More Adventures in Polishing out wheels

kkritsilas

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I have posted some pictures of the 5 on 5 wheels that I have started to clean up and polish out in a previous post. That is on-going, and I will finish the 5 on 5 that I have started, but I am awaiting the arrival of some Micro-Mesh sanding pads before I can continue to work out my process.

Meanwhile, I have started the polishing process on a set of Snowflake wheels that I also own. What I want to do is to polish out the 'ribs" or edges only, leaving the original dark grey paint in place. As background, I got a set of 4 wheels locally (off of Kijiji, the Canadian equivalent of Craigslist) for $150. They were cheap because the owner didn't have any centers (which I have subsequently bought ) and the clear coat was in really bad shape.

The wheel looks like this right now (about half is polished outm should be obvious):

Snowflake1.jpg


A close up of the polished edges and the way they looked before the sanding out:

Snowflake2.jpg


This will take longer to do than the 5 on 5s. I cannot use the crushed glass abrasive blasting process on this wheel due to how narrow the edges are, and I actually want to keep the original paint intact. So I have begun to sand the edges out using 320 grit wet/dry sand paper. The 320 seem to be a good comprimise between speed, and keeping the sanding scratches from being too deep.

The edges are really complex, they are NOT flat from the rim edge/flange to the center hole (a broak flatish curve actually) and the points where the spokes meet are also not flat, they are sort of depressed in the middle, futher making the sanding process more difficult.

P.S. I now see what JasperJacko was talking about regarding getting the machining marks out. The crushed glass abrasive blasting process eliminated the machining marks, so I only noticed them on the narrow 5 on 5 spokes. There are a lot of machining marks on the edges, and they take some time and effort to get rid of.

Snowflake1.jpg


Snowflake2.jpg
 

slant6billy

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I have posted some pictures of the 5 on 5 wheels that I have started to clean up and polish out in a previous post. That is on-going, and I will finish the 5 on 5 that I have started, but I am awaiting the arrival of some Micro-Mesh sanding pads before I can continue to work out my process.

Meanwhile, I have started the polishing process on a set of Snowflake wheels that I also own. What I want to do is to polish out the 'ribs" or edges only, leaving the original dark grey paint in place. As background, I got a set of 4 wheels locally (off of Kijiji, the Canadian equivalent of Craigslist) for $150. They were cheap because the owner didn't have any centers (which I have subsequently bought ) and the clear coat was in really bad shape.

The wheel looks like this right now (about half is polished outm should be obvious):

View attachment 11687

A close up of the polished edges and the way they looked before the sanding out:

View attachment 11688

This will take longer to do than the 5 on 5s. I cannot use the crushed glass abrasive blasting process on this wheel due to how narrow the edges are, and I actually want to keep the original paint intact. So I have begun to sand the edges out using 320 grit wet/dry sand paper. The 320 seem to be a good comprimise between speed, and keeping the sanding scratches from being too deep.

The edges are really complex, they are NOT flat from the rim edge/flange to the center hole (a broak flatish curve actually) and the points where the spokes meet are also not flat, they are sort of depressed in the middle, futher making the sanding process more difficult.

P.S. I now see what JasperJacko was talking about regarding getting the machining marks out. The crushed glass abrasive blasting process eliminated the machining marks, so I only noticed them on the narrow 5 on 5 spokes. There are a lot of machining marks on the edges, and they take some time and effort to get rid of.

Are you tracking your hours (average) per wheel? Or just hitting them when you need to kill time/ watching the game or garage meditation?
 

old yellow 78

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Wow! That is really impressive! At some point I have to figure out how to restore my wagons Road Wheels. For now, they are just cleaned up from when I bought them, but still pretty decent. I guess the aluminum wheels would be easier to work than the chrome and steel.

June 2015 002.jpg
Oklahoma Kansas May 23-30 2015 035.jpg
June 14, 2015 014.jpg


June 2015 002.jpg


Oklahoma Kansas May 23-30 2015 035.jpg


June 14, 2015 014.jpg
 

kkritsilas

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Are you tracking your hours (average) per wheel? Or just hitting them when you need to kill time/ watching the game or garage meditation?

Right now, I have about 3-4 hours on them, leaving out the false starts (trying to use a sanding block with 400 grit sandpaper, a real no go). I figure 12-15 hours per wheel to get them to 2000-3000 grit.

I normally watch "The Big Bang Theory " returns while sanding the wheels. Only do about 30-45 minutes a day sanding. I do think that it will go much faster when I have the paint/clear coat and machining marks off- this is by far the most time consuming part. I found the same when I was working on the 5 on 5 wheels-the higher the grit, the faster it seems to go.
 
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kkritsilas

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Update:

Just finished the first wheel to 320 grit. The original wheels looked like this:

IMG_0395.jpg


The sanded wheel looks like this:

IMG_0396.jpg


The sanded wheel with its center cap:

IMG_0397.jpg


The original wheel picture (first pictue) is not the same wheel, but another wheel of the same set. What looks like road tar is actually dirt build up underneath the clear coat. The original finish is probably shinier, as the exposed mahining marks and clear coat probably looked really good when new. The sanded wheel looks duller right now because it is only sanded to 320 grit. The intent is to take it to 1000 grit, at least. I don't know about taking it higer than that, as the edges/ribs have a very small area, so getting them to a mirror finish may not be a good use of my time, considering the minimal end result improvement.

I have about 10-11 hours of work into the wheel at this point.

IMG_0395.jpg


IMG_0396.jpg


IMG_0397.jpg
 

jasperjacko

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If you're going to clear coat them again, take time to ease over all the sharp edges so the clear will stick better and not be as prone to chip and peel.
 

kkritsilas

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If I can avoid it, I won't be clear coating with a spray on coating. I may end up powder coating them clear, but I would prefer to leave them raw, and maintain them using some sort of alloy wheel cleaner. I don't intend to drive the cars around in the winter, and they don't use road salt around here anyway, so I can hopefully get away with that.

Next step is re-sand with 400 grit, followed by 600 grit, and then 1000 grit. I will see how far I want to go after that. I think the sanding will take less time now because all of the machining marks are gone, and the surfaces that are to be sanded are pretty flat and even, and won't require as close an inspection. I will try to keep a log of the time used.
 

kkritsilas

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old yellow 78:

You might want to look up Flitz products. They have a range of products for doing wheel cleaning, and a sort of buffing wheel that works with their products. It is sort of like a Powerball (its called a Buffball), but made of thicker microfiber or felt strips, and will probably be less prone to being chewed up by the tight spots and edges on a wheel. I have some of their alloy wheel products, but because my wheels (both sets) are in such bad shape, I haven't used them yet. The site is at: https://www.flitz-polish.com/, and there are a number of videos on youtube showing how to use the cleaner, polish and Buffball. It should also be pretty easy to get their stuff in the US, unlike the rigamarole I had to go through up here in Canada.
 

kkritsilas

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This is the same wheel as above, taken to 1000 grit:

Snowflake_1.jpg


Close of where the edges meet, you can sort of make out some of the concave shape:

Snowflake_3.jpg


Close up of some of the defects that I found as I went along. I don't think I can take them out without seriously affecting the shape of the area, so I am going to leave them. The rolled outside edge was curbed at some time, and it is chewed up; I will be leaving it as well.

Snowflake_4.jpg


And a closeup of some of the edges:

Snowflake_5.jpg


This is about 16-17 hours of work. As suspected, it goes much faster after the machining marks are removed. After the machining marks are gone, it only takes about an hour to do a wheel completely with the next grit of sand paper.

This wheel design has a lot of facets. It is impossible to sand it out to have all of the facets at exactly the right angle to make it uniform. Wheel looks much better than original, and I am glad that I took the time.

Snowflake_1.jpg


Snowflake_3.jpg


Snowflake_5.jpg


Snowflake_4.jpg
 
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jasperjacko

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Take a file to the curb rash and blend it with the rest of the wheel.
 

kkritsilas

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I don't want to to that, the depth of the curb rash would require a lot of metal removal, and I am not comfortable with that. There are also a few other places in which there are nicks and slight gouges, so the wheel isn't going to be perfect anyway, unless I can find a way to add metal back so that they become invisible. The wheels are most likely over 25 years old, and came by thier nicks, scrapes, gouges and curb rash from use, so I just have to live with that. Niether the wheels, or the car they are going on are ever going to be perfect; I just wanted them to look nice.

Next part of this is to use some Flitz Aluminum Pre-Cleaner, and then Flitz polish. I'll post an update after that is done.
 

jasperjacko

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Find someone with a good tig welder to build it up, then file away
 

kkritsilas

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To complete this, as I did for the 5 on 5s:

Started with this (same 1000 grit as before, after washing with the Flitz Aluminum Pre-Cleaner: (just on grass):

Snowflake Pre_Wasj.jpg


Same status, close up of the three edge spoke:

Snpwf;ale {re-Wash Closeup.jpg


Polishing process (Flitz Polish and Flitz Buff Ball) begins. Partially polished out:

Snowflake Part Polished.jpg


A close up:

Snowflake Part_Polished Closeup.jpg


Polished out:

Snowflake Polished out.jpg


A few close ups. Looks like I ran into the 10 images per post limit.

Snowflake Pre_Wasj.jpg


Snpwf;ale {re-Wash Closeup.jpg


Snowflake Part Polished.jpg


Snowflake Polished out.jpg


Snowflake Part_Polished Closeup.jpg


Snowflake Polished Close up.jpg


Snowflake Polished Closeup 2.jpg


Snowflake Polished Closeup 3.jpg


Snowflake Polished CloseUP 4.jpg


Snowflake Polished Closeup 6.jpg
 
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kkritsilas

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A few more notes, some of which carry on from the 5 on 5 postingL

1. The snowflake wheel was only polished out to 1000 grit. No Micro-Mesh, yet the end result is identical in terms of shine and overall look. Looks like I can skip all the Micro-Mesh steps, a time and money saver.

2. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, but I am having a hard time getting the shine of the aluminum to show up in the pictures. Best reference I can make, from something that is familiar would be to say that the wheels are now about as shiny as a sheet of aluminum foil, shiny side. The colour is a little bit different, but the level of gloss is the same.

3. When removing the Flitz Polish, it is improtant to keep your polishing cloth really clean. Any polish on the cloth easity transfers onto the part you just finished wiping off, so you have to go back and do it again.

4. When you finish going over an area with the Buff Ball, the area looks really dull and grey. You will only see the real shine after you wipe off the polish residue.

5. Flitz advises that you need a drill with 2000 rpm for optimal results. My drill only goes to 1300 rpm. Results look fine to me.
 

kkritsilas

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A few more notes, some of which carry on from the 5 on 5 postingL

1. The snowflake wheel was only polished out to 1000 grit. No Micro-Mesh, yet the end result is identical in terms of shine and overall look. Looks like I can skip all the Micro-Mesh steps, a time and money saver.

2. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, but I am having a hard time getting the shine of the aluminum to show up in the pictures. Best reference I can make, from something that is familiar would be to say that the wheels are now about as shiny as a sheet of aluminum foil, shiny side. The colour is a little bit different, but the level of gloss is the same.

3. When removing the Flitz Polish, it is improtant to keep your polishing cloth really clean. Any polish on the cloth easity transfers onto the part you just finished wiping off, so you have to go back and do it again.

4. When you finish going over an area with the Buff Ball, the area looks really dull and grey. You will only see the real shine after you wipe off the polish residue.

5. Flitz advises that you need a drill with 2000 rpm for optimal results. My drill only goes to 1300 rpm. Results look fine to me.
 
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