# Wheel Refinish/Polish DIY by Ktt88



## Ktt88 (Aug 27, 2011)

I've decided to give back to vwvortex for all the information they've given me about my 2000 GTI 1.8t. I recently got a set of corvette sawblades shipped to me from NM, they're in pretty good condition considering they are almost 20 years old.
Alright, enough talk!

Tools:
Dremel with aluminum oxide grinding stones and various wire brushes
Pliers (to remove valve stem)
Adjustable Rotary Sander/Polisher
Aircraft Stripper (I had the aerosol can)
Lots of rags!
Spray bottle of water
Wet/Dry Sandpaper going from 80grit, 100, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000
Mothers MagAlum Metal Polish
Wheel cleaner (to remove brake dust and dirt)




1. Bring the wheel outside and spray it down with the wheel cleaner, then use a brush to agitate the cleaner, and hose everything off.
I did this twice on the face of the wheel and on the inside of the wheel.
I used this wheel cleaner, works very well!








You should end up with a clean wheel looking like this









2. I recommend removing the valve stem because it gets in the way and I'm sure paint stripper will damage it anyways. Use a pair of needle nose pliers and take it out.

3. Next you're gonna be stripping the paint and clear coat off the wheel. Take a can of aircraft stripper and spray it liberally all over the wheel. Wait 30 minutes and come back to scrap all the peeling paint off.
Tip: Be careful not to get this stuff on bare skin, it burns like hell. (Ask me how I know)
Also: After I removed the majority of the paint, there were still some areas where paint remained, I sprayed more stripper again on these areas to remove everything.

You should end up with something looking like this









4. I then used a 80 grit sanding disc on a rotary sander at 1000rpm. Be sure to remove all imperfections here or else they will appear at later stages.
Also: I didnt use 80 grit on the lip of the wheel as the center was cast and the lip was machined.

















5. There were some small curbing on the lips of the wheels. I used a dremel with an aluminum oxide stone on the lowest speed to smooth out the curbing as much as I could.









6. I then went over the curbed section with the 80 grit sanding discs









7. I then started wet sanding through the grits. Be sure to use plenty of water and to wipe down everything before proceeding to a higher grit

320grit









400grit (didnt take a picture)

600grit









800grit (didnt take a picture)

1000 grit









1500grit (didnt take a picture)

2000 grit










8. After you've sanding up to 2000 grit and cleaned up the wheel with rags, it's time to start polishing.
I used this








I applied it by hand all over the wheel and then rubbed it in using a adjustable drill with polishing bonnets attached. This is the result, you can see the polisher in this picture on the right.








After rubbing it in, you'll be left with a black residue all over the wheel, just buff it off by hand using rags.

9. And there you have it! 

















Notes:
A shop would charged roughly $100-150 for a similar job, I would say it's worth it lol. It took me around 6 hours per wheel to complete, and you need a strong back and hands for this.
I'm very pleased with the outcome though :beer::beer::beer:


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## PSU (May 15, 2004)

Nice write up.

Sawblades will never die.


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## Markg813 (Jul 20, 2010)

I love polishing, but my Max Is 1 wheel a day


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