rx-7ames

iTrader: (1)

I just polished my GSL-SE wheels. I would like to buy new wheels but I don't really have the funds right now. My wheels just looked old and worn out. After doing research I saw where a lot of people cleaned their factory wheels with heavy duty oven cleaner. I tried that but would not suggest anyone doing it unless you want to completely redo your wheels. They ended up looking worse than before. I decided to completely polish them and spray them with a clear coat.

I started out with 220 grit with an electric sander to get rid of the factory clear coat. Then I went to 400 with the electric sander. Then I did a wet sand with 800, 1000, then 2000. Each time I moved up in grit I changed the direction I sanded in until all the lines from the previous grit were gone. After the 2000 grit I used a buffing compound for paint, then I used mother's aluminum polish. You can still see some of the lines from the 2000 grit sand paper but regardless it is much better than the old factory finish.

Next I tried to spray the wheels with clear coat but I couldn't get a good coat on the polish. It wouldn't go on even and fish eyed no matter how good I cleaned them. With more research I found a place that did powder coating. They said they could do a clear coat for $35 a wheel. They didn't do a perfect job but again, my wheels are much better than before.

Overall, it took a long time to do all the sanding and polishing but for a small price I have wheels that almost look brand new. It also retains the classic look which a lot of people go for. I would recommend anyone that wants to retain the factory look to do this to their wheels. I couldn't be happier with mine.

Rehd

dang man those are some clean rims! i have the same car and im going to try and do the same

rx-7ames

iTrader: (1)

It took me a long time but it was very worth it. They have a nice thick powder coat so keeping them clean is real easy. They wash right up. You don't have to scrub them like the factory finish.

twinkletoes

iTrader: (17)

Should've polished after every grit. Would've come out better. Looks good though

Rehd

like how long would you say it took you? or each seperately which is what i will probably end up doing

teddyrx2

iTrader: (33)

oh man i member those days...The SE wheels cleaned and polished look so damn nice...nice job brother...

thunkrd

iTrader: (1)

makes me wish i still had 4 lug all around

rx-7ames

iTrader: (1)

Twinkletoes, are you saying that I should have used the mothers polish between each grit of sand paper? Maybe i will try this the next time I polish aluminum. I have never polished anything before. I would like to do more stuff in the future. I like the polished look.

Rehd, I would say it took about 4 - 6 hours per wheel. Each wheel took less time. If you do it make sure you have a nice place to keep them out of the weather until they are all done. They will corrode real fast if left out in the weather. The powder coat is a must. I have read a lot about people spraying clear coat spray paint on them. I don't see how anyone did this. Maybe people were using professional painting equipment.

Thanks for the comments. I am real proud of these wheels. Like I said, they are not perfect. I knew it wouldn't be perfect on my first go around. They are 100% better though. That is what I was going for.

twinkletoes

iTrader: (17)

Yes, use the mothers polish or aluminum mag wheel polish from Meguiars between each step. I like Meguiars better . I personally polished the wheels on my car(in my avatar).

Fire85GSLSE

iTrader: (29)

Man, I miss that car. She is still looking good, glad to see.
She was a good car for me for many, many years and lots of money.

Boriquaguerrero

iTrader: (18)

Looks good i remember doing mine years ago it take time and patience !!!!

rx-7ames

iTrader: (1)

Hey Chad, good to hear from you. I didn't think I would see this post pop up again. I did a lot of work to her and the interior is almost done. Did you see my sound system pics? I'm not sure it's your style, but I like it.

Right now she's actually in storage. I'm in Afghanistan saving up lots of money. As soon as I'm back in the states (I have about 10 months left out here) i'll be doing some more work, but I can't decide which direction to go in. I will be going out to Monterey California. I know everything is more expensive out there.

This is what I need for the car:

1. Get the seats professional mounted. Finish laying sound proofing and carpet under the seats. Re-do the headliner. Then the interior will be complete.

2. Paint job. I'm going to go with pearl white to match my RX-8. It should look pretty good. I was thinking about doing a wide body but I may keep it stock for simplicity. Nothing too extreme. I may get a Mariah Mode one package, or maybe a Mode 4.

3. New wheels. I will keep the stock wheels too. I don't think I could sell them for enough to make me happy. They are so shiny now. They look new. Maybe even better than new.

4. Turbo engine. The NA 13b is so dependable. I know you liked that feature of this car. For me, however, this car is not and never will be a daily driver. I probably added close to 200 pounds to the car with the sound system and sound proofing. It sounds good, and there is little road noise now. I just need more power.

5. There is always something else to do. I can add a better suspension. Better rear end. Better (fill in the blank). The rear end actually feels a little to tight to me. I think the rear sway bar makes it too stiff. I may try a stock rear sway bar. Maybe adding adjustable shock will help. I don't understand suspension too much so I need to work on that.

Finally, since I will be in California, my goal will be to have her completely ready for sevenstock in 2014. Who knows, maybe even the Japanese Classic Car Show. That would be pretty awesome.

84stock

iTrader: (5)

what are u using for sound proofing?

rx-7ames

iTrader: (1)

I don't remember what it is called, but it is just some cheap stuff from ebay. It isn't the thinnest out there, but it isn't like Dynamat. I'm sure Dynamat does a better job but I didn't want to add so much weight and spend so much. I think I spent about $100 or less. I still have enough to do under the seats with a double layer over the transmission hump. I did the full hatch area and behind the seats. I went up the sides all the way to the ceiling, but I will probably not do the ceiling, doors or firewall. I didn't want to go over kill just because this isn't a daily driver, and I didn't want to add to much weight. I just tried to make a compromise. As it is, with no carpet or sound proofing under the seats, it is pretty quiet. A lot more quiet than stock.

wjk0817

iTrader: (3)

I like your rotary identical seats on your 7&8

CPekel

That's not really a polish up, more like a general clean-up. If you'd gone from the disc to 400 grit, then 800, then 1200, then 2000 and then hit it with a metal rubbing compound (or cut and polish works pretty well too I've found), you should have had a surface somewhat like new chrome. Your surface looks flat and dull, like the wheels look stock from factory.

I am not saying that this is bad in any way, just that if you wanted the full polished look you should have done more rubbing with the 1200 and 2000. As it is, they look like well-restored 'stock' wheels with a factory look.

I just polished up some S2 (gsl wheels I think to you guys? The 13 inch toyota looking things) wheels, spent about 2 hours on each one and they've come out looking like they've been chromed. There are some tiny little scratches visible if you look really closely, but overall I'm pretty happy for a home job.

I can post pics if anyone is interested...

rx-7ames

iTrader: (1)

You are right. I never "polished" the wheels. I spend about 4 hours slapping each wheel with my mushroom head and wasted time. I lied about going from 220 to 2000 grit sand paper. I read something about Mother's Aluminum Polish on the internet and have never actually purchased any.

You are also completely right about how if I had truly polished them I would have had a surface like chrome, because polished aluminum and chrome look EXACTLY the same way. And, if I had polished them they would no longer look like factory wheels. They would have somehow turned into a 6 spoke wheel or maybe if I was lucky, a waffle pattern.

Lastly, I'm an idiot for not purchasing a $1000 professional camera to make my pictures look nice and shiny. I have money laying around everywhere and chose to spend countless hours wasting my time making wheels look stock as apposed to spending the piles of cash I have laying around on new chrome plated wheels.

Bottom line is, you sounded like an idiot from the very first sentence you wrote.

CPekel

I'm very sorry mate, I honestly didn't mean to offend. I actually think they look great, just the right level of alloy shinyness for a factory look, I'm just wondering why they didn't come up looking more like chrome if you'd used all the different grits and then metal polish and buff, as that should make the metal smooth enough to be really relfective - if that's the look you want, of course, as it's not how they came out of the factory.

Again, had no intention to offend. Really sorry. Again let me re-iterate that I did not in any way mean to say your work looks bad, just that when I think polished up I think of the wheel in twinkltoe's avatar. I see yours and I see 'factory restored', which actually looks a lot better than a full reflective polish up on these wheels IMHO. Without meaning to I was insulting you by pointing out a difference of opinion in what the term 'polish up' means. Sorry.

Cheers

84stock

iTrader: (5)

Personally I "like" the effort. He maintained the factory appearance which is consistent with the rest of the car.

DwArF

Please post pics of chromed out waffles

CPekel

Exactly what I was trying to say, but I managed to make it come out first time around like he did a **** job. lol

rx-7ames

iTrader: (1)

CPekel, I appreciate your apology, and I too apologize in my response. Sometimes I have a douche bag attitude and sometimes it is a little fun to get a rise out of someone.

The truth is, if you saw the rims in person you could see the mirror like shine and reflection. Like I previously stated in my posts, it isn't perfect. That was the first time I ever polished aluminum, but the pictures could have been better. I will say, however, that polished aluminum, no matter how professional or perfect, will never look like chrome. I am not an expert, but I can tell the difference between the best polished aluminum and the best chrome. Personally, I think polished aluminum looks better than chrome.

They are also different from the factory wheels because you can actually see lines in the factory wheels. I don't know what these lines are called, but they go in a circle all the way around the wheels. I didn't like that, so they were all removed. I sanded each wheel in one direction, and then went in a perpendicular direction when i went to the next finest grit sand paper. I sanded until you could no longer see the lines left by the previous grit sand paper, until I got down to 2000 grit. The polish brought out a real nice shine, and the thick clear coat makes it look even better. Not to mention the fact that they are so easy to clean. Any break dust just washes right off the clear coat and they are super easy to maintain.

Banzai

iTrader: (13)

Hand finishing and polishing metal differs some from finishing a surface say for paint. Like paint prep, you use the coarser grits to quickly erase the large srcatches / blemishes. Once you get to the 1000/2000 grit level the surface should be smooth, blended and ready to begin the actual polishing process.

Like sanding, polishing has steps which get finer and finer. This is acomplished with different grades of buffing compound applied to cotton buffing wheels. Wheels can be mounted to fixed-mounted motors or hand held buffers or even die grinders. Compounds like Mother's (which I like and use ALOT of) are more for a finishing touch or for upkeep of an allready "polished" surface which has dulled or oxidized due to time and elements.

The lines you refer to in the factory wheels were probably just tiny machining marks made by the tool when facing the wheel during machining. The surface finish can vary depending on the machines spindle speed and the feed rate used to make the finish cut.

Bottom line, if you want a mirror finish, there are no shortcuts. It's a TON of work but the results "reflect" the work put in. Here's a couple shots of a Limited wheel before and after. I cleaned up the entire wheel first to get the right look on the cast surfaces, then polished the outer & center rim's to give it the factory new twinkle.

rx-7ames

iTrader: (1)

I agree Banzai. I have seen people who rushed jobs polishing motorcycle frames and it looks horrible. If you rush it, it will show. I think if I polished another set of wheels they would turn out better, but it takes practice. My wheels look super nice, not perfect. Over all I am very happy with them. Beautiful wheels by the way. I like them a lot.

Banzai

iTrader: (13)

Thanks, I bet it does get better. It's called experience, and there's no shortcut for that either.