Polishing Style 5 wheels. Anyone? Anyone?

dang

dang

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I'm in the middle of polishing style 5 wheels for my E3 and was wondering if anyone else has done this? There's videos on youtube showing different wheels getting polished, including style 5's, but I'm having trouble getting them past the machining marks from the factory. I've been doing it all by hand but I think I'll have to get some power tool help to do this right. They look "okay" but not a mirror finish. I removed clear coat with paint remover, then sanded with 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, metal polish.
 

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I did a set a while back. If i remember correctly, I dry sanded with 600, 800, and then wet with 1000-3000. And then polished with Nuvite products. The polish was three steps.
 
I haven’t done it myself but had a set with a mirror polish. If you think about it, if you haven’t made your way to the lowest point in the wheel. No amount of polishing is going to get those marks out. I think you need to start with a more coarse paper.
 
Markos said:
I haven’t done it myself but had a set with a mirror polish. If you think about it, if you haven’t made your way to the lowest point in the wheel. No amount of polishing is going to get those marks out. I think you need to start with a more coarse paper.
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Yeah, that's what I figured. I have an extra wheel so I'll test it on that one. My shoulders and arms are ready to fall off as it is! :p
 
Dick Steinkamp said:
Are you BUFFING with compound after the 2000 wet? If not, that is probably the missing step.
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After wet sanding with 2000 I used 3M cutting compound (1) and polishing compound (2) with a buffer before using Blue Magic metal polish by hand. I think the polishing process will work fine but I need to sand the machine marks out first.
 
dang said:
After wet sanding with 2000 I used 3M cutting compound (1) and polishing compound (2) with a buffer before using Blue Magic metal polish by hand. I think the polishing process will work fine but I need to sand the machine marks out first.
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Are those 3M products specifically for metal? The only ones I'm familiar with are for paint.
 
dang said:
Paint. It's what I have on the shelf in my shop. :) I'll test the sanding tonight and see how it goes.
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They won't polish aluminum. Aluminum will shine very quickly with the products I linked to. You may still see some scratches if you didn't get all those out with the sandpaper, but the aluminum will be shiny.
 
I just found this video that talked about the machine marks. He starts with 80 grit! I really like his "poor man's lathe" setup.

 
Dan,

I polished up some Weds I bought from Markos. Came out pretty good. I used wet grit 300, 600, 1200, 1600, 2000, then 3000. Followed that with buffing with 3 different compounds. Then some Surf City Killer Chrome polish. Looked as good after 6 months as when I finished them, with no protection after the polish.

Gary
 
I did a quick test at lunch, starting with 80 grit, then worked up to 2000, then hand polished with a rag with metal polish. It's much better starting out by cutting the machine grooves out, only dealing with scratches now. I'll get some Nuvite polish and spend more time on them and expect them to turn out much better.

IMG_20210222_144841833.jpg
 
Looks better! Still think you should try my $50/free washing machine lathe. Perfect for a 2 piece wheel without losing a finger in the spokes.

My idea for a wheel polisher

Hi Folks, I had this idea for a wheel polisher, that I will never build. Looking at the style 5 references from @dang, I figured I would put words on a page. My idea is to use an old $50 washing machine, preferable one with a large drum. Use an inner tube to secure the tire to the drum. I...
e9coupe.com e9coupe.com
 
dang said:
Have you used these before? Which one do you recommend?
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Yes. I have not done wheels, but I have a bench grinder setup with cloth buffing pads for smallish parts and trim.
81s30FP5FeL._AC_SL1500_.jpg


Green is generally used for aluminum, but you may want to get an assortment so you can do stainless and plastic too. Harbor Freight sells 1/4 pound blocks of each color if you want to experiment.

You would use a cloth buffing pad on a drill like is shown in the video you posted.

Most "aluminum polishes" are what you would use after these for that final shine.

Markos' washing machine lathe would be perfect! :)
 
I "wasted" at least a half hour wandering around the shop floor at work today looking for low budget wheel lathe ideas! Thanks for the inspiration!
 
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