Stormshadow GTA

what do you use to clean and polish the gta rims.I picked up a set of really nice rims for 200$ cnd all they need is a good clean and polish.I was wondering what you use.
Thanks

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1987 Trans AM GTA
305 5SPD
Hypertech airfoil
gutted maf
kn filter
High Flow Cat,
3"Walker pipe
Dynomax Super turbo Muffler
TB Coolant bypass
Wonder bar

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Cleaning factory rims is a tricky business. First thing to keep in mind is that originally they were clearcoated much in the same manner as the paint on your car. GM owners manuals even point this out and explain they should be cleaned and waxed just as you would the paint on your car.
To determine what you need to do, you really need to closely examine the wheels. If they have heavy brake dust deposits clean them with any wheel cleaner that says its safe for clearcoated wheels. Be carefull not to let the cleaner sit for more than a minute or so as it may etch the clearcoat. Next step would be to use a bristled brush to try to remove the remaining brake dust. A toothbrush or disposable paint brush with the bristles cut down to a shorter depth works well. If after scrubbing the wheels you still have staining from the brake dust, and you still want them cleaner you can try 000 steel wool and WD40. Spray the wheel down, and lightly scrub with the steel wool. Basically what you're trying to do is remove the stained material. Either it'll come out or the clear coat will lose a layer, either way the wheels should come clean. If you have chipping clearcoat you will probably have to use a chemical stripper to remove the clearcoat then polish it from scratch. Also if all else fails you can have wheels professionally refinished from $50-150/per wheel in most areas.

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Drew
predatorman@hotmail.com
83 Camaro 5.0L *1995-98*
87 Iroc 5.7L
91 Formula 5.7L 14.3@98mph
91 RS Convertible 5.0L
91 Firebird 3.1L 17.00@82mph *Gtech*
92 S10 2.8L
98 Grand Am GT 3100
Parts for sale

Apone

I have gone over this a thousand times in my head and here is what I would like to do with my GTA rims this summer.

I dont know about you, but the main portion of my rims that need the most help are the aluminum rings that surround the gold colored mesh center. My rings are not only very dull, but they are scratched and nicked in areas.

Now i have seen a bunch of guys on here who have nice polished plenums and runners....wouldn't it make sense that you could get the same results on the GTA rims? (I am not referring to the gold inner section, just the outer metal ring)

I am going to try starting off with rough sand paper....then working my way down to the extremely fine stuff, eventually wet sanding. Sure, this will remove the clearcoat, but I should be left with nice shiny wheels. I should be able to just spray on a few coats of clearcoat after they are polished to protect them.

For the inner, gold mesh section, I plan on taking VERY fine sandpaper and sand the entire area.....just enough to "rough it up" a bit so that I can spray paint the inner areas with fresh gold paint. My gold areas not only have some baked on brake dust, but the color of the gold paint is uneven and fadd in areas. So in my case just polishing the gold sections to remove the corrosion wont help all that much.

I believe that Frankie Rider used this technique to paint the Trans Am style (black mesh section) rims that he bought for one of his GTA's. He bought them new from Classic Industries.....I think they run around $500 for a set of 4. Only problem is that they are black, not gold. I think all he did was polished the black sections a bit to prepare the surface for painting. I also think he had the gold paint mixed for him at an auto body shop. The gold color code is 52P. I think they can even put it in aerosol cans for you.

This process makes sense to me.

Of course I will try this on my worst wheel...and if it works I will continue the process on all 4.

When I am done, and if all turns out well, I plan on writing a tech article about this process. It comes up so often, and I dont thik there is a completely agreed upon method for polishing the GTA rims.