polishing and sealing split rims

[neil a]

Ive just bought back a car i sold a few years ago fitted with BBS LM's and the wheels now need a good polish up so what is recommended ?

 

[Knuckles]

They aren't split, are they?

 

[neil a]

They are still on the car as I've just bought it yesterday.
I had them split and polished/ painted by 'Mike the polisher' 4 years and they were like new but don't really want to send them away to be done again just now.

 

[Knuckles]

I swear there was a pic of a dimma clio/escort on o.z wheels there earlier

 

[neil a]

Sorry i set the wrong link to photo bucket originally.
So what metal polish and sealer is recommended for raw alloy wheel lips ?

 

[.GAZ.]

Needs OE wheels, Neil.

 

[neil a]

Dont fit over the brakes Gaz. I got a set with the car originally and sold them.

 

[.GAZ.]

Nae gid pal. Defo needs some new rimmage, though.

 

[neil a]

Nope Nope I love BBS LM's just hate cleaning them. Eventually I will get them split and polished , along with the centres going body colour.

Back to this sort of look.

 

[...]

First recomendation is buy a new set of o-ring gaskets first , dont overtighten.
As for the polishing bit i will leave that to someone else.

Take your time reassembling them

 

[neil a]

Justnow Im not planning on splitting them, just looking for a good metal polish and sealant.

Im sure LM's are just a 2 part wheel also so don't think they run a gasket.

 

[Yellow Dave]

Is the outer rim bare metal or lacquered? If it's lacqut then metal polish isn't needed, just any normal paint polish. If not autofinesse mercury or autosol.

As for sealing, get the prep right and look into GTechniq C5 or Carpro DLUX

 

[neil a]

They are bare alloy and have started to oxidise , to the point where I think 1000grit wet and dry will be needed before polish.

 

[Yellow Dave]

If it's bare alloy, try something like mercury on a MF cloth, then with fine wire wool if more is needed and work back.

Would be best to get them clear coated once you've cleaned them up to help protect them, then use a proper wheel sealant

 

[Gorms]

I would avoid clear coating them. They will 100% start to corrode again and then you will have a bigger problem as it will be under the clear coat. Best bet is to leave them bare, i ran bare ally dishes over winter and the dishes stayed pretty good with just Autosol, a hard wax and regular fresh water washes. Long term save up for some Radinox dishes.

 

[Yellow Dave]

it depends on how bad the corrosion is, if it doesn't take to much to get back to a good base then clear coat them. A did it to a set of wheels that were fine for almost 2years then sold them on. Planning on doing it to another set this summer

100% will corrode isn't quite true. As everything its based on the prep

 

[Gorms]

Im interested to know how you prep a mirror polished surface. Nothing for the paint to adhere to would make it very interesting.

Regular washes followed by wax and quick going over with metal polish once a month, they will look far better.

I think this picture was taken about a year after they were built and driven daily.

 

[neil a]

This was the wheels when i got them re finished and the centres done black.
If they can be lacquered then I will do that after a re polish, but I was under the impression that you can't as the surface is too smooth to take the paint.

 

[Gorms]

It will also dull and go a little milky with a clear coat but always worth a try.

 

[neil a]

Ended up going with a body coloured centre and chrome powder coat on the lips, gives 90% of the looks but none of the polishing hassle.