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Polishing Aluminum Wheels

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Newkie

Newkie

Jedi Trainee
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First take a look at these wheels on ebay right now.
web page
I just bought a set of 6 spoke zx wheels for my MGB, but they certainly dont look as good as the above wheels.
Do any of you know how to get a mirror finish on an aluminum alloy wheel, or is this a steel wheel and I dont know it?
Thanks

Newkie

P.S. Also, I notice a picture of one of our members with a set on his MGB with MG center caps? Do you know if the wheels centers from rostyles fit the 6 spokes.
 
That takes ALOT of work, but it is definatly possible...you should be able to find a detailed walkthrough online somewhere. I've done a few alloy wheel restorations, but never as polished as that. Essentially once you've removed the clear coat you simply polish the aluminium to a mirror shine using different grade sandpaper, steel wool, and polishes(from what I can remember). Then respray some clear and your done. ALOT easier said than done!
 
I have Mags on my custom pickup and I use *Mothers* metal polish on them. The same as the truckers use on truck aluminum wheels. The stuff works great and I lightly polish them every 6 months or so. I dont spray my wheels as the coating will chip due to sand and other road debris. Now you have to restrip the wheels and start over. It's easer to just polish them every once in a while. JMHO. PJ
 
Hey Art,
There are shops that will do that for you professionally and leave them with a sprayed over finish that will keep them shining. Not to dissuade you from the do-it-yourself approach, but I have seen a really nice set of wheels screwed up by the owner using a Dremel and rag wheel. Nothing like a really great set of wheels to set a car off. Also nothing like a really bad set of wheels to ruin first impressions. At the car shows, two things catch viewers' eyes first: the wheels and the shine on top of the bonnet. Since the bonnets are usually lifted, the wheels are left doing all the work.
 
You can simply sand the wheels wih progressively finer sandpaper, ending with a wet 1200 grit. After that, Mothers polish or any number of good polishes will work (once you have all the pits and scratches removed.) You could machine polish them as well using white rouge or jewelers rouge. I think that a final hand polish with AutoSol gives the most chrome-like appearance. You could clear coat them after that, or leave them unsealed for later touch-ups.
 
Thanks, I havent seen the wheels in person yet. I bought them off of one of the Datsun ZX sites. But the pictures showed that they were in pretty good condition except the shine of the Wheels. I guess I will first see what I can do with a Mothers type polish before I either strip or have someone else strip them. What kind of clear coat do you use, and is it strictly an aerosol can spray (clear coat), or should you use a spray gun? Anyways, whichever I do, I will give a before and after shot of them for you.
Thanks

Newkie aka. Art
 
I still want a nice set of Libres for my car. But good one's have gotten fairly expensive.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thanks, I havent seen the wheels in person yet. I bought them off of one of the Datsun ZX sites. But the pictures showed that they were in pretty good condition except the shine of the Wheels. I guess I will first see what I can do with a Mothers type polish before I either strip or have someone else strip them. What kind of clear coat do you use, and is it strictly an aerosol can spray (clear coat), or should you use a spray gun? Anyways, whichever I do, I will give a before and after shot of them for you.
Thanks

You should be ok with an aerosol...i've used Duplicolor Wheel Coating many times, even on my daily drivers and it's held up perfectly. Just don't spray it on damp/humid days and give it multiple thin coats(think coats will promote peeling on the sharp edges).
BTW: The best metal polish I've ever used(and I've tried just about every one of them) is Mother's Billet polish...It's about twice the price of the regular stuff, but well worth it.

Newkie aka. Art

[/ QUOTE ]
 
I'm hoping that pic of my car shows up below. Same wheels you're looking at, but I painted the centers and polished the lips. The outer rim is polished from the factory and will polish easily. The centers would be a lot of work as they're pretty rough. The caps are zx items with a rostyle mg logo glued on.

The offset is wrong for the rear of the car and WILL rub on your fenders if you have a steel wheel axle housing. I have a wire wheel axle housing with bolt-on hubs that move the wheels inward about 3/4 inch each side. Easy to do if you currently have wires, a lot more work if you need to swap out the whole housing.

Ryan

mg1.jpg
 
Nice, very nice. The silver paint is just enough different to stand out.
 
Thanks for telling me. I will just plan on doing that before I put them on. I do have steel wheel axel housings.
And yes, the wheels look great on your car...
I will have to figure out how to do it. Feel free to point me in the right direction. I figure if I can replace sills, I can do anything to a MG? I hope!

Newkie

P.S. By the way, has anyone used the mothers ball that is used to buff the wheels? All I have is a corded 3/8 and cordless 14 amp drill. Is there enough umph to move that ball?
 
I'm still waiting for someone in the ricer crowd to invent negative thickness wheel spacers. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for telling me. I will just plan on doing that before I put them on. I do have steel wheel axel housings.
And yes, the wheels look great on your car...
I will have to figure out how to do it. Feel free to point me in the right direction. I figure if I can replace sills, I can do anything to a MG? I hope!

Newkie

P.S. By the way, has anyone used the mothers ball that is used to buff the wheels? All I have is a corded 3/8 and cordless 14 amp drill. Is there enough umph to move that ball?

[/ QUOTE ]

Corded drill should be ok...I got a free 14.4 V Makita drill from work and it doesn't have any power compared to my old standby B & D corded drills. I've never used the power ball but I've heard mixed reviews - worth a shot.
 
Not sure if the temperature has anything to do with the look but I have trouble keeping my wheels looking like new. Is the "Mothers" brand polish available in Ontario?
Thanks, Al
0f5ae2b6.jpg
 
A larger picture of my wheels.
100_5844.jpg
 
Al, those wheels look like they belong on there.
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif
 
By the way, what all is entitled in changing out the wheel axle housing to fit the wheels between the fenders.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
And is it even worth the the effort to put these wheels under the B? I was really looking forward to using this style.

Thanks

Newkie
 
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