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sciclunam
Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2006
Posts: 51
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 Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:34 am Post subject: Wheel Polishing problem |
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Hi Guys. I have a brand new set of polished (uncoated) SSP Fuchs. Before I put them on my Ghia I wanted to polish them to a mirror finish.
So I used a 2000 grit sandpaper and then a 3000 grit attached to a cordless drill and now I ended up with lots of scratches. I tried to buff it with Autosol Aluminium polish paste to no avail. See before / after photos.
Thank God I tried it on the spare wheel and only on one spoke! Any idea how can one polish aluminium to mirror finish? Shall I use 4000 / 5000 grit maybe? Autosol on its own was ineffective.
Thanks
Mario
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74 Thing
Samba Member
Joined: September 02, 2004
Posts: 7395
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| Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 10:25 am Post subject: Re: Wheel Polishing problem |
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| You are going to need a buffer wheel and some rouge for that or just take it to a polisher. |
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RLFD213
Samba Member
Joined: January 21, 2009
Posts: 336
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| Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 10:26 am Post subject: Re: Wheel Polishing problem |
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| Did you wet sand or dry sand it? You can try 5000 grit but you probably need some kind of compound and a buffer to fix the scratches |
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slalombuggy
Samba Member
Joined: July 17, 2010
Posts: 9147
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 1:22 pm Post subject: Re: Wheel Polishing problem |
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| You need to wet sand your wheels and keep the surface absolutely clean. Those straight scratches are dirt. If you want a mirror finish on aluminum you are going to need a true polisher not just a pad in a drill. |
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sciclunam
Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2006
Posts: 51
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| Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 1:26 pm Post subject: Re: Wheel Polishing problem |
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| slalombuggy wrote: |
| You need to wet sand your wheels and keep the surface absolutely clean. Those straight scratches are dirt. If you want a mirror finish on aluminum you are going to need a true polisher not just a pad in a drill. |
Maybe that was my mistake as I used it dry as the sand paper was wet and dry. But not sure whether 3000 is fine enough - it seems too rough. A true polisher I have too but still need to know what grit is required to obtain a mirror finish. The straight scratches were there before though.
| RLFD213 wrote: |
| Did you wet sand or dry sand it? You can try 5000 grit but you probably need some kind of compound and a buffer to fix the scratches |
Dry. I think I need 5000 as 3000 seems too rough. Compound I used Autosol aluminium polish paste. It is very fine though. I might need something more cutting. |
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Busstom
Samba Member
Joined: November 23, 2014
Posts: 3855
Location: San Jose, CA
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| Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2023 10:13 pm Post subject: Re: Wheel Polishing problem |
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Those wheels are already smooth as glass, you don't need any abrasive paper at all. Just compound.
I've taken raw 009s and polished them to mirror finish without a lick of sandpaper, and those wheels are already 10 times smoother than a raw 009.
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My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom) 😏 |
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sciclunam
Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2006
Posts: 51
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| Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2023 11:26 pm Post subject: Re: Wheel Polishing problem |
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| Busstom wrote: |
Those wheels are already smooth as glass, you don't need any abrasive paper at all. Just compound.
I've taken raw 009s and polished them to mirror finish without a lick of sandpaper, and those wheels are already 10 times smoother than a raw 009. |
Thats what I thought. But I have used a rubbing compound (Autosol Aluminium Polish) and had no effect. Maybe I should use a rougher compound.
Are paint compounds safe to use on aluminium?
Thanks |
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Busstom
Samba Member
Joined: November 23, 2014
Posts: 3855
Location: San Jose, CA
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2023 1:14 pm Post subject: Re: Wheel Polishing problem |
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| sciclunam wrote: |
| Busstom wrote: |
Those wheels are already smooth as glass, you don't need any abrasive paper at all. Just compound.
I've taken raw 009s and polished them to mirror finish without a lick of sandpaper, and those wheels are already 10 times smoother than a raw 009. |
Thats what I thought. But I have used a rubbing compound (Autosol Aluminium Polish) and had no effect. Maybe I should use a rougher compound.
Are paint compounds safe to use on aluminium?
Thanks |
Well, a couple things...the Autosol isn't the right product for large-scale power buffing, I'm pretty sure it's for localized hand-polishing (I use Simichrome for that). You need compounds that cut, like these https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-buff-compound-set-6-different-compounds.html I've used them and they work, but mine are older, they're sleeved in cardboard tubes. But you need something like that to put on the wheel and power-buff with speed and pressure (but not too fast or hot).
Another thing, keep in mind that aluminum will never polish to a true "mirror" finish like you're probably hoping for, it's always going to have a very subtle haze to it, that's just the nature of it. That's the visual difference between chrome and polished aluminum, chrome will give you the true mirror finish. That's actually why I prefer polished over chrome, the difference is obvious and I do like that slight haze to it.
You might try to fix those minor scratches and see how shiny you can go, but then just cut your losses and live with it if progress stalls. The wheels look good in my opinion. Hell, I can't keep anything nice anyway, it's just a short matter of time before an errant airhose flops into it, or something slides away from me and smacks a wheel or some paint and BOOM, not so nice anymore.
By the way, go to the product Q&A in that link I provided, somebody asked the question right along the lines of your project.
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My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom) 😏 |
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74 Thing
Samba Member
Joined: September 02, 2004
Posts: 7395
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Busstom
Samba Member
Joined: November 23, 2014
Posts: 3855
Location: San Jose, CA
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2023 11:44 pm Post subject: Re: Wheel Polishing problem |
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| 74 Thing wrote: |
| PM jpaull for polishing tips. |
Yeah he's got some hecka shiny action going on with those manifolds there!  I'd call that mirror-like...at least at that moment.
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My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom) 😏 |
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Crankey
Samba Member
Joined: July 11, 2004
Posts: 2659
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| Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2023 3:25 pm Post subject: Re: Wheel Polishing problem |
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Original polish could be after a corser grit like 320 or 400 sanding.
Polishing after that can leave a very shiny surface but has a slight orange peel like ripple.
I like Flitz polishing paste in the grey toothpaste tube. I'd try that first. If the surface isn't flat enough for.you then I'd use 800-1000 with a smooth but slightly flexible rubber block to flatten it all out and absolutely wet sand, a few drops dishwashing liquid. If you step up to finer grits wash the wheel between and get fresh clean water between every grit.
Aluminum is soft and very reactive to salts and acids so it'll corrode or scratch easily. Perfection won't be easy to maintain.
Not the most practical thing for year round daily if you want them "perfect" and I mean, even a fingernail can drag a line into it.
But if your 10-15% less than perfect then you can actually touch them and use them and they look great for all practical purposes.
It takes more than 2-3x the work to get to the last 10% of perfection and that state won't last without a lot of attention.
Flitz is also protective like a wax. I have tried using a chemical patina after running out with Flitz and it did keep the chemical from darkening on brass and steel.
As a polish flitz works on all metals, some plastic and paint, even glass.
That's more or less what I do and it works for me. |
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