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I have these inexpensive mag wheels that I like the look on my car but 3 of them has the clear coat pealing off and one is pretty ugly , I was wondering if one of you can guide me through the process of polishing the lips and what's needed for the job .



He's a few pics ...
























Here's the worst one....... :(


























Any help or suggestions will be appreciated...

Without pictures I might have thought you were talking about something else. Do they have a clear coat?

mpcv2000,Dec 17 2006, 10:01 PM Wrote:............. 3 of them has the clear coat pealing off ...
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Maybe you missed it...... :P

You would have to sand down the rims and smooth out or remove all the clear coat with 650 grit wet sand paper, but you don't have to use it wet. Just as long as the sand paper is for metal, that's fine. You will have to sand more than once and get the grit up to 1000 grit.
And then tape off the area and reapply a high adhesion clear coat. But if it has chpped from the factory, it might do it again.
Make sure you clean then with thinners and then alcohol before you paint.

I'll go shopping today , I don't think I'll get the lip clear coated tho .

If you don't reapply the clear coat you will find that the marks that you have on the rims now reapearing. The clear is there to stop the aluminum from coroding. I highly suggest using clear or you will be doing this job over again.

Allright so here's the result :




320 Sand paper :














400 Sand paper :



















600/1000 sand paper :















2000 sand paper :














2000 again :
















I think it's ain't bad for a first shot , it's not the same as the real one but close enough for me.



I'm happy with the result.

Looks pretty good. Might be able to get some more shine to it with a metal polish.

habmann,Dec 20 2006, 11:33 PM Wrote:Looks pretty good. Might be able to get some more shine to it with a metal polish.
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Good thinking , I have some and I haven't thought about it. I'll try it tomorrow or this week end.



I'll post more pics with the new result .

So your not going to put a clear coat over them now? The reason I ask is they will get dirty very quickly and you'll be forever polishing them.

Might be alright. But atleast put a polish on them and maybe some wax. You can buy a small buffer from C tire for under $20 and it will help alot.

You did a nice job.

We'll see how it goes since the polished wheels will go on my 00 ZX3 I don't mind if they are not that clean , I want some clean one on my 03 tho.

I may stop by a body shop to ask what they think about it , I don't see how I'll be masking off the wheels just to leave the lip exposed to receive a coat of clear , this will be a lot of work.. We'll see how long the winter will be this may give me some time to do it..

habmann,Dec 20 2006, 11:33 PM Wrote:Might be able to get some more shine to it with a metal polish.
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Thanks for the tip , the mag looks even better ...










































I think I'll do all of them.

So let's do the before and after . :P





Before

















After










Exact same wheel.

Thats awesome looking man! Nice job.

Very nice job but I would clear them, less maintaince, I have polished wheels on my Neon and its a pain to keep them looking good...this is my 2 cents

Nice work! But I agree, try and get some clear on them... the least you have to do is polish/seal them to prevent dirt/corrosion.

nice work!

Wow man those look nice!

Those are pretty nice wheels. And good job on the polish!

Can't wait to get home to start working on the others wheels , I think I'll do all 8 of them . Even the best wheel I have doesn't look as good as the one I just did .