bandit45

Ive been reading the post and it seems everyone writes about iroc rims. How do I polish mine up do I use the same steps as them?
clearcoat remover
sand 180 through 600
wetsand to 1200 or so
then polish

bandit45

oh ya and please excuse my stupidity

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

save yourself and plate them.

cobrakiller1989

iTrader: (1)

wouldnt you almost have to plate them? the center cap is plastic and would look dumb next to a polished wheel

bandit45

Ya thats a beutiful rim but how much?

bandit45

Beatiful* So that would be the process if i were to take that road. Anyone know a site or anything where they walk you through?

85SportCoupeto89RS

Not hard really. I use different techniques to polish mine.

bandit45

Ya thats a nice one too what technique is it that you use?

CamarosRUS

ok i juss wanna know how much to get all 4 rims plated like that. loks good but i dunno if its in my price range

85SportCoupeto89RS

Heres what I do.I also use my polishing wheels on bench grinders.
1. Use a die grinder with 120 grit and get in all tight areas or ones that a polishing wheel wont get.
2.Use 400 grit with the die grinder going over all spots that were covered in step 1.
3.Use the da sander with 180 grit to get every where else that needs to be sanded.
4.Go over the same areas with 320 grit with the da sander.
5.Use a blue wheel(made with carbon fibers)and use black grease compound. Go over all areas and get out all casting marks and scratches.
6.Use a yellow wheel(made from cloth) and use yellow grease compound. Do the same as step 5.
7.Clean the part and dry it.
8.Finish it off by using a buffing wheel and use white grease compound.
The stuff that I use is a little pricey but I is really better than doing it with only using sand paper.

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

the cheapest i've seen rims like mine go for would be a little over 500 and you have to give up your own. typically these are remanufactured or not oem wheels.

mine however are the originals and where tripple plated.....they were as much as a paintjob.

either way they will look good, tripple plating just lasts much longer.

or, you could get lucky and buy a set used. either way chrome looks so much nicer, but for those who don't want something so shiny or can't afford it polishing is the way to go. i have yet to see a good 91-92 z rim that was polished where the centercap looked good though.

good luck.

85SportCoupeto89RS

Thats one of the things I've been thinking about. I want a set of IROC rims polish them myself(so I know it been done right) then have them chromed.And use my polished Z rims for the winter, and use the IROC's for the summer months.

FSTFBDY

iTrader: (33)

Id beg to differ...... Mine are Polished. def. not as nice as Kandied91z but they sure shine purdy when clean

bandit45

Tpi383 what technique is it that you use? I have some tools for sportcoups way but not all.

GoldenSwordZ28

Hey, I can't post any pic's but, heres what I do, and it looks just as good as TPI383's, but mine are stock 5 Stars (Like the ones that came on RS's). I said forget the Clear Coat Remover..... would have been a pain in the ***. So, instead, I got myself a Dremel a Flapwheel, Finish Abrasive Brushes for the Dremel and some free time. Setting the Dremel on the lowest speed possible (5000 to 10000 RPM is fine) I used the Flapwheel to take off the clear-coat around the Silver'ish areas. After removing the Clear Coat I proceeded to go over the wheels stock visible aluminum areas with the Coarse Finish Abrasive Brush..... and then after going over it with that, I finished it up with the Medium finish abrasive brush, until it looked satisfactory. Then I went and used that Mother Mag Wheel and Aluminum Polish and just rubbed it all in. It took time, but by ***, it looks incredible (Plus, theres that sense of satisfaction you can only get by doing it yourself).

After refinishing one of my wheels this past weekend, I actually had it all aluminum, and went to try and polish it...... but, It woulda taken alot more work to make it full chrome looking then to paint the inserts black. So in the end I have stock 5 Stars that have chrome look trim and chrome looking arms on the stars, and the star is black, along with the inserts that are between the stars arms. Looks pretty good if I don't say so myself, I'll take a pic as soon as I get the Digital Camera back from my mom. On a side note, stripping all the paint off of the wheel and sanding it down was NOT done with a dremel or a peice of sand paper. I did it another, some what difficult and stressing way. I bought myself a DeWalt drill and got Coarse and Fine wire brushes of different sizes and shapes, and proceeded to strip everything, AND remove little nicks and what not. However, I don't think I'll ever do it that way again, since I decided not to Polish the whole wheel. So now all my wheel needs is to be touched up a bit and sprayed again, then sprayed with clear coat, and it will look BEAUTIFUL. Plus they match my overall color scheme.

If you need anymore details on how I did it, you can MSG me on AIM... (FiXXX3rX), or, E-Mail me at FiXXXerX@hotmail.com.

Adam

P.S. - YES I did borrow Ideas (Most) from the tech article on doing this, but, I must say that I found my way much easier and cleaner, albiet a little more time consuming.

85SportCoupeto89RS

Did yours look kinda like mine GoldenSwordZ28

GoldenSwordZ28

Yeah, only with black inserts Was gonna go with polishing it, bur woulda taken forever with the methods I was using. Plus they'll match my GFX, HEadlight Inserts, Louvers, Tint, and interior color, as well as my vanity plate if I use black inserts.

I'd like ta go get another set since there not much at all at the local Junkyard and try your method.... I don't know about hald the stuff your talking about doing though, so, if you could Eloborate

Adam

Kandied91z

iTrader: (7)

they look pretty damn good to me 383.

85SportCoupeto89RS

Go to http://www.swmetal.com/ There you can buy all the polishing wheels and polishing compounds you will need. Do you have a bench grinder? Cause you will need one to put the polishing wheels on. If you have any other questions post it and i'll give the best answer to it. I painted that rim in the previous posts today. It looks much better painted, enjoy.

cobrakiller1989

iTrader: (1)

very nice, i guess i stand corrected