Class One Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 After over 3 years of ownership I've always felt that my wheels have let down my car a bit. The previous owner used some caustic shite that damaged the lacquer and allowed corrosion and pitting to set in. I've never been able to justify to the purse holder that paying for a refurb would be worthwhile and I'm never going to be able to afford those big blingy 18" wheels, so I decided to try and do them myself. I bought some Nitromors (brown tin) varnish and lacquer remover. This is evil stuff and eats paint and skin in no time at all. Working in a well ventilated area (outside ) I carefully removed the lacquer working section by section and rinsing it off every 20 seconds or so with water. Then I used some 800 wet & dry to start sanding back the pitting. It was at this point that I thought might have made a big mistake doing it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr lover Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 and ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chumpalot Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 and ? was going to say the same... i'm sure there's more, otherwise it would be 'Refurbing my wheels' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Class One Posted July 6, 2007 Author Share Posted July 6, 2007 So I decided to stick with it and used some 1200 wet & dry in the vain hope that some more of those scratches would come out. So now the hard bit. Polishing. I used bog standard Autosol and lots of elbow grease. 1st Polish Then a bit more and then a final buff. They need a bit more work doing and perhaps a better type of polish but they are alot better than when I started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Doug, a dremel with a polishing bit would make life a lot easier, stick with the autosol but just with an electric bit.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chumpalot Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 certainly an improvement mate, looks like you've done a good job there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_supra Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Bloody hell, very impressive. your arms must feel like lead weights after doing all that by hand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 your having us on doug thats just a bit of a wheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr lover Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 nice one Doug, is that all 4 you have done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Nice work Doug, thats a great improvement Just the other 3 to do now then?? Hard work though isn't it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gzaerojon Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 it sucks refurbing non split rim wheels after all the hard work of the first one you then realise you have 3 more to do looks tons better though Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garetheves Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Heres a tip that a mate of mine tried with me the other week on his golf. Put the wheel to be done on the rear wheels (front wheels on his golf) and jack the arse end up. Switch the engine on and put in 2nd or 3rd gear and release clutch. Then hold sandpaper (roughest first) onto the rim as the wheel spins (the higher the gear the faster it spins). Spend about 10 mins on each sandpaper until you are using wet and dry. After first lot of wet and dry, apply autosol as well. Then buff and polish. We turned his very dull wheels into polished in a few hours. If there is 2 of you doing it, one on either side, you can get all 4 wheels done in no time at all. Worked a treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gzaerojon Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Heres a tip that a mate of mine tried with me the other week on his golf. Put the wheel to be done on the rear wheels (front wheels on his golf) and jack the arse end up. Switch the engine on and put in 2nd or 3rd gear and release clutch. Then hold sandpaper (roughest first) onto the rim as the wheel spins (the higher the gear the faster it spins). Spend about 10 mins on each sandpaper until you are using wet and dry. After first lot of wet and dry, apply autosol as well. Then buff and polish. We turned his very dull wheels into polished in a few hours. If there is 2 of you doing it, one on either side, you can get all 4 wheels done in no time at all. Worked a treat. i've done this before, it's great for removing curb marks using a metal file and sand paper make sure you turn off the traction control though otherwise nothing will turn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Class One Posted July 6, 2007 Author Share Posted July 6, 2007 I've done all four. Took me 4 days (bearing in mind that my back is shagged so I took lots of breaks etc. The 1st wheel i might redo from scratch as i used the green Nitromors so it didn't properly remove all the lacquer. They'll take quite a lot more polishing before i get the finish i want. Can anyone recommend anything other than autosol I'm trying to get a really bright finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Autosol is one of the strongest cutting polishes around, so great for removing scratches. It might be worth trying a softer compound like autoglym metal polish and using a dremmel to polish up finer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr lover Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Heres a tip that a mate of mine tried with me the other week on his golf. Put the wheel to be done on the rear wheels (front wheels on his golf) and jack the arse end up. Switch the engine on and put in 2nd or 3rd gear and release clutch. Then hold sandpaper (roughest first) onto the rim as the wheel spins (the higher the gear the faster it spins). Spend about 10 mins on each sandpaper until you are using wet and dry. After first lot of wet and dry, apply autosol as well. Then buff and polish. We turned his very dull wheels into polished in a few hours. If there is 2 of you doing it, one on either side, you can get all 4 wheels done in no time at all. Worked a treat. i would like to try that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jevansio Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Well impressed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeblitz Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 try maguires chrome polish its better for finishing than autosol make sure you laquer over..... try petrol resistance laquer from halfords its for motorcycle tanks etc;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vvteye Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Heres a tip that a mate of mine tried with me the other week on his golf. Put the wheel to be done on the rear wheels (front wheels on his golf) and jack the arse end up. Switch the engine on and put in 2nd or 3rd gear and release clutch. Then hold sandpaper (roughest first) onto the rim as the wheel spins (the higher the gear the faster it spins). Spend about 10 mins on each sandpaper until you are using wet and dry. After first lot of wet and dry, apply autosol as well. Then buff and polish. We turned his very dull wheels into polished in a few hours. If there is 2 of you doing it, one on either side, you can get all 4 wheels done in no time at all. Worked a treat. Sounds a great way to lose a finger or two or even wrench your arm out of its socket. Done correctly you could look like the black knight in Monty Pythons Holy Grail in no time. http://www.yourfilmsucked.info/blog/uploaded_images/BlackKnight-796430.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil tt Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Sounds very dangerous to leave the wheels turning. The wheels look excellent, great job:d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARTIN R Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 looks great mate, I did wonder if you could move with your back after that amount of work:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 They look much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest andyj22 Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 excellent job there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbeh Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Well done Doug, that autosol is good stuff Used it on exhausts in the past, you did well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesC Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 They'll take quite a lot more polishing before i get the finish i want. Can anyone recommend anything other than autosol I'm trying to get a really bright finish. You could try one of them polishing kits from Ebay, they should bring them up nicely. Something like This Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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