Polish

[Blue Meanie]

Just picked up an old set of the original 14 inch aluminum slots for my Z and they are in need of a good scrubbing. What do you rec polish wise? Any (good) input is appreciated!

[MikeW]

Depending on the condition of the wheels you may need to use a lot more than polish. Polish is the last step in the process if the wheels are corroded or scratched up. If you have the time and energy you can polish them up yourself using successively finer grits of sandpaper. That process has been discussed here in the past so a search should turn up some good information. The other thing that has been discussed is that polishing is a long dirty process and it's often easier to just pay someone else to do it.

[Blue Meanie]

I like the way you think! (pay someone else to do it)

[240ZX]

One nice thing about the old slotted rims, regarding refreshing the finish, is the surfaces are not difficult to polish....no stinkin little recesses and such! If they are in really bad shape, Mike's suggestion of using various grades of sand paper is recommended. Then, with a buffing wheel and some polishing compound (Mother's, Blue Max, Semi-chrome...), you can polish them out to a beautiful mirror finish. Its certainly a messy job but the results will be amazing!

[Blue Meanie]

There don't appear to be any bad spots on them. Their just dull and dirty. Need to find a set of the 4 screw Z center caps for em too.

[Alfadog]

If they're really "not that bad", I would suggest using some Autosol metal polish or similar first, just to see how good you can get them by hand. If you can't get them good enough, you can always take option B and pay someone else to do it. But I'd try elbow grease first (and I did with my 240Z that had dull slot wheels - the results were amazing just with polish! It did take quite some time though)

[deedee]

I polished my 5 star mag rims from my 280zx on my 260z. I washed the rims w/ soap and water first, then I used an electric 5 inch orbit sander/polisher. I used a polishing pad for the polisher. I put Mothers polish on the pad with a plastic knife. I buffed until the polished started drying. I bought micro fiber towels. I cut them in 1/4. I put the fabric on the polisher with a heavyduty rubber band. I buffed untill clean and shiny. then used a wheel cleaner to get the excess mothers off.(don't use water unless you dry right away, water spots.)

[EScanlon]

I've used various different metal polishes, from Brasso to MAAS, Mother's to POR's Artesan and a host of others.

Without exception, they won't do a good job unless the basic metal is ready to BE polished. Pitted, scratched, corroded or otherwise rough metal and you are ready for a very hard and very disappointing experience.

MikeW gives you some excellent advice, make sure the metal has been smoothed and prepped for polish. Then, be ready to get DIRTY! or as he's pointed out, shell out the $ to have it done professionally.

If on the other hand you ~insist~ on diving in, then Deedee's post summarizes it perfectly.

I would recommend the POR Artesan as being a little better than the Mother's polish in the little tub (not the one in the squeeze bottle), but the Mother's also perform's very nicely. MAAS, and Brasso, although ~ok~ were clearly outshined (inadvertent pun but VERY appropriate) by Artesan and Mother's both. Between MAAS and Brasso, I'll take the MAAS as it actually did leave a good shine without a lot of mess. However, MAAS' Metal Protectant (not the polish) is superb and I highly recommend it.

FWIW

E

[TomoHawk]

Try some citrus spray cleaner, rag & water to see what comes off. then you can decide if you need sanding, and then polishing. Have a nice stiff brush (paint brush with shortened bristles) handy to get into the crevices.

While you're out shopping, get some Metal wax to protect your shine (also good on chrome).

[bobc]

When it comes to polishing, I'm a believer in trying the least abrasive first. I'd try some Mothers metal polish to see how that comes out before using the the more agressive methods. Also might use some 000 steel wool.

Also suggest you get some latex gloves or you're going to have really black hands!

Bob

[TomoHawk]

I tried out some "wheel cleaner" on my ZX 5-spoke rims the other day, and they came out kinda nice. I used the Eagle-One cleaner with the acid in it, and I had polished the wheels last spring. Just used Mothers mag polish, and it really shined.

I was dissappointed that even the 600 grit sandpaper couldn't take out the grooves in the wheel spokes (from the machining process to make the wheels.)

thx