Wheel respray DIY

[Preen59]

I thought about that, but I've already got compound residue rubbed INTO the sandblasted areas so I'd rather paint it.

Besides, the inside of the spokes need to be a bit darker to bring out the look methinks....might mix a bit of metallic black or something in the audi silver....

Looks good dude. That's exactly what i was thinking of doing with my TT wheels. I guess now i can see if it will look any good before i bother doing it myself, haha.



I tip for hand sanding aluminium is to use some CRC 5.56 (WD40) or kerosene (wear gloves..) or even water works well too, as a lubricant for the wet+dry. It stops the abrasive loading up (getting clogged), gives you a better finish and the abrasive will last longer too.

I would have gone to 400 and then to 800 before polishing the spokes, but i guess being a toolmaker i'm pretty critical and pedantic about getting polished surfaces polished properly..

[mk3pete]

+1 for the crc or water i used 240, 400 then 800 my front grill it came up a treat
quality work there mickey its coming up a treat

[No457 Snowy]

I tip for hand sanding aluminium is to use some CRC 5.56 (WD40) or kerosene (wear gloves..) or even water works well too, as a lubricant for the wet+dry. It stops the abrasive loading up (getting clogged), gives you a better finish and the abrasive will last longer too.

Good tip mate, also if you use water you can add a little detergent to increase the lubrication and help release the sanded particles from the grit.


Snowy.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Looks good dude. That's exactly what i was thinking of doing with my TT wheels. I guess now i can see if it will look any good before i bother doing it myself, haha.



I tip for hand sanding aluminium is to use some CRC 5.56 (WD40) or kerosene (wear gloves..) or even water works well too, as a lubricant for the wet+dry. It stops the abrasive loading up (getting clogged), gives you a better finish and the abrasive will last longer too.

I would have gone to 400 and then to 800 before polishing the spokes, but i guess being a toolmaker i'm pretty critical and pedantic about getting polished surfaces polished properly..

Good tip mate, also if you use water you can add a little detergent to increase the lubrication and help release the sanded particles from the grit.


Snowy.

Cheers guys I was actually going to ask about this sorta stuff. As I said though, I didn't have any 400 wetdry handy on me and we just went ahead with the polishing even though I did 240/800. The metal finish itself isn't the best because it's got a few dimples/bad spots in it... so if i can be bothered i might re-sandblast it and make it 100% flat.

When I go back to work in the week I'll sandblast the other four wheels (I haven't paint stripped one wheel, couldn't be bothered lol). More to come!

Hoping to paint them this next coming weekend.

[Preen59]

Cheers guys I was actually going to ask about this sorta stuff. As I said though, I didn't have any 400 wetdry handy on me and we just went ahead with the polishing even though I did 240/800. The metal finish itself isn't the best because it's got a few dimples/bad spots in it... so if i can be bothered i might re-sandblast it and make it 100% flat.

When I go back to work in the week I'll sandblast the other four wheels (I haven't paint stripped one wheel, couldn't be bothered lol). More to come!

Hoping to paint them this next coming weekend.

You will find that if you go large jumps in the grade of the abrasive you are using, you'll end up with the face being "shiney", but it will have scratches in it from the coarser abrasive you started off with.

As a general rule i usually start off with a reasonably fine (320 or 400) grade to start and see how it comes up. If it isn't coming up well (surface is too rough) i will then go lower until i find a grade that cleans the surface up reasonably easy. If you go to coarse to start with, you'll spend forever just trying to get the scratches out you just put in the face with the coarse sheet. Remember- Polishing is just a process of making the scratches smaller and smaller until you can't see them with your naked eye.

If you want to make it flat, go back to like 120 emery cloth. Get a rectangular stick of wood that is comfortable to hold and radius the end of it. Then you can tear a strip off and wrap it around the end of the stick and use the radiused corner to knock the scratches out. This will also unsure you get it flat because it stops you from following the divits and contours on the face you are polishing.

You can continue to use the stick to polish it right through to the 800 if you wish, but i usually don't bother once i've gotten it flat.

I usually use WD40 or kero when using emery cloth as i've found it works best.


PS: If you don't know what i mean with that polishing stick thing, let me know and i'll take a pic of mine tomorrow..

[Pullstarter]

Awesome work Mickey, excellent result

[fuzion]

Looks good dude. That's exactly what i was thinking of doing with my TT wheels. I guess now i can see if it will look any good before i bother doing it myself, haha.



I tip for hand sanding aluminium is to use some CRC 5.56 (WD40) or kerosene (wear gloves..) or even water works well too, as a lubricant for the wet+dry. It stops the abrasive loading up (getting clogged), gives you a better finish and the abrasive will last longer too.

I would have gone to 400 and then to 800 before polishing the spokes, but i guess being a toolmaker i'm pretty critical and pedantic about getting polished surfaces polished properly..

http://www.mx6.com/forums/2g-faq-app...or-finish.html

http://www.classictrucks.com/tech/07...ing/index.html

if you want a mirror finish.. preeny knows im sure very well how to! lol

[rayray086]

Good work Mickey!

[KI11Z]

not bad at all Mikey, i'm sure they look a load better in person too! Be nice to see it with painted insides to really bring out the polished face keep at it!

[Preen59]

This is what i was talking about...



See how it "looks" polished, but notice that big score mark at the bottom edge of the polished surface? This is because they have polished it before it was truly ready. The high points are polished, but all the low points (scratches) still remain in the surface.

Buffers do a great job, but you have to get the surface to an even (and fine) finish before you bother with them in my opinion.