Buying, polishing, and reselling aluminum rims...

Kristopher1129

Kristopher1129

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Has anybody done this before? I have a truck in my shop right now, that has aluminum rims. I usually just use the Flitz preclean to just shine them up a bit. Unless the customer pays me to actually remove them, and really go to work on them...I just keep it simple.

This got me thinking though. I always see beat up aluminum rims that people consider to be pretty much ruined on craigslist. I just found a pair of 4 that sell for about $125 each in used condition without even being polished! So, I called the guy up and talked him down to $100 for the pair of 4. I'm going to spend a day reconditioning them...and probably get at least $300-$400.

This will make great pictures for my website and convince customers to pay for this service. Also, it will be a fantastic test for all my aluminum products. I have the Flitz scuff pads, Flitz pre-clean, Wool polishing ball, Wolfgang aluminum compound, and Optimum metal polish. Plus, I will learn quite a bit about taking on a full set of aluminum rims...I've never done that. :xyxthumbs:
 
I used to do this, but never with polishing wheels, more just fixing/repainting curbed wheels. Polishing aluminum is a pain in the ass depedning on how bad the wheels are. But if you have a good system, I see how you could make some money doing it. Please be sure to post up your results! :props:
 
I have thought about it before, but never tried it. I'm always looking on craigslist for things.

Not a bad deal if you can make some money doing it. Be sure to start a thread about it!
 
Spicy McHaggis said:
I used to do this, but never with polishing wheels, more just fixing/repainting curbed wheels. Polishing aluminum is a pain in the ass depedning on how bad the wheels are. But if you have a good system, I see how you could make some money doing it. Please be sure to post up your results! :props:
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SeaJay's said:
I have thought about it before, but never tried it. I'm always looking on craigslist for things.

Not a bad deal if you can make some money doing it. Be sure to start a thread about it!
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I will definitely post a thread up once I pick the rims up. Should be interesting to see how they come out, and what my profit will be. l have no vehicle booked for tomorrow, so I figured this would be a nice little project.

I like the idea of it, cause there's no rush to finish. Plus I got some new stuff I been really itching to use! It's more or less mainly to get the experience, pictures, and advertisement for the service. But, if I make some dough...then I'll take that! :dblthumb2:
 
Kristopher1129 said:
Good idea. I was just gonna lay a sealant on them. I'll keep that in mind. :props:
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Clear coating will definitely make maintaining the wheels a lot easier, since they won't need constant polishing. All clear coats will reduce the shine, though. Polished metal always looks shiniest with the deepest richest color when it's bare with a coat of wax or sealant, rather than clear coated, but the amount of constant work it takes to maintain bare polished wheels isn't worth it unless it's a show car. That's why almost all polished aluminum wheels are clear coated, and you will see the difference in the depth of color on your wheels after you polish them compared to off the shelf polished wheels. There are some really durable clear coats just for wheels now.
 
Blackthornone said:
Clear coating will definitely make maintaining the wheels a lot easier, since they won't need constant polishing. All clear coats will reduce the shine, though. Polished metal always looks shiniest with the deepest richest color when it's bare with a coat of wax or sealant, rather than clear coated, but the amount of constant work it takes to maintain bare polished wheels isn't worth it unless it's a show car. That's why almost all polished aluminum wheels are clear coated, and you will see the difference in the depth of color on your wheels after you polish them compared to off the shelf polished wheels. There are some really durable clear coats just for wheels now.
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If I was gonna keep them...I'd probably clear coat them. But I think in the case where I'm selling them when I'm done. I'd probably be better off with just a sealant. That way they look really nice, and someone is more willing to pay up for them. :xyxthumbs:
 
I too am very curious to see how these work out.

If I were to do this I would consider getting a small air tool and putting radial buffing wheels on it. Haven't done it, just a thought.
 
Good idea man - I thought of buying an Airstream RV and spending the winter restoring it.... those things a money! But it would take ALOT of time to restore the exterior. I'd love to hear the results of this experiment man!
 
aerogt01 said:
I too am very curious to see how these work out.

If I were to do this I would consider getting a small air tool and putting radial buffing wheels on it. Haven't done it, just a thought.
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I do have an air drill, also a hand drill (even though I can't find the battery charger). I'm probably gonna swing through advanced auto real quick just to see if they have anything that will make my job easier. I think I'm covered.

I've done aluminum wheels before, but they weren't as beat as these ones. I've got the whole day tomorrow to work on them. That is assuming the guy picks up his phone so I can get them in the morning.

B&B Tennessee said:
Good idea man - I thought of buying an Airstream RV and spending the winter restoring it.... those things a money! But it would take ALOT of time to restore the exterior. I'd love to hear the results of this experiment man!
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I stay away from RVs as much as possible, ha. I only do about 7 a year...if that. I try not to spread the word too much about them. I just hate detailing RVs! I can't not do a good though...so I always end up getting more than I want, ha. Oops. :D
 
Great! Guy can't meet up with me today. Gonna have to meet him tomorrow. I really wanted to work on those rims today!!! :mad:
 
Picked up the rims today. Gotta admit...I was pretty disappointed when I saw them. Not only are they machine polished...but they were clear coated!!! I bought them anyways.

It's more of a challenge than I thought. Cause now I have to deal with removing the coating before I can do anything at all. Not only that, I have to try and keep the machine polished look, where as trying to sand it down is just WAY too much work.

So, I immediately brought them to the shop and got to work on one of them. I bought some aircraft stripper, laid it on real thick until the CC started to bubble. I took a wire brush, and agitated the CC to break it up. When the coating was off, I sanded down the white rust that has formed over the machine polish. I then scrubbed with the Flitz scuff pad, and some PreClean over and over again.

I still have to keep going with the scuff pads and the PreClean a few more times. But, here's a comparison between the one I worked on, and one of the untouched rims. Big difference already!!! I can't wait till one is done.

192497_205597382787793_100000125971051_853413_5782228_o_1_.jpg
 
Perfections said:
Dang, alot of work but they are looking nice, good job :)
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Definitely a lot of work, ha. I was hoping they were just straight aluminum. But, of course they're not!

I was surprised how much just the CC alone was hindering the look of the rims. You can see the one with the clear still on it has a brown hue.

I'm undecided as to whether I should CC them when I'm done. What do you guys think? Keep in mind I am just reselling them, not using them for myself. :xyxthumbs:
 
It's hard to say, it would add a glossy look to them, and protect the finish, but would you get paid for that extra step, if you think what you purchased the rims for, time invested and you think you still have room for profit go for it, but some would like the rim with no clear on them, or atleast I would so I can polish them out down the road vs just maintaining them, but the average person would like ease of maintenance and that's something you could include in your price and explain to the customer why the rims might coat slightly more
 
Kristopher1129 said:
Picked up the rims today. Gotta admit...I was pretty disappointed when I saw them. Not only are they machine polished...but they were clear coated!!! I bought them anyways.

It's more of a challenge than I thought. Cause now I have to deal with removing the coating before I can do anything at all. Not only that, I have to try and keep the machine polished look, where as trying to sand it down is just WAY too much work.

So, I immediately brought them to the shop and got to work on one of them. I bought some aircraft stripper, laid it on real thick until the CC started to bubble. I took a wire brush, and agitated the CC to break it up. When the coating was off, I sanded down the white rust that has formed over the machine polish. I then scrubbed with the Flitz scuff pad, and some PreClean over and over again.

I still have to keep going with the scuff pads and the PreClean a few more times. But, here's a comparison between the one I worked on, and one of the untouched rims. Big difference already!!! I can't wait till one is done.

192497_205597382787793_100000125971051_853413_5782228_o_1_.jpg
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I would not use a wire brush to clean aluminum, because it might cause deep scratches. I would use an M-16 cleaning brush, which is an extremely stiff bristled toothbrush. So these are spun aluminum, hmm? Steel wool might work to clean them up. Just test it on an inconspicuous are first, like the inside of the wheel covered by the tire.
 
Perfections said:
It's hard to say, it would add a glossy look to them, and protect the finish, but would you get paid for that extra step, if you think what you purchased the rims for, time invested and you think you still have room for profit go for it, but some would like the rim with no clear on them, or atleast I would so I can polish them out down the road vs just maintaining them, but the average person would like ease of maintenance and that's something you could include in your price and explain to the customer why the rims might coat slightly more
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Yeah, it really depends on who buys them I guess. I'll probably just leave them be. That way if somebody wants to CC them themselves, then they can. Besides, by the time I'm done all 4 of these...I'm sure I'll be sick of them, ha. :xyxthumbs:

Blackthornone said:
I would not use a wire brush to clean aluminum, because it might cause deep scratches. I would use an M-16 cleaning brush, which is an extremely stiff bristled toothbrush. So these are spun aluminum, hmm? Steel wool might work to clean them up. Just test it on an inconspicuous are first, like the inside of the wheel covered by the tire.
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Yeah, I thought twice about using the wire brush at first. But it was the only thing getting the CC out of the thin grooves. I just brushed in the same direction of the pattern. I didn't go against the grain and scrub up and down or anything. I looked real close, didn't see any scratches. Plus I followed that up with wet sanding...so any scratches were taken out anyways.

I also used steel wool. It worked pretty well, but not for taking the CC off. It just kept getting gunked up. I had a hard time getting in the grooves with the wool. Once the CC was off though, it worked pretty well with the Flitz PreClean to clean them up. :xyxthumbs:
 
Little update. I pretty much finished one. I'd like to get around the valve stem a little better...but other than that, this one is finished. This is the same one on the right in the above picture. You can tell I definitely brought some shine back. This was the worst of the 4. It had some pretty bad pitting going on. That's the darker spots. Here it is...

195151_206388246042040_100000125971051_860333_73942_o.jpg


I thought this was damn good considering they were clear coated, and machine polished. I didn't even know this was possible. A first for me! :xyxthumbs:
 
Kristopher1129 said:
Little update. I pretty much finished one. I'd like to get around the valve stem a little better...but other than that, this one is finished. This is the same one on the right in the above picture. You can tell I definitely brought some shine back. This was the worst of the 4. It had some pretty bad pitting going on. That's the darker spots. Here it is...

195151_206388246042040_100000125971051_860333_73942_o.jpg


I thought this was damn good considering they were clear coated, and machine polished. I didn't even know this was possible. A first for me! :xyxthumbs:
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Pitting sucks! You did a great job on them, this may be a good business to get into.:props:
 
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