Will this work for the wheels?

[Mat M]

I have the old style Western turbine wheels, with the close-vaned ridges. IIRC, there are about 30 vanes. My dilemma:

No one around here (including pep boys) supplies a cleaning attachment either small enough or less than $80 that MIGHT be efficient in cleaning inside between the vanes. I don't want to put out that kind of money without being sure it will work. I have seen a sort of "power ball" that fits in a drill motor, but that is too large.

I have purchased a few sheets of scotchbrite pads of various roughness. If I can manage to fab an arbor, is it possible to cut the pads to a roundness and diameter large enough to sufficiently clean these wheels without putting my eye(s) out? I have no experience working with scouring pads in a rotating capacity.

[jmortensen]

Sounds like you're looking to make a cross buff: http://www.fastpts.com/hazel-doc/sahome2.html#cross

Another thing to consider is how much time do you want to put into those wheels? Don't you have some 6 spoke ZX wheels and some slotted mags? Why bother with the turbines?

[moonpup]

Originally Posted by: jmortensen

...snip...Another thing to consider is how much time do you want to put into those wheels? Don't you have some 6 spoke ZX wheels and some slotted mags? Why bother with the turbines?

I agree whole heartedly. I won't touch any wheel that's a pain in the a$$ to wash much less polish! Turbine, honeycomb and those damn wheels with the tight criss-cross patterns are just a few that suck to clean.

I don't care how good they look, I won't mess with them!

[Mat M]

Well, since I bought the six spoke 280 wheels (what does FZ3 6 JJ X 14 10 mean, Arne?), and those 14X7 5 slot US Indymag mags (which I need to polish anyway) I was thinking about cleaning these turbines off and dumping them on Ebay or Cragslist. I was trying to save myself from having my fingers go numb (not to mention about 20 hours of scrubbing!!).

Yes, Jon, I think those cross buff thingies will do me good.

[EScanlon]

I have the old style Western turbine wheels, with the close-vaned ridges. IIRC, there are about 30 vanes. My dilemma:

No one around here (including pep boys) supplies a cleaning attachment either small enough or less than $80 that MIGHT be efficient in cleaning inside between the vanes. I don't want to put out that kind of money without being sure it will work. I have seen a sort of "power ball" that fits in a drill motor, but that is too large.

I have purchased a few sheets of scotchbrite pads of various roughness. If I can manage to fab an arbor, is it possible to cut the pads to a roundness and diameter large enough to sufficiently clean these wheels without putting my eye(s) out? I have no experience working with scouring pads in a rotating capacity.

If CLEANING is what you're after, then simply find a plastic spreader knife / spatula, the type used to fill holes with spackle (household repairs). Cut the Scotch Brite Pads to fit over the spreader blade, then using your favorite method of gluing the scotch brite to the blade, or using your fingers, or a nylon zip tie, then scrub the vanes. You're basically covering a flat stick with a scrubbing surface.

This will give you, essentially, a stiff scotchbrite stick, to insert between the vanes. As you press towards one vane, the softer ends of the bristles of the opposite side will scrub the other side of the opening (i.e. the OTHER vane). Then a couple of good scrubs on the other side and you'll have scrubbed BOTH sides of the vane separation hole.

In this manner, although labor intensive, you can apply as much/little work per vane opening as needed.

While the cross buff's mentioned are excellent for POLISHING (i.e. with ROUGE and other metal polish), you may find that the spacing between the vanes is ROUGH CAST, or at least to my memory they were.

Due to the description of the cross buffs as being able to provide a "mirror-finish" ("Use with metal polish for polishing inside diameters such as lug nut holes and contures of aluminum wheels. These felts will also provide a mirror finish in exhaust ports, combustion chambers and carburetor venturis. 10/pack=$32.00") you may find that the rough cast surface is rougher than a lug nut hole and you go through a couple of packs....and you're up to $64.00 plus shipping.

If your openings are smooth, then that's a different story, but I can't even imagine how much it would have cost to have those professionally polished to begin with.

FWIW

E

[jmortensen]

Well, since I bought the six spoke 280 wheels (what does FZ3 6 JJ X 14 10 mean, Arne?), and those 14X7 5 slot US Indymag mags (which I need to polish anyway) I was thinking about cleaning these turbines off and dumping them on Ebay or Cragslist. I was trying to save myself from having my fingers go numb (not to mention about 20 hours of scrubbing!!).

My impression is that nobody wants the turbines anyway.

[beandip]

If you look at the cover of the Motorsport anniversary issue catalog , its the one that is all yellow gold in color. In the center of the cover is a yellow 240 . It as a set of the period turbine wheels , I have the identical set . They have 40 veins and the veins run all the way to the hub. There not a easy wheel to clean , only takes a little time . Depending on what your intentions are in ''cleaning'' the wheels. I cleaned my wheels and used a tooth bush and small wire brush then used lacquer thinner and painted them . Of course I polished the spokes and rim first and masked all. I sprayed them with black metallic. Now I nearly wipe them with a small sponge , however it just takes time to do each of the spaces. I think it is worth the effort . I have about 3500 miles on them since I did the paint and have driven in the rain as well as the dry. They still look like when I first painted them and I have received many compliments . Gary:rambo: If I wanted the easy way out I wouldent be driving a 33 year old car .

[Arne]

(what does FZ3 6 JJ X 14 10 mean, Arne?)

FZ3 6JJ X 14 10

'FZ3' is some code or identifier from the wheel manufacturer. Might be a date code, style number, or some other type of production indicator. Could be a Nissan number, or from the actual supplier to Nissan.

'6' is the rim width in inches, measured at the bead seats, not at the outside lip.

'JJ' is a standard code for the bead contour. It describes the drop center of the rim, as well as the size and shape of the safety humps that prevent the tire from dismounting if it goes flat. Both 'J' and 'JJ' are common.

'X' is a separator, width from diameter.

'14' is the rim diameter in inches, measured at the bead seats again, not the outer lip.

'10' should be the wheel offset in mm. You'll often see this with a suffix of 'e' or 'et' on wheels made in Europe, or made more recently. The 'e' and 'et' is apparently an abbreviation for 'offset' in German, I believe.