Weekend task: off-car wheel polishing

[tom p.]

I spent some time this weekend trying to polish my wheels while they are off the car during the winter season. I cleaned the wheels a week ago so I "thought" I was starting with clean wheels…this was not a cleaning task, but a polishing task. It turns out that the first set of wheels soiled my polishing pad a fair amount. The second set of wheels from the wife’s car was downright toxic in terms of embedded contamination. I was amazed how dirty the pad was when I finished up; both cars are fitted with lo-dusting pads.



I used the Makita on a very low speed with a small 4” Edge pad. I started off on my wheels with Meg’s #205 but shifted to Meg’s D151 as it left a nicer gloss. I think the D151 leaves a little bit of protection on the surface. I used the DP one-step sealant on the rear side of the wheels, I didn’t apply anything to the face of the wheels. The DP sealant really glossed up the rear side of the wheel. The surface of the wheels is glass-like now, it's that smooth.

These are "after" shots:

These are the wheels off the wife's car, car is about 6 years old. I could only polish the face of the wheel. The spokes are too tight to fit the polishing pad in between. I was able to improve the gloss a bit on this set of wheels, but the finish on the newer wheels is quite a bit nicer. The wheel mfr may be using a different process now.

The Edge pad was dirty by the time I finished this 2nd set of wheels:

I spent about 1hr on each set of wheels. I'll likely make it a point to do this each year to minimize the build-up of surface contaminants.

 

[Brad B]

The wheels are spotless! Nice work. I also do this once or twice a year.

 

[David Fermani]

I don't know what's cleaner.....the wheels or the Makita! :grinno: I take it you'll end up cleaning up the suspension when they're put back on in the spring?

 

[tom p.]

The wheels are spotless! Nice work. I also do this once or twice a year.

Thanks, Brad. Yeah, I've got to be a bit more dedicated to doing this. I haven't been as good about it as I should :errf: I'm still semi-stunned to see how dirty things were even though they appeared "clean".



Brad, BTW, Audi started fitting a new style brake pad to their non-performance models (cars only AFAIK). I assume they are some type of ceramic pad. They are the cleanest brake pad I've ever experienced. I really didn't have to do much, if anything, to the rear of the wheel when it was removed from the car. There was very little in the way of accumulation. Just a little wheel cleaner mist and a couple passes with the brush.

 

[tom p.]

I don't know what's cleaner.....the wheels or the Makita! :grinno: I take it you'll end up cleaning up the suspension when they're put back on in the spring?

LOL, all tools are cleaned up following a job



Don't know about cleaning the suspension following winter. I haven't done that in the past...but you never know...great opportunity to break out the pressure washer.

 

[Street5927]

Very nice job. I used to have a set of summer tires/wheels and winter tires/ wheels for my truck...Both 35x12.50 and it was getting to be a pain in the butt, not only switching, but keeping two sets clean and polished, so I just purchased one set that are just as nice, and will stand up to the salt and elements in the winter and summer...I just have been keeping them clean and waxed with Collinite.

 

[Accumulator]

Tom P- No surprise here that they turned out so nice



t'll be interesting to see how that DP holds up on the back sides, you only doing one coat?



On your decision to not LSP the faces, you gonna use the Wheel Cleaner approach on those?



For between the spokes, I wonder about using the overhainging edge of a big pad :think:

 

[tom p.]

Tom P- No surprise here that they turned out so nice



Thanks, yeah, the wheels from the newer car have a really nice quality finish on them. The wheels from the A6 aren't in the same league, and they're starting to get tired.



t'll be interesting to see how that DP holds up on the back sides, you only doing one coat?



Yes, just a single coat. I can go back and do a 2nd prior to re-fitting to the car.



On your decision to not LSP the faces, you gonna use the Wheel Cleaner approach on those?



Yes, that's the issue, at least in my head. I don't see the merit in doing the "wheel wax" routine as I use wheel cleaner every week. I'm addicted to those optical brighteners However, as I rode to work this morning, i was thinking that I should problaby do a couple coats of either 1000p or #476S to protect the finish and start using Griot's at half strength. Maybe that would work. I'm just not certain which of my LSPs would stand up best against frequent use of a wheel cleaner. Wait!! I smell another durability test in the making... Maybe I'll try the DP sealant. Scott reports that having excellent resistance against soap etc., and it's got great anti-static characteristics. Perhaps that's the one I should try.





For between the spokes, I wonder about using the overhainging edge of a big pad :think:

Might work on that. I don't think I have any small diameter pads that I could use with a small backing plate. I think 5" is the smallest I've got. OTOH, I might have a small EDGE pad that would be better suited to getting between the spokes on the A6 wheels. You've certainly got me thinking...

 

[DeanSweet]

I don't know what's cleaner.....the wheels or the Makita! :grinno:

No kidding! It has to be new or we have found somebody more ocd than myself?!



Wheels look amazing. I pull my summer wheels and polish them before I put them away for winter.

 

[tom p.]

I purchased Opti Coat 2.0 and applied it to the wheels last night to protect them while still clean/polished. I'm going to try to get the summer tires re-installed this weekend. I hope "winter" is over now.

I wiped the wheels with my IPA/water mixture and then applied. The process was quite simple. My lighting in the basement isn't great and I really didn't see any evidence of the high spots people talk about. I hope I don't find anything bad once in bright light.

 

[imported_animes2k]

Nice work.



I find that OC doesn't really show high spots on wheels. They may very well be there, but they're virtually invisible.

 

[gmblack3]

Those look great Tom!

 

[tom p.]

Thanks, Bryan and Anime.



Anime, I am going to move forward with the OptiCoat and do a few panels on my wife's car this weekend. It's a perfect test bed for the product. I think doing some large panels will give me a better perspective on using this somewhat unique coating. I believe I'll also do the winter wheels when I remove them from the car. It sounds like this product will offer the most in an environment where surfaces are getting dirty and shedding is desirable.

 

[Junebug]

I used a Mother's Mini Powerball on my wheels sometimes, fits in most places. I sure don't have the finish that Tom has though!