I found a set of 15X7s and 15X4.5s for my (ha, ha) early van. They will be polished, but I feel that the openings should be as cast. I also bought an older wheel balancer to spin them. Now that I have access to a machine shop, I will probably chuck 'em in a lathe and start with 220 and work them out. I thought that a good way to keep from rounding one side of the holes is to make a sanding 'block' the profile of the spoke using bondo to back the sandpaper.
I did the jackstand thing on a set of Lincoln Versailles wheels. I had some deburring wheels (think real course scotchbrite) I put on my buffer. I found if I held the buffer at just the right angle, I ended up with a nice swirl polish job. They looked nice on my off topic truck
This is where my slots ended up once I got them polished. Shinny wheels on a ugly old beat up truck. Duane
use soap ( I use turtle wax zip wax as its not caustic and the wax seems to help prevent loading better ) in the water and check the paper every now and then for load up also try a peice of foam behind the paper to cover the surface with even pressure . as for the axle in the lathe thats how the machines we use to refinish old aluminum wheels for semis work , we machine a small layer of finish off then heat buffs the finish on , the machine does it all so no hands touch the wheel , the heat buffing is done with rouge instead of compounds and leaves a nice bluish finish on the wheels one of my freinds took a 4" high speed sander ( not a DA ) and put a buff on it with some soft foam rubber to build a crown in the pad with a flexable plastic backing and cut back the pressure and mechanically polishes them , can do wheels real quick due to the surface area of the sander
Well today man meets giant Baldor buffer. If I don't post tonight it's because I have casts on my arms. I'll try some wet sanding until my friend with the buffer gets off work (garbage man). Stimpy, I have read, and experienced on a smaller scale, how heat affects aluminum buffing. It's possible to heat, and move for better or worse, metal around by hot buffing, no? Times when I've buffed smaller items and gotten them almost too hot to hold seems to go quicker. Stayed tuned. At least I should be able to get the outer areas done today. Going by the junk yard also for an axle.
I sometimes use Eagle One Etching mag cleaner (part number 836604) to clean aluminum wheels that have not been polished. It's an acid etching cleaner that that turns the wheels light whitish silver. It also works on rough cast aluminum.
Harumph, another day of not much progress. We tried the rims on the Baldor buffer, my friend seemed to think there was still anodizing present preventing a good cut. So he sent me to the store for some oven cleaner. We coated one and put the other in bead blaster. Long story shorter, got some shine but only to reveal the pitted surface below. Ended up just bead blasting both of them. Stopped by the local auto wrecker on the way home, he s****ped all his axles, no market anymore. I do think spinning the wheel is the ticket, even with a fresh surface it's a pain holding them up to a buffer. On the bright side, these particular slots are pretty light for a 10" at 17lbs. I believe the equivalent Cragar SS weighs 24lbs.. They look pretty good freshly blasted but I'm sure will look like **** in short order. I wonder if there is any protectant short of clear paint that will help the soot wash off?
I did hand sand one some but that may be the other one, also I can see this is the one I hit with oven cleaner. It really fizzled and probably didn't help the surface any. They really do need to be well sanded if I continue to pursue polishing.
I had to punt on the polishing, too many other items to deal with and I'm really not all that settled on wheels yet. I did rattle can some clear lacquer after blasting just to try and keep them more stain resistant. Also note custom tuna can center cap. Chicken of the Sea, no expense spared.
I got some 9" ford axles that are not worth much, it probably would cost a fortune to ship them though. I never throw an axle out. Hey what part of town are you in just out of curiosity. u·biq·ui·tous yo͞oˈbikwədəs/ adjective adjective: ubiquitous present, appearing, or found everywhere. "his ubiquitous influence was felt by all the family" synonyms: omnipresent, ever-present, everywhere, all over the place, pervasive, universal, worldwide, global;More rife, prevalent, far-reaching, inescapable
Thanks for the offer ****** maybe in the future. Right now I have too much else to fix. I'm getting used to the looks of the slots though I must say.
That is one wild looking little truck! I love it. It's like a wheelbarrow you can drive with a blower
Thanks 31Vwah. It is fun around town since it turns on a dime, a little darty on the highway but I'm working on that. I'm going to try a wheelie one of these days, as soon as I get over the fear of a traction bar enema. Just some dirt burnouts so far.
I'm a big fan of my 300 hp 4 speed polisher. Put the '63 SS up on stands and spin them in first. Dish soap in water, sand them through 2000, just letting the paper ride on the rim with fingers or a soft block. Cotton rag and some pasty white polish (don't remember the brand) and finish with blue magic. Be very aware of your fingers and slots, valve stems, and lug bolts. I keep the tail of the cloth or paper under control so it doesn't try to grab. You don't want the wheel or tire getting hungry on you....
there is a fine line on the heat polishing . the guy who does my big truck rims his machine does it and its computer controlled so its not a problem , the guys who do it by hand just know from practice , I can do it without burning the aluminum by watching the compound turning colors ( blackish blue ) and by smell ( starts to get sweet and metallic like a plating shop ) as for the pitting you showed , those have to be mechanically surfaced either machined or major sanding then fine polished , there is a couple of places in Cali in the basin that do the machining ,its not cheap ( often cheaper to buy a new wheel from American ) as for your truck that is a Kick *** thing A short bed RPU
It's an American Bantam Pickup. As said, most big truck places either have or know of a polisher. The Bay area is high rent and high density, so you will probably have to go down the peninsula or across the bay. Other info http://www.roadsters.com/wheels/
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