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#157218 - 12/19/05 09:39 AM How to Polish your Rims
teal_dx Offline
Post Master


Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2492
Loc: Ohio
Polishing Rims
This is a project that takes time and patience. You will be wet sanding and it makes a mess and your finger nails will be black for a while, the ladies will be impressed. The important thing is to sand long enough with each grit to remove the scratches from the previous grit. If you rush through the grits, you will end up sanding much longer with a finer grit to remove scratches from early grits.

Here's what you need:
-A variety of sand paper, I had
180 grit
240 grit
320 grit
400 grit
600 grit
1000 grit
1200 grit
1500 grit
2000 grit
- Mother's Wheel polish
- Blue Magic Wheel Polish
- any automotive carnuba type paste wax in a can




Here is of lightweight rims from a civic hx. As you can see they are badly corroded. They are painted silver from the factory, but had already had most of the paint stripped before I bought the car.



I began with 180 grit on these because there was so much corrosion to sand through. I sanded so much that I probably made them even lighter lol, yet still could not get through all the corrosion on the lips. You could start with 240 on a cleaner set of rims. You want to sand all the lines out of the factory machined surface.



Some pics after sanding with 400 grit



After 600 grit



After 1000 grit


Be sure to clean the inside of the rims as well so you can have the stick on weights put there rather than on the outside of the rim you just polished. I just used 180 grit to get the dirt off.




On the first wheel, between 1000 and 1200 grit, I masked off all the inset areas between the spokes to be painted. I did this before the 1200, 1500 and 2000 so that the rough edges from the masking tape would be sanded smooth as I finished the surface.






I sprayed them with Duplicolor Wheel Coating, Graphite





These are after sanding with 1500 grit. The rim in the background is 180 grit to show how far it has progressed.





after 2000 grit... almost done!!



Mothers wheel polish is good stuff, I have been using it for almost 10 yrs.
Just dab some on a terry cloth you dont use for anything nice (it turns black) and rub it on a section of the rim for about 30 seconds. Let it haze over for a minute after wiping and wipe the haze off with a clean cloth.


Done! (with that little area)



Spoke before Mothers


Spoke after Mothers



Half polished


Complete!



Compared to the 180 grit rim



Now I have 3 more to do

Also not yet pictured, I find that waxing them with a wheel polish called Blue Magic will make them a little bit brighter. Mothers is an abrasive, but the Blue Magic is much finer. It removes what is left of the black oxidation from the Mothers.

Finally wax them with a coat of regular carnuba paste wax. This will act like a seal on the surface and keep them looking good after a rainstorm. On the inside, wax but do not wipe it off after it hazes. This will make it much easier to keep the insides of the rims clean in the future. They aren't clear coated, but I hope you wouldn't even think about using them in the winter anyways!
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#157219 - 12/19/05 10:57 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
2000CheetahStud Offline
Post Master Supreme


Registered: 02/10/03
Posts: 49719
Loc: Cincinnati, OH
Wow. That looks wicked dude. Great write up!

-matt
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2016 4Runner Trail Edition | 2000 Honda S2000

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#157220 - 12/19/05 11:04 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
hkt03 Offline
Post Master Sr


Registered: 12/15/04
Posts: 3560
Loc: Chicago, IL
sweet looking rim.. if i start now, i think i can finish all four of mine by spring
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#157221 - 12/19/05 11:09 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
Civic4drNWV Offline
Sr Member


Registered: 04/02/03
Posts: 1179
Loc: WV and Daytona Beach, FL
Sweet write-up! Those look really, really good. I'm sure it took a lot of hard work to get them look so good. Now take 20 minutes and clean your freakin' shower.
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#157222 - 12/19/05 11:15 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
teal_dx Offline
Post Master


Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2492
Loc: Ohio
yeah you dont want to do this in your bathroom like I did, the wet sanding makes a huge mess. gonna have to scrub the hell out of the shower lol
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#157223 - 12/19/05 05:27 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
rey_boricua Offline
Jr Poster


Registered: 09/01/04
Posts: 143
Loc: Co
thanks for the write up i am going to have to do this to my stock si wheels
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#157224 - 12/19/05 10:32 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
teal_dx Offline
Post Master


Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2492
Loc: Ohio
Quote:

thanks for the write up i am going to have to do this to my stock si wheels



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#157225 - 12/19/05 10:59 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
bleh¤ Offline
Post Master Supreme


Registered: 06/17/03
Posts: 23812
Loc: Canadia
Nice! I'm debating if I should do my Si rims this spring. Does anyone have a pic of them on a car? Preferably a 96-00 Civic?
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#157226 - 12/20/05 12:19 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
bigcheese Offline
Member


Registered: 07/03/05
Posts: 804
Loc: Sacramento, CA
looks really good man. kudos. i really want a set of polished rims on my ride.
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#157227 - 01/17/06 03:42 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
big tuner Offline
Post Master Supreme


Registered: 02/16/01
Posts: 20110
Loc: Oakville, Ontario, Canada
wow that's amazing looking OEM wheels...great work!
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#157228 - 01/18/06 12:14 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
t1ny Offline
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Registered: 01/17/06
Posts: 99
Loc: SO CAL
looks nice great job
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#157229 - 01/19/06 09:49 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
12th Monkey Offline
Post Master Sr


Registered: 02/07/00
Posts: 9467
Brian, you frequently give me a boner. true story.
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#157230 - 01/19/06 06:45 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
ilustrius9 Offline
Post Master


Registered: 03/07/04
Posts: 2492
Loc: Long Island (NY)
How long did it take you to do the one?
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#157231 - 01/20/06 06:02 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
teal_dx Offline
Post Master


Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2492
Loc: Ohio
im gonna guess about 8 hrs, I did the worst rim first so there was lots of extra sanding needed, I just started on the second one this week and took a break...
I gotta get the car finished before I worry about bling!
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#157232 - 01/20/06 06:12 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
teal_dx Offline
Post Master


Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2492
Loc: Ohio
Quote:

Brian, you frequently give me a boner. true story.




wait till you see what is going in... viagra for you
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#157233 - 01/31/06 01:50 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
sidewayzinca Offline
Jr Member


Registered: 01/30/06
Posts: 598
Loc: san diego, CA.
you painted the inside of the DX wheels right? what kind of paint did you use?
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#157234 - 02/01/06 12:44 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
joebySi Offline
Poster


Registered: 09/05/04
Posts: 282
Loc: Atlanta, GA
Quote:

you painted the inside of the DX wheels right? what kind of paint did you use?





read it again......it was posted.
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#157235 - 02/06/06 10:21 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
sidewayzinca Offline
Jr Member


Registered: 01/30/06
Posts: 598
Loc: san diego, CA.
ok cool thx.
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#157236 - 02/10/06 04:56 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
Trixiem Offline
Post Master Sr


Registered: 03/10/03
Posts: 3031
Loc: Las Vegas, Nv
sweet write up.

i did mine in white after i polished them, cause the idiot put a weight on the lip when i specifically told him to put it inside.



-kenny

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#157237 - 02/11/06 12:39 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
RyCeRoCkEtZ Offline
Post Master Sr


Registered: 10/26/03
Posts: 5553
Loc: NorCal, FrisCo, Bay Area!
looks like i'mma get another set of R wheels and polish them
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'00 EBP EM1 Si (K inspired) - Present, soon to be gone...
'05 TYB YZF R6 - sold 09-19-2007, you will be missed..
'08 TYB YZF R6 - 02-12-08
fAsT cAr aRe fOr dRaG rAcInG
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#157238 - 02/15/06 08:11 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
XSRPMZ Offline
Newbie


Registered: 10/19/05
Posts: 59
Loc: GA
nice write up ..don't know if i'm confident enough to do it myself
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#157239 - 02/16/06 11:33 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
EkVtec Offline
Jr Poster


Registered: 07/21/05
Posts: 103
Loc: California
good write up seen this on h-t
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#157240 - 02/22/06 12:36 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
btune eddie Offline
Newbie


Registered: 02/21/06
Posts: 13
Loc: CA, USA
CLEEAAAAAAAAAAAN JOB
CLEAN JOB
OMG
CLEAN JOB
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#157241 - 02/23/06 08:50 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
tmitbyh Offline
Post Master Supreme


Registered: 03/11/02
Posts: 23511
Loc: Bauxite, AR
That is dedication.
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#157242 - 02/23/06 09:29 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
f22b-dohc Offline
Post Master Supreme


Registered: 09/09/05
Posts: 11227
Loc: canadia
Quote:

That is dedication.




agree.

this ish takes forever.
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Chewbacca makes me yawn *Yawn*
"rolling -----on my 2.0, with the rag top down so my hair can blow..."


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#157243 - 03/02/06 04:09 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
RyCeRoCkEtZ Offline
Post Master Sr


Registered: 10/26/03
Posts: 5553
Loc: NorCal, FrisCo, Bay Area!
Quote:

Quote:

That is dedication.




agree.

this ish takes forever.




ditto
_________________________
'00 EBP EM1 Si (K inspired) - Present, soon to be gone...
'05 TYB YZF R6 - sold 09-19-2007, you will be missed..
'08 TYB YZF R6 - 02-12-08
fAsT cAr aRe fOr dRaG rAcInG
fAsT dRiVeR aRe foR aUtOcRoSs

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#157244 - 03/06/06 07:46 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
xxGreenxx Offline
Poster


Registered: 03/20/05
Posts: 285
Loc: Hawaii
great job. they look sick.
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#157245 - 03/08/06 05:13 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
dohcvtecguy Offline
Post Master Sr


Registered: 09/14/04
Posts: 3121
Loc: Tampa,Fl mofrappy's
A buddy of mine with a 01 teg polished his oe rims with a dremel and they look great. Nice job though i did that to my cbr rims.
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09 Infiniti G37S 6spd

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#157246 - 03/13/06 02:46 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
AsianRoundeye Offline
Jr Poster


Registered: 10/14/05
Posts: 121
Loc: Here
Ok!?! Somebody show us how the polished rims look on their car. Also, anyone clearcoat their wheels for protection?
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#157247 - 03/13/06 05:17 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
sidewayzinca Offline
Jr Member


Registered: 01/30/06
Posts: 598
Loc: san diego, CA.
teal_DX didnt clear coat his, they should be fine unclearcoated if you dont go through a harsh winter. *so cal rules*

if you were to clear coat them would you not use any wax?
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#157248 - 03/13/06 05:19 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
2000CheetahStud Offline
Post Master Supreme


Registered: 02/10/03
Posts: 49719
Loc: Cincinnati, OH
Still use wax, itll just make it easier to clean them.


-matt
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2016 4Runner Trail Edition | 2000 Honda S2000

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#157249 - 03/13/06 06:58 PM Re: How to Polish your Rims
sidewayzinca Offline
Jr Member


Registered: 01/30/06
Posts: 598
Loc: san diego, CA.
so clear coat then wax.
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#157250 - 03/14/06 08:43 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
2000CheetahStud Offline
Post Master Supreme


Registered: 02/10/03
Posts: 49719
Loc: Cincinnati, OH
mhm.
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#157251 - 03/29/06 11:36 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
209_dup2 Offline
Poster


Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 340
Loc: Tracy, CA
nice job on those rims
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#157252 - 04/18/06 08:49 AM Re: How to Polish your Rims
teal_dx Offline
Post Master


Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2492
Loc: Ohio
I didn't clear coat because I'm not sure how well the aerosol would bite on the polished surface. I think that when you go from the 2000 grit to the mothers, you're really smoothing the surface that the paint has to stick to. Maybe powdercoating them in clear would adhere better, but for the $$ I'll just not use these in winter and shine them up by hand once in a while. 3 are complete so far, the 4th one just finished the 2000 grit stage. I will never polish another set of HX rims
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Stuff I build in my garage: https://www.youtube.com/6thGearGarage

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