Signed up for the forum today after buying some metal polish #1 and #2 to try on some neglected billet rims I'm trying to bring back to life. The rims are used Weld Racing Cheyennes that I picked up a few weeks ago from someone that I don't think ever polished them. They were filthy when I got them and I've made some progress but still have a lot of work ahead of me.
Here are pictures from them the day I picked them up.
Fronts:
Backs:
To start out I first washed them. That cleaned some of the grime and grease but the backsides were still really rough. I turned to a wire wheel brush and sandpaper to give them a brushed aluminum finish (edges still need to be worked after tires come off).
Next turned to the front side to experiment. First wheel I hand polished the lips and the face of spokes with an over the counter product to see what it would do. Results are mediocre and not surprising considering rim condition.
In process shot:
Second wheel I fully wet sanded with various grits up to 2000 and then hand polished a section to see if results would be any better. Wheel is smoother and have cleared up some imperfections but test spot isn't polishing up great.
Rim on the left is sanded versus rim on right which has yet to be worked (with exception of test spot on lip):
So as good as I expect metal polish #1 and #2 to be think I'm going to have to do quite a bit more prep work. Any suggestions on process, technique, etc. are welcomed.
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TX SS
Signed up for the forum today after buying some metal polish #1 and #2 to try on some neglected billet rims I'm trying to bring back to life. The rims are used Weld Racing Cheyennes that I picked up a few weeks ago from someone that I don't think ever polished them. They were filthy when I got them and I've made some progress but still have a lot of work ahead of me.
Here are pictures from them the day I picked them up.
Fronts:
Backs:
To start out I first washed them. That cleaned some of the grime and grease but the backsides were still really rough. I turned to a wire wheel brush and sandpaper to give them a brushed aluminum finish (edges still need to be worked after tires come off).
Next turned to the front side to experiment. First wheel I hand polished the lips and the face of spokes with an over the counter product to see what it would do. Results are mediocre and not surprising considering rim condition.
In process shot:
Second wheel I fully wet sanded with various grits up to 2000 and then hand polished a section to see if results would be any better. Wheel is smoother and have cleared up some imperfections but test spot isn't polishing up great.
Rim on the left is sanded versus rim on right which has yet to be worked (with exception of test spot on lip):
So as good as I expect metal polish #1 and #2 to be think I'm going to have to do quite a bit more prep work. Any suggestions on process, technique, etc. are welcomed.
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