imported_Luster
New member
These 1979 Corvette wheels have been sitting in a warehouse since 1985 (and it shows!). Lots of oxidation, mildew and scratches. The owner asked me if I could make them look like chrome if he'd pay me $100. I immediately said... "No. But for $100 I can make them look a whole lot better!"
I spent about 2.5 hours polishing, buffing, re-polishing, re-buffing..... (THEY WERE STUBBORN!)
PROCESS:
I started by washing them with ONR, just to get the dirt and spider webs off.
Polished with Poorboys Pro Polish 2, by PC / LC Yellow pad. After tearing up 2 pads on the rectangular holes, and having little success achieving shine, I switched to a Mother's Power Ball.
It was a little better, but still not what I had hoped for.
What I have found, for polishing aluminum, it's not speed that makes the metal polish work... it's PRESSURE.
After switching to HAND-POLISHING with pieces of old cotton towels, and heavy pressure by hand, I achieved the best results.
Once I was finished with the first pass with the PB/PP2, I did my final polishing with Simichrome polish by hand.
For 30-year-old wheels, they turned out fairly well.
Given another 2 hours, I could probably make them look even better... (customer didn't want to spend another eighty bucks!)
Before:
AFTER:
I spent about 2.5 hours polishing, buffing, re-polishing, re-buffing..... (THEY WERE STUBBORN!)
PROCESS:
I started by washing them with ONR, just to get the dirt and spider webs off.
Polished with Poorboys Pro Polish 2, by PC / LC Yellow pad. After tearing up 2 pads on the rectangular holes, and having little success achieving shine, I switched to a Mother's Power Ball.
It was a little better, but still not what I had hoped for.
What I have found, for polishing aluminum, it's not speed that makes the metal polish work... it's PRESSURE.
After switching to HAND-POLISHING with pieces of old cotton towels, and heavy pressure by hand, I achieved the best results.
Once I was finished with the first pass with the PB/PP2, I did my final polishing with Simichrome polish by hand.
For 30-year-old wheels, they turned out fairly well.
Given another 2 hours, I could probably make them look even better... (customer didn't want to spend another eighty bucks!)
Before:
AFTER:
)
