i removed the clear coat and started polishing my rims with pictures
 

hello
i have been working on my aluminum rims on my 1985 rx7
one at a time, by hand :)
its been a lot of work removing the clear coat first with aircraft paint remover, then wet sanding, 400 , 800, 1000 , and finally 2000 grit.
i tried Blue Coral metal polish, and it left a dull shine actully it didn't leave any shine i was really disappointed
i was about to give up because i didnt thinking they would shine and it was a lost cause:confused:
anyway to make long story short
i found some Meguair's NXT Generation metal polish today
i polished a small spot at first and OMG did it make it shine
So then i did the rest of the wheel
i realize they are show perfect and there and there are still some imperfections but i'm very happy with the results:)
and they are 21 years old.
Don

actualy those look quite nice after that! good work.

My FB's white, and I'm painting the rims black along with polishing the lip like you did. Lookin pretty nice on your end.

Thank you

very nice! I plan on doing that to my wheels soon! Did the air craft paint remover not take the black paint of the rim?

thanks
the aircraft paint remover will remove the black paint on the spokes
i still had some black when i took the pictures,since then i redid the rim again and it removed it all..
the first time i let mine sit for about 20 minutes or so because i didnt know for sure what would happen.LOL
this stuff starts working right away, it foams and bubbles on contact
the second time I let it sit for about 30 plus minutes
i was going to repaint the black but the more i look at them, i think i will leave them alone

You did a nice job. I've hand-polished wheels before (not "+" wheels, though) so I know just how much work is involved. If I was gonna do it again, I'd take them to a commercial stripping facility (no, not that kind of stripping) and just pay to have them hot-tanked. I would also consider buying a 3250 rpm electric motor with a tapered spindle and a buffing wheel if I was going to be doing more than one set.

hey wankel guy hows your sons first gen err rx3, i dunno what it is but i remember it being nice

I don't have any kids, you must have me confused with some other Wankelguy.

I do have a '72 RX3, but it's technically sold, although it hasn't been picked up yet and I'd really like it to be. *ahem*

How long have it taken you so far to do them?

looks great! i'd like to see how the car looks with the shinier wheels

Hi
thank you for the compliments
It takes me about 5 to 6 hours per wheel i'm doing them by hand ---(I have 2 done so far)
So once i get them all done then i'm going to start on the rest of the car
i want to get a good wax job on and detalied before winter even though it will never see snow:)
the paint is is good shape(no Rust) it just needs some TLC
and it just takes time to do. LOL

Hey did you use a dremal to polishthe rims or was it strictly by hand? I really need to do mine too.

all by hand

I got this stuff at a motorcycle shop called ZEP-ALUM.You put on a full body suit with face mask as they request,personally I just opted to take a few years off my life and go at it with rubber gloves and safety glasses.Spray this stuff on and use a brass bristle brush,blast it a with a hose and presto! you have shit laying all over the driveway.Finish it up with your favorite alumnum polish and you are done!

I would think that after stripping the clear coat one could use a terrycloth buffer on an electric drill with some polishing/rubbing compound. I also have some ultrafine 3M showcar polishing compound that would probably work well.

B

Hi
I have never heard of Zep- Aluminum
i found a web site for them but they didnt have any prices for this.
how much did you pay for it?
also does it remove the clear coat?
i looked at the chemical properties of this product and i bet it is strong.
you probably should have wore a mask and Gloves. but kind of late for that huh?
i know i got a chemical burn on my arm form the aircraft paint remover

It came in a gallon jug and I paid 25 bucks for it.I use it for all kinds of stuff,anyting that is already aluminum without clear on it is a breeze but leaves a dull finish as I said you then just buff with mothers or whatever.It is strong enough to rip the clear off but you have to use a brass brush to help it along then blast with a hose and its off.Yes it does burn the hell out of your skin on contact and cooks the imperfections out of cement driveways too! Hey fido dont lick that.

i did mine too, bought some car paint remover from crappy tire that actually worked better than expected, then went on down by 220, 320, 400,800,1200 then used mothers mag aluminum rim polisher with a 6" buffer to do the big stuff and for the sides and stuff i got some bits that attach on a drill to do it ... looks pretty sweet ... but as mentioned above ... lots of elbow grease .. but in the end well worth it ... i can see my selfin the rims ... thats how polished they are.

Round2
thanks i was wondering how much Zep-alum cost and what size's it came in
I may get some and use it on my boat trailer.
i appreciate your input though, but for now
I think I'm going to just stick to with the way I'm doing my rims, basically because I have everything already, and i only have 2 rims left to do LOL...even though your treatment probably is a lot easier.

DJ55b
your right is lots of elbow grease,but in the end well worth it..i'm happy:)
i tried a buffer at first but my buffer was to big to get in the small places so i said forget it and did i it by hand, using Mothers mag, aluminum polish is probably like NXT metal polish its a finer polish
i like Meguair's i have used it for years :) others like Mother's, they are both really great products.
its all in what a person likes and uses
I will say this though the people at both Meguair's and Mothers are very helpful, they have gave me lots of good advise. they both have excelllent forums.
Don

I'm about to polish mine out to but only so I can beat on them at track events.

that will work LOL