Before and after pics after finishing one wheel. I spent 3 weeks
figuring out a polishing process for that first wheel. It looks fantastic!
A couple of hours spent on a small area of the next wheel revealed that
all of the extra effort refining the polishing process on the first wheel
was what really made it look so good. I estimate it will take at
least 12 hours per wheel to finish the remaining wheels. I spoke
to Denver Bumper in Denver about polishing these wheels. They quoted
me $75 each. I'm not sure if they realized what was involved in removing
the anodizing despite the fact that I told them about it. A fellow
Rennlister recomended Truedesign Wheels in Wheatridge. I called them
and was quoted $150 for Fuchs alloys. They knew exactly what they
were and that they were anodized. They told me that if I removed the anodizing,
they wouldn't touch the wheels at all. I'm still not sure why that
is. Apparently they send the wheels out for stripping and polishing.
I used my blast cabinet with well used glass bead to remove the anodizing. It worked very well. At this point the 3M scotch brite pads in varying grades used carefully with a die grinder can repair nicks and gouges in the alloy with a good deal of success. In my experience, greaseless 80, 220 and 320 polishing compunds aren't nearly as effective as good old fashioned hand sanding. I started with 120 and moved on to 220, 400, 600 and 1000, finally polishing with emery compound and then green rouge. |