Another six hours was spent this week on these used CCW SP550's I got professionally polished earlier in the fall. They're still not perfect, and I'm beginning to wonder if perfection on forged raw aluminum wheels is even possible. They do look better, and every time I lay my hands on them I learn something new.
Monday, late afternoon I began on the left front wheel.
I've learned it's much easier to polish these being off the ground, or off the car. So out comes the floor jack.
And up she goes.
Safety first!
Off with the wheel
Fronts are 19x8.5" with a 2" lip
There's some hazing in the barrels I've not addressed yet. I plan to try a Nano Coating on the barrels later this winter and want to get them as close to perfect as I can before I seal them over.
Tools to start with
Metal Polish #1 and #2 using the 4" blue foam metal pad on my cordless drill where I could, and the 4" blue foam metal pad on a hand adapter in tighter spots. I'd wipe off the heavy residue with an edgeless utility towel and buff with an all purpose towel.
Two passes with Metal Polish #1
Not too shabby! I decided to switch to a 4" red foam glaze pad to work the Metal Polish #2. The blue pad was leaving its own marks due to its aggressiveness. The red wasn't leaving the same.
Now, since the wheels were going to be off, I decided to work the faces and lips some more.
The lip is much easier to polish with the wheel on the car and the tire off the ground so the wheel can be turned.
Tuesday evening I did the right front.
There is a recessed grove where the lip meets the spokes, I just couldn't get into very well. I figured I'd try one of these on the right front wheel.
Wished I wouldn't have, but again, without trying I'd never know. The foam on the Power Cone and Power Ball is too aggressive for raw aluminum. The Power Cone left holograms where it touched the metal. I ended up working those marks out by hand with Metal Polish #1 and an edgeless utility towel.
I didn't use the cordless drill on the faces of the spokes on any of the remaining three wheels. Just an edgeless utility towel to work the polish, another to wipe off the heaviest of the residue and an all purpose towel to buff to a shine.
Wednesday evening the left rear was tackled. Same thing, up in the air and wheel off for easy access.
The rears are 19x10" with a 3" lip.
The right rear was done Saturday morning. I pulled the car out into the natural light, once finished, and could still see a bit of hazing on the lips of the right side wheels. This morning I jacked the right side up and took care of as much of the haze I could see inside the garage.
Question
BRZN
Another six hours was spent this week on these used CCW SP550's I got professionally polished earlier in the fall. They're still not perfect, and I'm beginning to wonder if perfection on forged raw aluminum wheels is even possible. They do look better, and every time I lay my hands on them I learn something new.
Monday, late afternoon I began on the left front wheel.
I've learned it's much easier to polish these being off the ground, or off the car. So out comes the floor jack.
And up she goes.
Safety first!
Off with the wheel
Fronts are 19x8.5" with a 2" lip
There's some hazing in the barrels I've not addressed yet. I plan to try a Nano Coating on the barrels later this winter and want to get them as close to perfect as I can before I seal them over.
Tools to start with
Metal Polish #1 and #2 using the 4" blue foam metal pad on my cordless drill where I could, and the 4" blue foam metal pad on a hand adapter in tighter spots. I'd wipe off the heavy residue with an edgeless utility towel and buff with an all purpose towel.
Two passes with Metal Polish #1
Not too shabby! I decided to switch to a 4" red foam glaze pad to work the Metal Polish #2. The blue pad was leaving its own marks due to its aggressiveness. The red wasn't leaving the same.
Now, since the wheels were going to be off, I decided to work the faces and lips some more.
The lip is much easier to polish with the wheel on the car and the tire off the ground so the wheel can be turned.
Tuesday evening I did the right front.
There is a recessed grove where the lip meets the spokes, I just couldn't get into very well. I figured I'd try one of these on the right front wheel.
Wished I wouldn't have, but again, without trying I'd never know. The foam on the Power Cone and Power Ball is too aggressive for raw aluminum. The Power Cone left holograms where it touched the metal. I ended up working those marks out by hand with Metal Polish #1 and an edgeless utility towel.
I didn't use the cordless drill on the faces of the spokes on any of the remaining three wheels. Just an edgeless utility towel to work the polish, another to wipe off the heaviest of the residue and an all purpose towel to buff to a shine.
Wednesday evening the left rear was tackled. Same thing, up in the air and wheel off for easy access.
The rears are 19x10" with a 3" lip.
The right rear was done Saturday morning. I pulled the car out into the natural light, once finished, and could still see a bit of hazing on the lips of the right side wheels. This morning I jacked the right side up and took care of as much of the haze I could see inside the garage.
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