Polishing Wheels

[MisdemeanorMatt]

I'm nearly complete with stripping my 17's avus so I decided to do a test polish quick like.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_2Zj-zVdXEMQ/THGsGCfd6pI/AAAAAAAAChg/NJ_9XiysVt0/s800/DSC00131.JPG
My only concern is the fact that they are not very straight would be the word I guess. Lots of waves and dips on the cast themselves.
Is this normal? More sanding required? I guess I've never taken a real close look at polished wheels before. It's hard to see in the picture but quite noticeable in the sunlight with reflections.

Bad candidate for polishing or just powdercoat black and use for winter wheels?

[secondslc]

http://eurowerks.org/showthread.php?t=19249

I didnt notice many waves when I did mine, are you doing it by hand or machine?

Are the waves noticeable close up, or would nobody notice standing a few feet away.

[MisdemeanorMatt]

I just went over it quick with a buffer. It's pretty noticeable even at a distance. It's hard to explain, it's almost as if the cast wasn't perfectly flat. Almost like quarter size dimples randomly across the spokes.
I haven't done any sanding yet. I noticed that you started with 220, maybe they just need a good once over with some course sand paper to even everything out. I'm still on the fence about putting the work into these, polished 17's would look grand if/when I plan on dumping my car to the ground. Initial idea is to paint the inside barrels red along with the centercaps and leave a polished face.

[secondslc]

Yeah, I bet it would come out better by hand as you have better control over the leveling.

Would look hot tho!

[urjetta]

A trick used in woodworking as well as bodywork I presume is use a long piece of sandpaper anchored to a long straight piece of wood. Try something about the same length as the spoke and start with something one step more coarse than you think and you should be able to flatten those spokes out.

Bjorn

[MisdemeanorMatt]

I have a new found respect for people who polish aluminum wheels.
Here I am at 220 grit. Haven't quite figured out a way to hit the indentations besides by hand, anyone got any ideas?
Got a few curb marks to blend it but nothing very serious.
Also still have a lot of paint to strip but I decided to go the chem dip path later next week to clean the barrels and little crevices.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_2Zj-zVdXEMQ/THMCKAcqPiI/AAAAAAAACiI/hpAWwutLl4A/s800/DSC00133.JPG

[secondslc]

I'd get them dipped before you go much further on the sanding just so you dont risk having to remove any sort of etching left behind.

And I wish I knew of an easier way, I did all my stuff by hand.

[MisdemeanorMatt]

Can someone with mad photoshop skills dope this up for me.
These wheels with polished faces. Red inserts, centercaps, and barrels. Is it even possible to replicate polish on photoshop.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m278/sayemthree/DSCF0119.jpg
On this?
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_2Zj-zVdXEMQ/Se-k5JIy3RI/AAAAAAAAAzU/tvq9kkMt6JI/s800/DSC00272.JPG

[tomjake]

i've polished a couple sets , it involves a lot of sanding and patience, the more you sand the better they will turn out. i did mine by hand ...good luck