Polishing lips, DIY

[yusoslo]

dude, who has that many candy bars laying around?

hahaha

[lowrider]

Just polished my RSs

The front stock lips:



Played with the faces



My rear 7" lips

[paris]

some good info, i plan on doing this soon, thanks!

[nutzu]

i polished my bbs some a while ago using my car ) in second gear whit fron wheels up . i used just grid and polishing paste
these are the wheels before and after ( also pictures whit my aez 7,5j and 9j that i polished using the same method ) . all of them had lots of scratches and the paint was exfoliated . after polish they look like new .
aez paron 7,5j +9j


bbs rs 764


now i have other rims that i am going to polish
aez alustar s exclusive line


sorry . now i see that high res don't work here .

for high resolutin pics click here

bbs rs t64 pics http://img810.imageshack.us/g/22062010455.jpg/

aez paron pics http://img26.imageshack.us/g/08092010932l.jpg/

[willix231]

very impressive thread.i have a set of wheels i wanna polish too.ill be watching this thread

[Will@BagRiders]

good thread, post more wheels!

[yusoslo]

Best product I have ever come across.....White Diamond Polish! go get it!!!

[twastheglow]

imo if you want just to refinish the polishing try wetsanding with 2000 grit (wetsanding is the same as dry sanding except u guessed it, u add water... to clean the surface while sanding to get a smoother finish) if u think the 2000 grit won't get the scratches out go to 1000 grit wetsanding(keep in mind u have to work on it for a while before the scratches disapear) after they are gone with the 1000, wetsand 2000 grit again then polish them preferably with polishing wheel and aluminum polish, in the worst case with hand polishing and all purpous polish.

sorry if my english is hard to understand

Thanks for the response. I understood you just fine.

I'll probably start with the 2k like you mentioned. I have a Mothers Powerball along with a Mothers metal polisher that I've used on the wheels before. I was actually quite disappointed in it. They didn't look any different than when I wash the lips with soap and water.

[Joker]

I have a couple questions for you...

imo if you want just to refinish the polishing try wetsanding with 2000 grit (wetsanding is the same as dry sanding except u guessed it, u add water... to clean the surface while sanding to get a smoother finish) if u think the 2000 grit won't get the scratches out go to 1000 grit wetsanding(keep in mind u have to work on it for a while before the scratches disapear) after they are gone with the 1000, wetsand 2000 grit again then polish them preferably with polishing wheel and aluminum polish, in the worst case with hand polishing and all purpous polish.

sorry if my english is hard to understand

[twastheglow]

I have a couple questions for you...

I have some wheels that already have polished lips. I took them apart to have the centers repainted a different color and I just got them back from the body shop. I figured since they were apart I should "clean" up the lips a little. They have some small "scuff" marks from where the plastic head of a tire machine rubbed against the lip. I wanted to give all 4 lips a once over with some wet sanding to get the maximum shine before I bolt and seal them all back together. I know it's next to impossible to know what grit to start with since you haven't seen the wheels, but what do you think I should try? And I've never wet sanded anything. Could you possibly explain in detail how I should go about it? Thanks a lot. I'm quite excited to get my wheels back together!!!

[Joker]

Used a single polish, that came with the kit, the rest was hand sanding 80->2000 grit

edit- actually tried 3M fine polish paste, which is useless imo, maybe it's for paintjobs, the vendor was clueless of what she was selling :|

[C.Johnston]

Cool thanks. I think I need to buy new polishes because the ones I have are from 20 years ago and dont really hold to the mop. What polish did you like the most/think was most effective?

[Joker]

Nice polish job on those wheels ^^ that skinny wheel is similar to what I am using.. How do you find the thicker wheel? Easier for lips?

If u are reffering to me I used them both on the lips, the wide one fits right on the sloped part so that was great, however the wider wheel leaves a lot of black residue, which I **** cleaning off the most, it requires more time than polishing itself Some tips how to avoid heavy residue? Tryed less compound, but it won't come out as shiny.

[C.Johnston]

The one thing that stands out in the comparison, aside from the finish, is that the edges are very rounded after. Is that something that could have been reduced (if you were inclined to do so) with a less rapid approach?

In real life, there is very little difference by touch. The difference of finish on the OE cap makes it appear to have a more rigid line due to the contrasting finishes used for sides/top. It did round the edges a bit, but I dont imagine sanding by hand would have different results..

Nice polish job on those wheels ^^ that skinny wheel is similar to what I am using.. How do you find the thicker wheel? Easier for lips?

[Joker]

Hey guys, I have DIY refurbed and polished my wheels too, the lips came out pretty good, but the mops I have are not that wide and I can't really polish the faces with them, they come out spoty because of the very little surface contact, could you guys give me some advice on what to use to polish flat surfaces? Oh and pls don't suggest expensive machinery because I'm on a budget.





The kit i used:







Before:







During:











After: (kinda)




sorry for picture quality...