before and after shots. the ingredients are as follows. 1 can of inox. 1 half worn green scotchbrite pad 1 helping of good old elbow grease. Al.
They look great. Mine look very smooth in the dish area and am wondering if they were polished when new or machine finish? My spokes "look" painted dark dark grey/black with a rough as cast finish. I'll leave them soak in Gibbs for another day or two before giving a small area a test.
You really are a converted preacher now!!! Mad! They do look a bit rough but a good clean and some elbow grease will (I'm sure) amaze you of the difference it will do. Especially if you use some stuff made for it. HC.
Thanks Hey'. What stuff made for it? Is there a magnesium polish? Does anyone know what finish was on these when new? Was the dish portion (not the spokes, they will remain dark) polished, brushed or machined?
Whatever you do mate - be careful polishing them. What I mean is hand polishing is OK, you will rub your hands off far more polishing magnesium wheels than reading any girly magazine. By hand use Scotchbright pads and Flitz. 4 hours on one wheel and 4 hours on the other wheel should be a good start. There is some level of danger if you put on a lathe to try to polish or clean up. Turning with a carbide insert or HSS bit say like on a lathe say taking .010 off to get the crust off can cause a world of hurt as in possible flash fire. Magnesium has a wicked flash point and it will get your attention in a hurry and what ever you do, if you have a flash fire don't try to douse with water - it makes it worse. Use a chemical powder extinquisher. Just hand polish the hell out of them - the good news is they look great when you get them finished. The bad news is they don't stay that way for very long and will require you to keep polishing them to stay looking fresh which turns into a high maintenence frankly. Many - Many Years ago - at a camp out / party at a old strip, took a hunk of magnesium and torched it....... can you say WHITE HOT and bright as the sun..... burned for a day. Those were the crazy times for sure. Cob
Thanks Corn' and yes, I'm aware of the danger of Magnesium dust and swarf. I also remember the science experiements at high school. I won't be machining anything off these but I would like to know what finish they had when new so I know if I should even be polishing these or if I should just leave them dark or using a "worn scourer" (as mentioned above) to bring back a machined finish.
I have no clue if there is anything especially for it but sure something is out there that will do the job. Happy hunting........ HC.
Hey Bill-I checked out my mates Firestones today-they are mounted on 16x11 big window Hallibrands-they dont look right-not nearly enough "bulge". Just lettin you know!!!! El-Richo
i went to summit yesterday and had them look up some tires for you.they have a bunch.there was a nice set of black sidewall bfg's that would fit and they were only 136 bucks.i cant remember the size but they were 27 1/2" tall and would fit a 12"rim so they would deff.fit a 11"one.sorry i didnt get the #s but it took twenty minutes to fid one that looked right and then my friend was hurring me up so i thought i could remember the # but i forgot it.
Oh, you guys are too much! Thanks for going to such an effort. HC, I have tonnes of stuff I can use, I just want to know which one. If it was a machined or cast finish then I'll use one thing but if it was a polished finish I'll use something else. The BFG is a radial and I'm not sure would look right on a 60s style drag/street car but it's worth a try. I need something that looks the part (tough and drag-like). I'm thinking something like an old Positraction or Mickey Thompson or something with a killer bulge and great looking tread. Elricho, thanks for the Firestone tip. I suspected as much and to have you actually confirm it by seeing it with your own eyes has just saved me a lot of time, effort and probably money. Still hoping someone knows what finish these came with from the factory.
I scuff and paint the inside rim of magnesium wheels with POR15 all the way to the bead... no tubes and no leaks.
Killer tip! Thanks. I was wondering how hard to scuff that corrosion and what to do with it. I was out there last night with a buddy of mine and we figured even a tube would get roughened up by that corrosion. I tried a scourer pad and it took some sharpness out of it but in some parts it still likes like a corral reef.
i would have to say they were completly pollished when new.well atleast totally smooth.on the inside there is nothing wrong with sanding it smooth.you could use some 320 grit to get all of the scale off.you also could use any kind of paint on the inside to help it seal.as said before mag.wheels can be polished to look like chrome but they will constantly need re polished.i have heard of people useing some sort of clear over top too keep them from clean but i dont know what it is.
Thanks. Yep, Ever since I was I started reading hot rod mags (no pun intended) I've heard about the legendary "glow" of polished magnesium and also how it loses it's shine. I'll be happy (and proud) to keep shining them. So that's it then I'm going to give them the shine. The 5 spokes seem like they were cast finish though so I might leave those natural finish for now (unless they've been painted or something? - I'll have a closer look tomorrow).
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