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Stripped, Sanded, Polished my GXL wheels

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Old 08-17-06, 11:24 PM
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Sewww Speciellllllll

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Stripped, Sanded, Polished my GXL wheels

Inspired by other people who've done it.. One wheel fully done, took me about 2-3 hours. Stripped the black paint that the previous owner sprayed on, and the factory clearcoat. Then I had to sand down the texture that was on the wheel (you know what I'm talkin about). I did so with my PC and some 80 grit paper, then did 180 grit by hand, then wetsanded 680 and 1000 grit, and hit it with the PC again with E1 metal polish (knew that pad that came with the PC would come in handy someday). I sealed it with Klasse Sealant Glaze, but is there something else that would work better for aluminum?

Before:


Stripped of the black paint + factory CC


Close up shows the texture that I had to sand down


After sanding


After polishing


Old 08-17-06, 11:26 PM
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They look pretty nice after polishing. any pics from another angle?
Old 08-17-06, 11:52 PM
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I think they look best with the texture.

They def. look much better than before, though.
Old 08-18-06, 12:17 AM
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nice job! looks really good..... but i think a mirror polish would look better! time to start all over
Old 08-18-06, 12:30 AM
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looks real good. but I agree with vipers, a mirror polish would look better.
Old 08-19-06, 11:45 PM
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Sewww Speciellllllll

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Got a daytime pic
Old 08-20-06, 12:03 AM
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looks good but it look as if you still have some grooves from sanding with a heavy grit ... to get that mirror finish you need to get all that out.... polish alone wont get it out... go back and start with 400 then work you way up... take you time with each grit making it smoother and smoother... I would dry sand it all the way to 1000 grit, then from there wet sand it ... after all the wet sanding is done at 2000 grit then go back and use an aluminum polish (mothers is what I use but it could be another brand).... that will give you the shine you might be looking for...
Old 08-20-06, 12:11 AM
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Sewww Speciellllllll

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Yeah, I'm gonna try progressively closer sanding on the next wheel when I have time
Old 08-20-06, 05:08 AM
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Think they would look better with some clearcoat?
Old 08-02-07, 07:52 PM
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BTW .. your rims are backwards!!
Old 08-02-07, 08:01 PM
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you just bumped a year old thread to tell him his wheels were backwards...congratulations!
Old 08-02-07, 08:26 PM
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THANK YOU!!.......it got your attention...
I was searching on how to polish the 2 gen rims.......i guess i went back alil far.
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