Aluminum wheel restoration.

[Irishman999]

New wheels are for sucka's, people go and throw down a ton of cash for a set of wheels and BOOM! they are selling due to a divorce or the car is getting sold or repo'd so they pull them off. I see wheels on craigslist all the time. I dont know what the case is for this sale but the guy needed them gone, you can score good deals on craigslist with a little patients.

This whole deal still gives me a chubby, i love this style and honestly would have paid 200 bucks for them but instead got them for 75 but gave the guy 100 for bringing them over. So far I have not even spent 150 for the wheels, supplies and single tool I got.

New wheels:

You must be registered for see images attach

I saved these wheels from being ruined, the guy kept mentioning glass beading and painting them. I knew they just needed cleaned up and would shine great.


Anyways, here is what I did:

First off you can hose them off, and wash with dish washing liquid to get any loose dirt off. A pressure washer Works great.

Next get some steel wool, I found a bag at a grocery store for around five bucks.

You must be registered for see images attach

Just scrub everything until it starts to look cleaner and shiny. I took a picture of one of the wheels half way done to not the visible difference but its hard to tell in the picture.

You must be registered for see images attach

Here is a progressive photo, first on the left is the raw wheel covered in years of **** a previous owner neglected to clean or scrub off.

Middle photo is the wheel after being cleaned with steel wool.

Third is a wheel cleaned using rubbing compound with a palm held orbital polisher.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Irishman999]

I use the steel wool to break loose all the easy stuff that will clog up the bonnet on the palm polisher.

I got this polisher at harbor freight for 15 bucks, it beats the **** out of trying to polish by hand so its worth the money. while you are there grab a couple extra terry cloth bonnets. One important thing to remember while using this is to not let the disk spin up to speed, if you run it without the pad on a surface the thing spins wildly fast and flings all your compound off the bonnet or even the bonnet itself starts to come apart. The tool is designed to make really small circles and has a cam type action inside, as long as the pad is pressed to something it wont spin at insane speeds, sounds confusing but after a few seconds of using the tool you will see what I mean.

You must be registered for see images attach

First thing you use the polisher for is rubbing compound, I used Turtle Wax's rubbing compound for the inital cleaning to get all the oxidation off the wheel. I stopped after the wheel was semi-polished.

(Bottom can is the rubbing compound and the top is polish)

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Irishman999]

Loading the pad with your compound is easy, just slip the elastic filled terry cloth bonnet over the foam pad first. Get some globs of the paste and just smear it all over the pad. You will do this a number of times and soon its just embedded into the cloth.

The pad is going to stay black, just keep using it.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Irishman999]

Keep your bonnets separate, keep one for rubbing compound and one for polish.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Irishman999]

Run the palm polisher slowly over all the flat surfaces you can until it starts to look polished. You will have to keep smearing the paste on your bonnet, soon the wheel will look like this.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Irishman999]

Now its time for the polishing compound, I used Mother brand and it works great! Same technique as the rubbing compound, just make sure you keep adding fresh paste to your pad.

Finished result:

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Irishman999]

Everybody please add to this, any personal experiences with this and the included advice. I know we have one professional detailer who drives a black Camaro! Wheels are not totally finished yet, I still need to find a way to polish the small grooves and ring with fake rivits.

 

[HotRodPC]

2 Beers down, and still working on them !!!

Fantastic freakin deal. Right there it is, authentic Centerlines for $100. Dayum !!! Those are worth buying new center caps and lugs for. Gonna look freakin great on your truck. Gonna make you want get going on the primer job.

 

[89Suburban]

 

[Irishman999]

2 Beers down, and still working on them !!!

Fantastic freakin deal. Right there it is, authentic Centerlines for $100. Dayum !!! Those are worth buying new center caps and lugs for. Gonna look freakin great on your truck. Gonna make you want get going on the primer job.

The deal was incredible, its the one style I wanted most. I hate center caps, I remember my dad telling me back in the day center caps were for *******. I have never run center caps on anything I own, I really like the basic look of wheel bolted to hub without associated ********.

I did get new lug nuts after the wheel bearing job, I drug out the beauty rings and center caps for my rally wheels. The kit included locking lug nuts but I did not install them, I will once I get the centerlines on.

As for the primer job... thats on hold, the truck is taking a new look. Im going to leave it really ****** looking but have some sweet shiny aluminum wheels and hopefully some big beefy meats and focus more on the drive train.

That all could change, I might decide soon to start doing some body work if I find a good deal on an air compressor.

 

[HotRodPC]

Sumbish, I had to go find some AA batteries. My wireless keyboard batteries finally took a dump. This is cool to be able to type and you get all your letters instead of about every 3rd one. LMAO !!!

I guess that makes 2x I'm a ***** now. I forget what the other things was you said was for *******. I like center caps. It doesn't make much sense to me have a nice wheel with an ugly ass black spot from a dirty hub showing. For some reason, I don't mind being a ***** either. I think its cuz I'd much rather be a ***** than a dick.

 

[Irishman999]

Sumbish, I had to go find some AA batteries. My wireless keyboard batteries finally took a dump. This is cool to be able to type and you get all your letters instead of about every 3rd one. LMAO !!!

I guess that makes 2x I'm a ***** now. I forget what the other things was you said was for *******. I like center caps. It doesn't make much sense to me have a nice wheel with an ugly ass black spot from a dirty hub showing. For some reason, I don't mind being a ***** either. I think its cuz I'd much rather be a ***** than a dick.

I thank god for ******* like you that drive around with center caps so I can be different . They serve no purpose to me and everything exposed is painted so its going to look nice.

 

[HotRodPC]

I guess all I can add to that is, I am what I eat !!!

 

[Irishman999]

I guess all I can add to that is, I am what I eat !!!

You must be starving driving around with those center caps

 

[HotRodPC]

Actually I'm not. I don't have center caps or even hub caps on anything currently.