aluminum wheels

[marineblue]

thanks for the replys: today i went to a auto parts store and bought some aircraft paint remover. done a great job of taking paint off. used a small air grinder with abasive pad wheels to smooth out. at about 60 psi. worked out great found some small pits but the air grinder got most of it out. hopefully sanding will get the rest of it. it don't look to bad. if my camera still works. i'll post some pics to see what you all think. and agian thanks for all the help.

[MADMAXX]

I have some 7 spoke '96 Accord rims I have recently bead blasted they look good. Should I sand before using the wheels and compound? I just got an 8" buffer I ordered today so I would like to be sure of what to do.

[pickleboy]

Originally Posted by MADMAXX

I have some 7 spoke '96 Accord rims I have recently bead blasted they look good. Should I sand before using the wheels and compound? I just got an 8" buffer I ordered today so I would like to be sure of what to do.

most definately you will need to sand you should get the finish to at least 400 grit wet if not 6-800 wet before applying compound to get the best finish. also try to stay away from sisal wheels if you can as they are to coarse for the soft aluminum in wheels. when you finish sanding start with spiral wheels and emeroy, if you sand all the way to 800 then start with spiral/tripoli. work this combo until you get the shine you are happy with. degrease fully and move to loose/white. best of luck and try to post some pictures when done.

[MADMAXX]

Ive sanded one spoke all the way to 2000grit before I sandblasted just to test it, looked nice just didn't have that bright shine. Should I go up that high or stay at 800.
Why wet?
What should I use to degrease? Mild soap and water?
I will post pics before (sandblasted) and after. I have pics of the rim before I sandblasted them but not on digital camera.

[pickleboy]

if you sand all the way to 2000, although not bad, it is going backwards to then hit the wheel with spiral/black, maybe even spiral tripoli. it seems like a lot of hand work when it may not be needed. i would sand it all to 800 and do a test run on the wheels and see where your shine is at. i currently do most of the parts i am buffing with a vented wheel and emory, then move straight to loose/white. with what i am doing i can get the shine and no scratches with this combo.try what you have and look for the shine you want before leaving the emory. as for the degreasing i use a hot soapy water mix or most lately a lysol general purpose cleaner. it is yellow and comes in a squirt bottle. it realy melts the stuff away. if i have any small crannies i use a soft toothbrush to get it clean, then flush heavy with water. the best test area is inside the bead area, that way if you have to sand higher you are not backing up, you can just move to a new spot. just a thought. best of luck, and keep in mind polishing is not a science it is an art and all artists are different so find what works best for you. if it your personal part then time might not be a factor, so if it takes longer it is ok.

[MADMAXX]

Why wet sand?
Thanks for the help.

[sswee]

The reason for wet sanding is, it helps to flow out the material being sanded off, to keep the paper from loading up. If the paper loads up too much it can't cut properly and sometimes creates deeper scratches.

[MADMAXX]

Well I've been using one of those 3d sanders not hand sanding until I get to 600 then I hand sand.
Should I go only in one direction or one way then 90 degrees the other way?
I also have a DC Sports strut bar I wanted to polish its pretty much polished but it has some pit marks from being in the car.
Should I sand it first or start with the emery compound?

[pickleboy]

the strut bar you should sand to get the dings out, but only go as coarse as needed. try 240 to start and see if it gets out the dings. as for your sanding the 3d sander is random orbital and that is putting swirls in the alum that will be hard to get out even at 600 grit. i recommend when you hit 600 switch to hand and wet, start at 600 and get a uniform grain line started. as for changing directions i do not after 400 grit so i get straight sand lines. i then switch to the compound and do the cuts and color strokes at 90 degree angles. others here swear by switching directions when sanding all the way to finish, you have to find what works best for you. lastly when wet sanding use progressively lighter pressure as you go higher in grit. as for the wet part i use a small amount of dish soap also to help lube the paper.

[sswee]

I normally use a sander up to 220 and start wet sanding with 400 and up.

Sanding different directions can help show if a problem has been sanded out.

The strut would turn out best if you sanded the pits out first. If you start with sisal/black you will have a polished pit. It all depends on how good you want it to look.