So I have 2 of my Volks that have been refinished by a shop. No clear coat, polished down to bare aluminium.

I'm sure they look great to the average person. Nice and shiny anything 3-4 feet away. But I can also see micro matches in the sunlight. So I set out to polishing them more. I've tried Mothers Mag & Aluminium and Eagle One Nano. I've been using a Mothers Powerball and then a latex glove and my finger.

I'm seeing no improvement. I need some guidance here because surely I can get them better than this. I've tried to snap some pics. Not the greatest but found it hard to capture.

Would love some input. Maybe I need to step up to a 2500 grit sandpaper first? I don't know.

 

Polished aluminium is difficult to work with. Any abrasive polish and it gets worse not better. You may be able to hide the damage with auto wax, but to fix it? Good luck.

 

I would take them back to your shop....they didn't do a good job!

 

Sorry but plenty of people have polished their wheels out to mirror, scratch free finish. It is doable. I'm not looking to cover up anything but do the job correctly.

I picked up some Mothers Billet polish about 30min and have been using that.. It seems to be doing a better job.. We shall see.

 

Try some Flitz metal polish. It is outstanding.

www.flitz.com

 

Try some Flitz metal polish. It is outstanding.

www.flitz.com

 

I use Wenol Fine Polish, it's in a blue container. Very very very recommended.

 

You guys recommending products, care to comment on your results and process also? I'd rather not just buy every product cause people are telling me too.

Thanks guys.

 

Can you post some before and after pics?

 

Ok will do... I cleaned my LM's today but I'll take pics for you.

 

I think the only way to do it correctly is to dis-assemble the wheels and get in there with a polishing wheel.

I've polished aluminum for various projects and the only way I've been able to get the rest of the fine scratches out is with a wheel. I couldnt get mirror finishes by hand rubbing.

BTW, Flitz and Wenol are great products but I've only had good luck with them to polish already good looking parts.

 

Check this guy though. He manages to get a perfect mirror shine using the exact same stuff as me. I don't know how though. Maybe Volk Aluminum is different somehow?

http://www.s10forum.com/how_to_polish_aluminum_wheels

 

I think aluminum is aluminum. You should be able to get a mirror shine. Just keep working at it and don't give up.

 

Nothing but time and a ton of elbow grease.

Taking Sandpaper to my 19" DPE Variant S Titanium Asphalts... (Full Polishing)



Taking Sandpaper to my 19" DPE Variant S Titanium Asphalts... (Full Polishing)

 

My wheels look just as good from that distance too. But up close in direct sunlight you see the micro scratches. Do you have those?

 

Op do you have 3000grit paper?

 

I don't.. But I can get some. You think it's worth a shot?

 

The problem is getting a uniform sanding by hand. It can be achieved but it's hard work. I did some work on my buddies Strasse Forged wheels. What I did:

1. Clean wheel

2. Poke a couple small holes in a water bottle cap, fill the bottle with water and wet the area your about to wet sand.

3. Use 3000 grit sandpaper first b/c it's very very fine. I'd personally soak the sandpaper for a couple hours to soften the corners.

4. Lightly with very little pressure begin to sand the lip, making sure the lip stays wet and your not gouging the metal.

5. Do about 3 inches at a time and if you can see a defined line/s rather than a dull area your either using too much pressure or the sandpaper corners are digging in too much.

6. Once your done wet sanding clean the wheel and inspect the sanded areas. If it's a uniform sanding then proceed with polish.

7. I personally use microfiber to apply polish. Begin by lightly applying polish until you can see the luster coming through the "black". Be very careful during applying b/c this is going to be the finished product.

 

Polishing is a very tedious and time consuming project... Like Florida said, start sanding with finer sandpaper...

I personally used the steps from Phreak's thread and my wheels came out great!