Where do I begin with these rims?

B

BluBrett

New member
Today I picked up these GS rims (similar design to AMG hammer rims) at a very nice price from an Acura Legend Forum member. I was planning on having them painted a metallic silver color, but first I want to try to bring back the original finish as much as possible to see if I can deal with it for the time being, considering my old rims have a chrome leak and I have to buy new tires for these wheels already. They have not yet been cleaned.



This is the worst rims of the 4, but they are all pretty scratched and swirled. If i had to guess, I'd say it was "cleaned" with a brillo pad or steel wool or something of the sort.



Edit: at one point they looked like this:



IMG_4279-1.jpg




Now they look like this:



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002-9.jpg




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Some of the clear coat has been rubbed away by whatever was used to "wash" them and I know some things are too bad to even attempt to correct, but where would you start with getting the original finish of these rims to the best they can be? I should note, the flash makes what appears to be sanding scratches look deeper than they really are.
 
Although I don't have a ton of experience with wheels, I'd say these are beyond help. You can reduce the appearance of the scuffs and scratches a bit with a polisher and heavy compound, then finish out with something lighter, but you're going to be fighting against the machined texture in the face of the rims and the lack of clearcoat. Might even need to do some wetsanding first.



The best bet would probably be to refinish them completely. Either powder coating or painting.
 
They aren't wheels with a ton of small areas like some which is good. If it were me... I would get some aircraft stripper... strip off the clearcoat and start at around 200 grit and go up to about 600 or 1000 and then polish the aluminum... but there's a lot of time involved in that whole process so if you have the time then give it a shot maybe... but they are scratched up it looks like beyond just polishing the clearcoat and you said that it's gone through the clearcoat.
 
Looking at the areas where you can see all the way to bare/unfinished aluminum, it kinda looks like that "machined finish" is more than just a certain level of polishing topped with clearcoat, like there might be some kind of additional finish/coating on there :think:
 
Wheels America? haah, if it were me I would start at 800 grit then work up to 2500 or 3000. Polish.



I think those were a machined finish, no? I can see the ground surface on the last pic. If you want that I suggest a pro. You won't be getting that back using the method I suggest above.
 
AuAltima3.5 said:
Wheels America? haah, if it were me I would start at 800 grit then work up to 2500 or 3000. Polish.



I think those were a machined finish, no? I can see the ground surface on the last pic. If you want that I suggest a pro. You won't be getting that back using the method I suggest above.
Click to expand...



I think (based on the pics) that he is going to need no start with at least 400 grit... 800 and he'll literally be over 3 months sanding them.
 
OP, sand just the shiny parts of the wheel... leave the cast sections alone... use a power sander to cut all of the clearcoat off and go up with a machine as high of a grit as you can find and then start your wet sanding at 400 grit if possible... you don't need to go to 2000 or anything like that... go to Plating Kits Electroplating Kits Aluminum Anodizing Kits Powder Coating Systems Metal Polishing And Buffing Supplies - Caswell Inc. and buy a sisal wheel and one of their super cut compounds... I believe Tripoli is the one I used... it will cut A LOT as the sisal wheel is basically one of those very abrasive ropes... just try to keep it as flat as possible... afterward go to a spiral sewn wheel and one of the fine compounds... polish it to a high luster... and it will get very bright and nice and then tape off those areas and either paint the casted areas or just leave them as is. It will take some time but Rome wasn't built in a day either.



I have years of experience of aluminum polishing experience by the way so i'm not just bs'ing you.
 
Man, I don't think it's worth it. That is gonna be a ton of work and some decent money spent on products used. Might as well work some overtime or save some money and pick up a mint set of wheels.
 
I would probably try it, but I have a ton of spare time as I don't work on rainy days... I agree with everything Guitarist302008 has said based on my recent experiences with aluminum.
 
The GS rims bret, are clear coated from the factory to preserve the machined look. These wheels look like they have been burned through with im guessing a brillo pad.



You could try stripping all the clear coat off and see how much damage there actually is to the aluminum wheel and if not much, reclear it.
 
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