My Wheel Polishing Fetish :P

[mdh]

When I did my slots I used one and a quarter discs on the first wheel. Not good!

When I did the second wheel I only used about half a disc for the whole thing.

I was pressing too hard and tearing up the discs. They don't like sanding sharp corners either..

Maybe youre applying too much pressure?

[MonzaPhil]

Well, just finished the first round on my Turbovecs, tyres can now go on. I was going to do them by hand but after one spoke and 2 inches of the lip, I gave in to technology and whizzy polishing discs.

They were scruffy!



Ta daaaaa



Etch primed and then a few coats of gloss black, only masked the edge because it was being polished anyway and it was easier to remove paint than fiddle with masking!

[trekkerglenn]

Jul 12, 2012 21:06:42 GMT Dez said:

that looks very much like anodising. youll be there forever and a day trying to get that off with polishing discs!

tbh I just wanted shiney wheels ;D

what do you recommend to get them to a point where they look half decent, any tips greatly received

[trekkerglenn]

Jul 12, 2012 21:33:15 GMT MonzaPhil said:

Well, just finished the first round on my Turbovecs, tyres can now go on. I was going to do them by hand but after one spoke and 2 inches of the lip, I gave in to technology and whizzy polishing discs.

how many discs have you used on those, no offence but they looked much worse than mine ??

[Dez]

you can remove it with caustic soda, or oven or drain cleaner. you gotta be really careful with it though, as youre basically using it to dissolve the surface of your wheels.
go do some googling and educate yourself on what anodising is, then youll understand it better.
youre looking for sodium hydroxide as the active ingredient. any base will eat through the hardened anodized surface eventually though. its why alloy wheels get that white corrosion on in the winter, from the rock salt reacting with water.

google throws up plenty of info, here is a good start-
www.instructables.com/id/Removing-Anodizing-From-Aluminum-Quickly-and-Easil/

[trekkerglenn]

ok, thanks dez

[g40jon]

Jul 12, 2012 20:35:55 GMT trekkerglenn said:

Jul 12, 2012 18:45:15 GMT VIP said:

Regardless of the claims he makes, they are not aggressive enough to be used for paint removal.

sorry wasnt trying to be a knowitall ;D just echoing what was told to me.

well, I had another go tonight on one of the other three that arn't painted, similar results i'm afraid, disc worn away quite quickly, I cant break through the top layer no matter how hard I try (not as in pressure applied) this effort took nearly two hours to get this far







I MUST be doing something wrong, could it be as simple as the angle of the grinder ?

These i'm guessing arn't comlicated wheels like BBS they are bog standard le castellets.

i've spent nearly £50 on bits including a new grinder to get two half stripped/polished wheels, curse word ;D

those wheels are finished in some kind of really hard wearing paint. I had a set years ago that I polished up, it was really tough to remove, in the end i used a poly wheel like this

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PAINT-RUST-REMOVAL-POLY-WHEEL-power-tool-bit-/400308256575?pt=UK_Body_Shop_Supplies_Paint&hash=item5d343b3f3f

doesn't ruin the surface of the alloy, so long as you don't press too hard. The pic of your grinder looks to be fitted with the disc meant for polishing, rather than paint removal, i would have expected it to look more like this

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tyrolit-Zirconia-Flap-Discs-115mm-4-1-2-Bevelled-Box-of-10-/261005809538?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&var=&hash=item3cc5289782

or this

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silverline-105872-Bevel-Brush-115mm-/130653497927#vi-content

[trekkerglenn]

Thanks, I've got both the disc and the polishing one too,just couldn't resist trying the polishing on the bit I'd broke through lol

[g40jon]

well i wish you the best with them, ive refinished over 50 sets of wheels and the castelettes were by far the worst i've ever done

[mdh]

Jul 12, 2012 21:33:15 GMT MonzaPhil said:

Well, just finished the first round on my Turbovecs, tyres can now go on. I was going to do them by hand but after one spoke and 2 inches of the lip, I gave in to technology and whizzy polishing discs.

They were scruffy!



Ta daaaaa



Etch primed and then a few coats of gloss black, only masked the edge because it was being polished anyway and it was easier to remove paint than fiddle with masking!

Man they were seriously manky!! looking good now though!

[trekkerglenn]

Jul 13, 2012 22:01:44 GMT g40jon said:

well I wish you the best with them, ive refinished over 50 sets of wheels and the castelettes were by far the worst i've ever done

well thats just my bloody luck ;D

the last ebay link are the exact item ive got tbh, like has been said I need something stronger to break that layer, then I think the polishing disc and red block will come into their own

thanks for all the replies chaps

[cortinapaul]

Were do you get these discs and what they called ? some cracking polished up wheels on here ,good work people

[Mystery Machine]

You can get them pretty much anywhere online. Silverline 'bevel' discs are what they are often referred to.

Like this: www.mptools.co.uk/products.asp?partno=105864

There's quite a few different variaties but I've seen the ones for angle grinders around the £2.00 to £3.00 mark. They are basically nylon compound discs - take some practice and you'll have shiny wheels. Good polishing compunds help a lot too.

I tend to use the varying grades of wet & dry then cutting compound worked in with a fabric polishing wheel on a drill....I personally find it gives a better finish with more control (obviously different people prefer different methods and find these bevel discs the business) I guess you have to make your own mind up by trying different things.

Some shots of my old wheels that I did by hand. Fairly time consuming thanks to all the deep flutes, but very rewarding:









You can't really tell in the photos but they were quite corroded from using them all winter/salt damage etc...they came out beautifully. ;D

[Copey]

they are awesome wheels MM

[mdh]

Them's some shiny wheels Bruce!

I don't have the patience to hand polish wheels though.

[welshpug]

these are alloy, think they'll polish up?...



edit, bladdy phacebook

[mdh]

Its not a wheel but i started polishing it anyway...

[datman]

NOT turbovec you bad man. More like 'Wolfrace Turbo'
Turbo Vecs have no curves and only 13 spokes.
one here having some work done on it by a good friend here at the moment.

American Racing wheels in background.

[ybturbo]

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115Mm-Silverline-Rotary-Bevel-Abrasive-Brush-Crimp-Wheel-Cup-Wire-Angle-Grinder-/130744029076?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item1e70f38f94#ht_1335wt_1012

Is that what you use to sand them first?


Or can anyone give me a link to where I can order the sander/mop and compunds online. (I'm in Ireland)

Cheers.

[mdh]

You don't wanna buy from Ratta?