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They have a clear coat on them that needs to be sanded off first but yeah I don’t see why not. I started to sand one of mine when I got mine because they were pretty dirty but quit soon after. The worst part will be getting to every spoke.
Yep, I planned on clear coating them after I was done.
The idea I had was to Polish the outer rim and clear coat it and then sand and paint the spokes gloss black.
I know I have seen this done but I can't find any pictures of it.
What kind of tools and supplies would I need to Polish the outer rim?
I used paint stripper to get rid of the remaining chipping clear coat. After that, I sanded the inner parts with something like 400 grit or maybe a red scuff pad. Took a while. I used cheap spray gloss black paint direct to metal and it still on there surprisingly. The rim got some polishing compound and that’s it. It dulls out over time but you can polish it again. Spray paint doesn’t like to stick to polished aluminum.
Yep, I planned on clear coating them after I was done.
The idea I had was to Polish the outer rim and clear coat it and then sand and paint the spokes gloss black.
I know I have seen this done but I can't find any pictures of it.
What kind of tools and supplies would I need to Polish the outer rim?
Put rear of car up on jack stands put transmission in neutral...maybe drive. Hold sandpaper to outer lip. Sandpaper grits depends on how messed up wheels are currently. Id start with a minimum of 320 on your makeshift lathe and work your way up to 2000/3000. Water can help out. Make sure not to stub a finger. It will work and work easily and proved an excellent result.
I used paint stripper to get rid of the remaining chipping clear coat. After that, I sanded the inner parts with something like 400 grit or maybe a red scuff pad. Took a while. I used cheap spray gloss black paint direct to metal and it still on there surprisingly. The rim got some polishing compound and that’s it. It dulls out over time but you can polish it again. Spray paint doesn’t like to stick to polished aluminum.
Still in 15", but some of the Lincolns got the rims painted body color with the spoke/lip areas polished. If I had a brighter color car, I'd consider it; but also I'm going to big brakes so my turbines will be sold eventually anyway (or maybe they'll fit my trailer?). I'm mostly waiting for 2 sets of 15" tires to wear out at about 10,000 miles a year, lol.
The problem with polishing any aluminum wheel to a mirror shine by any means that could be cheaply done at home will cause you polish the sharp edges away unevenly possibly ruining the look of the wheel and effecting the balance causing the wheel to require much more weight than should be needed.
I used a wheel hub mounted to a bench then used a drill mounted to a bicycle stand to polish wheels that came off of my 2000 MGM while I was able to get a mirror shine it did also polish away the sharp edges. ( I just had to use a piece of wood to slow the wheel and tire down to get it to polish)
If I had to do it all over again Which I do on my Vic I will just spend the 135 bucks or so each wheel and have them professionally reconditioned.
I would echo EaOutlaw1969's comments about just pay to get them done.
Quite a few years ago I polished the outer rim on my 99 MGM HHP rims and painted the spokes. Although they looked pretty good right after and still look decent on my Dads 00 MGM (sold my car last year), it was a TON of work.
I had my rims sandblasted (as walnut shells and other less abrasive methods were ineffective against the clearcoat), which removed all the crap and pitting, but left a very rough finish. I just sanded the rims by hand starting with 80 grit and working up to 1500 wet sanding, followed by polishing with an electrical drill. A home made wheel spinner set up would be much better though.
However, if I have to do it again, I'd just pay the $400-$500 to get it done professionally.
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