Polishing Alloy Wheels ??
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wolfgang
New member
They are clear coated. You can remove the clear coat with liquid paint stripper and a scotch bright pad from HD. Get 600/800/1000/1200-1500 WD sandpaper to polish them up. Start with 600 and work to finer. You can also use a cloth buffing pad on a drill and jewlers rouge (red and white) to get look of chrome. Mother mag polish is good protector but clear coaqting would last longer. Eastwood has all the supplies.
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rook
New member
Ok Padwan, this is a real simple way to do what you are trying.
1. Sand the entire outer wheel surface with a grey scuff pad and PPG DX 101 sanding paste. This stuff is great. It will provide a thorough scuff without sanding through the factory clear.
2. Wash wheels with soap and water and dry.
3. Mask the rim off first with fine line tape (good luck) then mask to cover rest the lip.
4. Use a tack cloth to remove any dust.
5. Apply black and allow to flash 15 mins
6. Remove masking tape.
7. Clear entire wheel
No need to polish, the sanding and clear will brighten everything and cover up some minor blemishes.
1. Sand the entire outer wheel surface with a grey scuff pad and PPG DX 101 sanding paste. This stuff is great. It will provide a thorough scuff without sanding through the factory clear.
2. Wash wheels with soap and water and dry.
3. Mask the rim off first with fine line tape (good luck) then mask to cover rest the lip.
4. Use a tack cloth to remove any dust.
5. Apply black and allow to flash 15 mins
6. Remove masking tape.
7. Clear entire wheel
No need to polish, the sanding and clear will brighten everything and cover up some minor blemishes.
00328
Senior Member
Thanks Rook, just the type of info I'm looking for.
However, I think I would rather not clear coat the wheel after painting. It surely will get scuffed and/or scratched and would be easier to touch-up without a clear coat on it. I think.
I would mask off the lip before scuffing up the clear coat prior to painting. Probably leave the lip as is and not try to polish it. The wheels are in excellent condition and the present clear coat and shine on the lip is good enough.
Masking off the lip is gonna be fun. The wheels are the Sequoia/Tundra split 5 spoke BTW.
However, I think I would rather not clear coat the wheel after painting. It surely will get scuffed and/or scratched and would be easier to touch-up without a clear coat on it. I think.
I would mask off the lip before scuffing up the clear coat prior to painting. Probably leave the lip as is and not try to polish it. The wheels are in excellent condition and the present clear coat and shine on the lip is good enough.
Masking off the lip is gonna be fun. The wheels are the Sequoia/Tundra split 5 spoke BTW.
rook
New member
It's the design of the wheel that makes this particularly difficult and labor intensive. I took a look at aftermarket wheels with the black / polished combo and they all have some sort of a ridge to separate the painted area. I'm afraid that to make the tundra 5-spoke look good with these paint scheme, it would take a lot of work to blend it properly.
The cost of doing this mod may also be prohibitive, unless you have a friend who has a body shop. Auto paint is expensive! Using something out of a can will not work well, nor will it last very long. Considering aftermarket wheels can be had starting at 135/ea, it may be a better way to go
The cost of doing this mod may also be prohibitive, unless you have a friend who has a body shop. Auto paint is expensive! Using something out of a can will not work well, nor will it last very long. Considering aftermarket wheels can be had starting at 135/ea, it may be a better way to go
00328
Senior Member
Yeah, there is no real cut-off where the lip stops and where the black paint would begin. It's going to be a PITA.
I was planning on using VHT Polyurethane, supposed to be good stuff.
Mysticz had some SE wheels black chromed with the lip left silver. They came out super. I contacted a wheel guy here in Denver and he quoted me $125 per wheel for powder coating. Rediculous!
I hear ya about after market wheels. I keep looking, but every time I see a set I like they either don't make them for 6 studs or have the wrong off-set.
Still considering options, but I think the Sequoia/Tundra wheels would look awesome IF done right.
I was planning on using VHT Polyurethane, supposed to be good stuff.
Mysticz had some SE wheels black chromed with the lip left silver. They came out super. I contacted a wheel guy here in Denver and he quoted me $125 per wheel for powder coating. Rediculous!
I hear ya about after market wheels. I keep looking, but every time I see a set I like they either don't make them for 6 studs or have the wrong off-set.
Still considering options, but I think the Sequoia/Tundra wheels would look awesome IF done right.
