I made the mistake of leaving the wheels on too long this winter. They are nasty looking right now and I have decided to jump off the edge and start a full wet sanding polish on them. I'm taking my time, so this could take at least a week or so.

They have a TON of cooked on road grime, brake dust, salt, and asphalt on them right now, so the first step is heavy duty cleaning to get to the aluminum. I am starting with the inner hubs first because this is my first time doing anything other than a bike frame. Here is an initial shot:








After hitting them with a stiff plastic brush and Black Magic Titanium Wheel Cleaner:

















Next, I hit them with 320 grit wet sanding paper dipped in dish soap and water. It's important to keep the surface and the paper clean and lubricated, so rinse and clean the paper often.











Next step will be to hit them with a quick 320 again and then move to 400, 600, and 1000 grit followed by polishing with Mother's Billet on a Powerball and buffing to a mirror finish. Will update this week.

 

Looks sexy afterward.. Lets see you do that for the lips too

 

damn...look good already, cant wait to see the finished wheels...

 

Oh I definitely am... Picked up the Mothers Powerball and the Mother's Billet polish as well... Can't believe that little tub cost $16.00! I have some Blue Magic ($7.00) as well so I will try both and post a review. I have a LOT more elbow grease to go though. I started pretty late in the day and it got pretty windya nd cold out, so I will do it a little at a time this week...

Maybe wifey will let me use the bathtub.

 

Why'd you let it get this bad?

 

Because I just didn't give a damn. I got bored with the car last year and stopped caring. Now I have renewed interest in modding, so I am replacing my cracked JP Vizage Type A front end, dropping in the UR pulley set I have had sitting around for a year and detailing the hell out of the car...

Debating coilovers as well...

 

Edited so there is no confusion about pics...

 

I feel ya on that.. I stopped a while too..

 

Wow, good job Phreak! Those came out looking good

 

Looks good so far.

 

Polished wheels without a clear coat = biggest pain. you have to clean them every other day.

good job.

 

^ yea +1... I use wenol and it actually last quite a bit longer than everything I've tried. I don't have to polish my LM's lips for 3weeks or so. I'll post pics of some light curb rash repair with Wenol when I get a chance.

 

Damn Phreak you got some ballz driving around with these in NewJersey... What profile tires are these? Every time i visit my parents in Jersey im scared im going to drop in a pothole

 

I use this on my exhaust....http://www.nevrdull.com....works like a charm! Just wear some gloves because the smell it leaves on your hands is hard to get off.

 

lee link no worky

 

www.nevrdull.com

 

They look fantastic already.

 

255/35/19 front and 295/30/19 rears... Yea, it can be nerveracking driving in Philly.

LoL, thanks, but that is just first level of sandpaper. I still have 400, 600, 800, and 1000. maybe 2000 as well. This level took about 50 minutes to do. It should get faster though. Can't wait to hit it with the Mothers... I'm gonna try to do the 400 when I get home tonight...

 

After 400 grit:







Next up 600...

 

make sure to wax the hell out of the inside of the barrels and that will keep the dirt from building up. I don't know if they make a super heavy duty wax, but talk to Detailed Images (I think they sponsor the forum now) for some advice, he is a great dude.

looks fantastic already man!! mad props