My G body came with weld 15x7 drag lights but they are pretty shot right now, i tried various aluminum polishes but it needs more... is it possible to wet sand these and buff them out ? Im just trying to get them to be presentable so I can sell them
how to restore aluminum weld wheels ?
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not sure to be honest... my buddy said to ask like 350... this size/application looks like there 252 a wheel new... even if they dont look 100% the functionality that they are light is still there...
If you really want to put the effort into them I've started with 1500 paper to take out any deeper marks, follow with 2000 at a 90 deg angle to the first sand paper. Follow with SOS steel wool pads (Or 0000 steel wool and Dawn dish soap) then finish with Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish on their power ball buff.
If there is no deep scratches or pits you can use a good quality mag wheel cleaner followed by SOS pads rather then sanding them.
I've also had wheels so bad (Monte Carlo Checkerboards) that I started with 320 wet and sanded up to 2000 then buffed them with Tripoli, White rouge, then 'Jewelers rouge'. Took 6 months to do the set of 4 but today they still look good.
If your looking just to clean them up to sell, I'd go the cleaner, SOS/steel wool mothers power ball with their mag & aluminum polish.
Hope this helps!
Bob S.
If there is no deep scratches or pits you can use a good quality mag wheel cleaner followed by SOS pads rather then sanding them.
I've also had wheels so bad (Monte Carlo Checkerboards) that I started with 320 wet and sanded up to 2000 then buffed them with Tripoli, White rouge, then 'Jewelers rouge'. Took 6 months to do the set of 4 but today they still look good.
If your looking just to clean them up to sell, I'd go the cleaner, SOS/steel wool mothers power ball with their mag & aluminum polish.
Hope this helps!
Bob S.
You can bring pretty much any polished aluminum rim back to life it depends on what amount of time you want to spend to make it look good.
I use a 8" buffer on a stand to polish all of my aluminum parts big or small if the rims are beyond using Mothers or Meguiars then the next step would be getting it down to clean aluminum and this can vary but I usually start with Scitchbrite pads and if it still isn't deep a enough then sanding will probably be required, you can also sand down nicks and scratches on the outer edge of the rim.
The key is to have the cleanest and smoothest finish prior to buffing with the wheel and I use various cutting compounds to get to the desired finish and after I bring back the shine I finish them with Meguiars aluminum polish to get even the finest scratches out.
I use the same procedure for anodized or powder coated parts but the coating has to be stripped and usually requires some sanding.
I wish I had some before and after pictures of rims I have done but all of them I bought cheap and resold them after i polished them but everything that is polished aluminum in my engine bay I polished, from the radiator to all my brackets that I made to the valve covers that were previously anodized silver.
I use a 8" buffer on a stand to polish all of my aluminum parts big or small if the rims are beyond using Mothers or Meguiars then the next step would be getting it down to clean aluminum and this can vary but I usually start with Scitchbrite pads and if it still isn't deep a enough then sanding will probably be required, you can also sand down nicks and scratches on the outer edge of the rim.
The key is to have the cleanest and smoothest finish prior to buffing with the wheel and I use various cutting compounds to get to the desired finish and after I bring back the shine I finish them with Meguiars aluminum polish to get even the finest scratches out.
I use the same procedure for anodized or powder coated parts but the coating has to be stripped and usually requires some sanding.
I wish I had some before and after pictures of rims I have done but all of them I bought cheap and resold them after i polished them but everything that is polished aluminum in my engine bay I polished, from the radiator to all my brackets that I made to the valve covers that were previously anodized silver.
I like that he sad he had on rubber gloves and it ate through them apparently he missed the part in the directions that says do not use on rubber, but hey we will let it sit on them there tires awhile.
I doubt this would help much on a corroded polished finish since there is no layer of clear coat to protect it.
I doubt this would help much on a corroded polished finish since there is no layer of clear coat to protect it.
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