting to attempt this:

- You may not need to start at 180 grit. I will try starting at a much finer grit next time and see what happens.
- Make sure that you sand in one motion. Don't go up/down and then across.
- You will need to wax your lips every 3-4 months going forward. I will be using opti-coat but a durable wax like Collinite 476 could work well.
- Estimate about 2 hours per wheel if you are hand applying the Mother's.

If anyone has any questions or tips on how this can be done better let me know!

Kev

Kev,

Maybe look at spraying some clear coat on top, that would eliminate the need to re-polish at a later time

Thanks! Definitely something I would like to do but I'm not sure I am capable. Is it something I would be able to do myself?

Kev

Spraying clear coat, will make it look dull, you won't get that crisp shine to it.
Try using a wheel sealant, it's a rub on/spray (Armorall makes one) just to protect it and cleaning will make it way easier.
(Top in the market is: http://www.poorboysworld.com/wheel-sealant.htm)

FYI, you could probably start with 400 or 600 grit. 180 is quite rough.

Looks amazing Kev. You don't have to sell those wheels no more haha!
Posted via RS Mobile

I would start with 2000 and then 3000 unless you need to remove a large amount of surface scratches that are very deep.
You just need to remove the oxidation from the surface of the wheel and you may even be able to do this with just polish.

Jewlers rouge and a buffing wheel will take those wheel back to 99% of new. Polishing aluminum wheels is best done with a high speed buffer and rouge to bring back the shine.

Good job on the wheel tho. You should hit the polished area with some sort of clear to prevent it from oxidizing again.

looks really good, I am about to polish the lips.

you should use the metal wheel polish with the power drill cone buffer attachment. I tried to polish my header today turned out okay, but I'll try my metal polish and buffing cone on it tomorrow.

Not sure if there are any more left, but I bought the meguair's wheel polishing kit for $7 from xscargo.

This one: Meguiar's Wheel Polishing Kit | Canadian Tire

I wasn't able to remove some white clouds from using this kit alone with the included wheel polish, but i'm sure the "cone" will come in handy for preventative purposes in the future as it's pretty much a breeze to remove minor oxidation

Oh, I currently have some new white "stains" (probably bad wash mix) that i was unable to remove with "Never Dull", but was successful using Mother's with a little bit more elbow grease

Never Dull also looks like a good preventative polish as you're basically getting disposable cloth with the polish already in there and it seems pretty easy to remove light oxidation and you only need a buffing cloth

which xscargo did you go? I need that wheel polishing kit, thx in advance.

^ After reading hakkaboy's post I stopped by the XS Cargo in Richmond and found a box there. The actual alum polish is not that large (118ml) but it's worth it for the foam. There were about 3-4 left there still. $5.98 before tax.

Kev

I finished off my header with my dremel with a cloth wheel and mothers metal polish and it brought back the shine even more. I'm not sure if it will work on wheels though cuz it was on raw stainless headers.

If you are not satisfied with the results after the polishing kit, I would suggest trying some P21S polishing soap.

P21S Polishing Soap

-KC

I really wanna try that.

By the way, picked up the meguiar's wheel polish kit from XS Cargo Richmond, there are lots left. I picked up two.