The wheel I got repaired

[Deez-67]

I took this wheel to Wheel Works here in OKC. After I picked it up Jeremy (owner) said I should have never taken that wheel as a job it was one of the harder ones to do.
They did good but I wish the lip finsh would have came out a little better. For $160 I'll take it. Here is some before and afters
Iphone pic right after it got hit.

After
These are the only spots you can see weld marks

 

[28ONE]

They did a pretty good job, how much would a new cost? Are the lips polished alum?

 

[Wicked GT]

They did a great job! Congrats!

 

[Black_GT]

Looks good! Just wondering if it would've been more cost effective to buy a replacement rim??

 

[Deez-67]

They did a pretty good job, how much would a new cost? Are the lips polished alum?

Looks good! Just wondering if it would've been more cost effective to buy a replacement rim??

I looked for a month and couldn't find one in the US... To have a new one shipped from Australia was going to cost me about $800

 

[Deez-67]

anyone know how to polish out alum?

 

[Wicked GT]

Used a buffing wheel and some polish last time I did it... that was 25 years ago though. I am sure they have orbital buffers and drill attachments these days.

 

[28ONE]

I looked for a month and couldn't find one in the US... To have a new one shipped from Australia was going to cost me about $800

anyone know how to polish out alum?

Wow thats crazy! Back in the day I polished out my GSXR750 the old fashioned way by hand and wetsanding. The wheels look fairly polished already so maybe start with 2000 then 2500 then 3000. Use mothers billet chrome to polish it out.

 

[86GT351]

I went through that here in Ft Lauderdale. Have a friend with a Fox Body that wanted a different Rim. Found him a set of 3 piece 17 X 9 Rial Rims. There were 2 sets that were 3 piece made for Steeda many years ago. This set was sitting in a friends garage for years and he sold them to us. We sent them to a place called Supa Mags and did an outrageous job on them. There are a few tiny spots like yours that still stand out if you look closely.

 

[muztangman93]

Do you have a buffer if so use your buffer to polish them. Be careful as they will be extremely shiny when your done. I remember mothers power ball I never could get even a decent result with it. When I polish I finish sand with 2k grit wet. Then use a buffer. As to what I start with that depends on how bad the surface is

 

[19COBRA93]

Did you have a question about polishing aluminum?

It's actually fairly simple. As long as they didn't clear coat over the whole wheel you're good. I wet sand up to a 2500 grit (sand only in one direction), then I use Mothers metal polish (there are several brands that work just as well), and a terry cloth for small areas, and a wool pad and DA for large areas. Wipe off excess with a microfiber towel.

 

[28ONE]

WOW!!! Awesome work man

 

[Deez-67]

Did you have a question about polishing aluminum?

It's actually fairly simple. As long as they didn't clear coat over the whole wheel you're good. I wet sand up to a 2500 grit (sand only in one direction), then I use Mothers metal polish (there are several brands that work just as well), and a terry cloth for small areas, and a wool pad and DA for large areas. Wipe off excess with a microfiber towel.

^^ Mother of God!! ^^

Thats insane!! Well it's good to know it can be done. I just need to get the NUTS to do it now.

 

[28ONE]

You can do it, just take your time. The wheel lips would actually be pretty easy.

 

[Deez-67]

I think the hardest part would be getting them to match the other 3. Bc they aren't mirror finished.

 

[28ONE]

Could always polish all four as a winter project

 

[Deez-67]

Could always polish all four as a winter project

True

 

[jodadejss06gt]

Deez, I grabbed one of those mothers pollish cones from Advanced Auto and a tube of blue magic. When my cs-69's got road salt on them they corroded the shit out of the wheels. I just kept polishing and eventually the aluminum polishes out to a nice mirror finish. It looked good but some of the spots were in hard to reach areas and it got real frustrating. I spent over 5 hours on 1 wheel and it wasn't to a level I wanted so I sold the wheels to someone that was ok with them looking that way or had the time to spend on them.

 

[muztangman93]

5 hours dang I can sand and buff a wheel in an hour to like new.

 

[Deez-67]

Deez, I grabbed one of those mothers pollish cones from Advanced Auto and a tube of blue magic. When my cs-69's got road salt on them they corroded the shit out of the wheels. I just kept polishing and eventually the aluminum polishes out to a nice mirror finish. It looked good but some of the spots were in hard to reach areas and it got real frustrating. I spent over 5 hours on 1 wheel and it wasn't to a level I wanted so I sold the wheels to someone that was ok with them looking that way or had the time to spend on them.

Right on