Polishing stock wheels

[Curt]

For the lazy people like myself...

Is this something I could have done at a reputable body shop? The machined wheels on my Suburban are still looking OK, but I know from experience that when the clear coat starts going they look trashy pretty quick. Would love it if I could pay someone and have them look like new again instead of just buying another set of used wheels... Don't see myself dumping that many hours into them personally, though.

Any wheel repair shop will be able to do it, or if you check on Yelp sometimes people will come out to your house and repair the wheel for you.

 

[df2x4]

I'd start with 80, or maybe 60.



IDK if a body shop would do it, or if you'd want them too, their labor is typically 65+ an hr. If just the clear is peeling, aircraft stripper and wax or more clear will work, but if they're ate up like the OP's, sanding is the way to go.

I have a local shop on Craigslist doing PYO's for 220 a wheel.

I don't mind paying for quality work, body work especially is like black magic to me. There's a shop here in town that I've been going to since I was 17, they amaze me constantly. The last time I was in there having my tail lights tinted on the red truck there was a brand new Maserati in the bay next to me.

$220 divided by 4hrs per wheel comes out to roughly $55/hr anyway.

Any wheel repair shop will be able to do it, or if you check on Yelp sometimes people will come out to your house and repair the wheel for you.

Thanks for the info guys! Will definitely look into this if/when my clear coat starts giving me issues.

 

[kennythewelder]

It is hard to tell in the Pic how deep those pits are. I would start with 150, maybe 100, or even 80, but keep in mind that, the courser the sand paper, the deeper scratches it will make and they will need to removed with a finer sand paper.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Any wheel repair shop will be able to do it, or if you check on Yelp sometimes people will come out to your house and repair the wheel for you.

You li

I don't mind paying for quality work, body work especially is like black magic to me. There's a shop here in town that I've been going to since I was 17, they amaze me constantly. The last time I was in there having my tail lights tinted on the red truck there was a brand new Maserati in the bay next to me.

$220 divided by 4hrs per wheel comes out to roughly $55/hr anyway.



Thanks for the info guys! Will definitely look into this if/when my clear coat starts giving me issues.

Well, he lives in the Bay Area of CA, and I live in the ass end of nowhere, so there's that also lol. But they are charging 220 PER wheel. Which is why I just blasted mine and cleared them as is lol.

 

[CustomMetalWorks]

I used vinegar and steel wool on a set of rims, they were haggard from brake dust and corrosion. Fine wire wheel on a drill for the real bad spots. Then Diamond polish. Turned out nice.

 

[Big Jon 95]

I used vinegar and steel wool on a set of rims, they were haggard from brake dust and corrosion. Fine wire wheel on a drill for the real bad spots. Then Diamond polish. Turned out nice.

How corroded were they compared to mine?


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[CustomMetalWorks]

How corroded were they compared to mine?


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They were pretty bad. I've had better luck with that method than sand paper. It's less labor intensive lol

 

[CustomMetalWorks]

I'm also a fan of soda blasting. The gun and soda are both cheap and it works pretty good on a lot of different material.

 

[scowling]

80 grit is a little harsh for these rims. start somewhere in the 120 or 180 range. From start to finish it should only take about an hour/ hour and half. Get a DA sander, use 180 grit and goto town on them. Move up to a 220 then 320. Note, you won't be able to hand polish these out. For best results I'd follow it with a stiff buffing wheel and black bar ( emery) then brown on a less stiff wheel, then green bar with a medium wheel.

 

[Stepside_fever95]

So, could i strip the clear and paint off of my nnbs 18's and polish them to give a machined/polished look?