Machine Polishing Mag Wheels with BLACKFIRE Metal Polish & Metal Sealant

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Machine Polishing Mag Wheels with BLACKFIRE Metal Polish & Metal Sealant

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Mike Phillips - Mag Wheel Polishing Quick & Easy





A few weeks ago I detailed this local streetrod that had neglected for years, both the paint and the wheels and tires. I addressed the paint and in the process tested and wrote a review for some new products from Dr. Beasley's. Here's the LINK to that review.



The final touches - polishing the wheels and dressing the tires

Here's the Dodge Panel Delivery and as you can see, the wheels are dull and oxidized. After polishing the paint clear and glossy, the wheels now take away from the overall appearance of this streetrod.

Here's the driver's side front wheel up close. The tires are also dull and tired looking.

These close-ups show how dull and oxidized the aluminum has become over time and lack of regular polishing.

While I can't fix the "scuff marks" on the sidewall from rubbing against curbs, I can remove the oxidation and restore a deep, dark shine.

First I'll machine scrub the tires using a Heavy Duty DA Carpet Brush on the FLEX PE14 Rotary Polisher and Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner & Conditioner, which is an all-in-one type product.

I like vinyl and rubber all-in-one type products simply because the enable me to do 3 things in one step.

That was fast and easy and the results look great.

Aluminum Oxidation - Undoing years of neglected

If you don't have a power tool you can work by hand but it's going to take longer and it's also going to be very hard on your hands. In the picture below, I'm using the FLITZ Buff Ball on a Cordless Skil Drill.

For this I'm going to use the BLACKFIRE Metal Polish followed by sealing the wheels with BLACKFIRE Metal Sealant.

With about 5 minutes of running the buff ball around the wheel I was able to remove a majority of the oxidation and restore a decent shine with good clarity and brilliance.

Wow!

Now this looks so much better and really adds to the overall and completed look to the show car finish this streetrod now sports.

Here's the BEFORE

Then I simply moved around to repeat this process to the other three wheels and tires.

BOOM!

It took less than 10 minutes to go from neglected to respected.

Moving to the other side to repeat the process - again - total time about 10 minutes for both the tire and the wheel.

And finally the last wheel is done.

Sealing the aluminum wheels

After the polishing work, I applied the BLACKFIRE Metal Sealant using a simple foam applicator pad.

After applying a thin coat, the wheels now look a little duller, that's just a FILM of sealant on the aluminum.

Directions state to allow the sealant to dry to a haze then remove with a microfiber towel.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Polished and sealed, ready to put back on the road.

Here's the final results...

And here's everything I used....

On Autogeek.com


BLACKFIRE Metal Polish

BLACKFIRE Metal Sealant

Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner & Conditioner 16 oz.

Orange Heavy Duty Nitrile Gloves - Pick your size - Less prone to rip.

Black Nitrile Gloves - Pick your size

FLEX PE-150 Cordless Rotary Polisher

Rotary 4 ¾ inch Flexible Backing Plate

Heavy-Duty DA Carpet Brush – Long Bristles

13 inch Speed Master Wheel Detail Tool

Note: The above 13" wheel cleaning brush comes in a set of 3 wheel cleaning brushes.


Pinnacle Foam Wax Applicator - 12 Pack


The microfiber towels I used are what I call a "utility" towel. When new, clean and un-contaminated they can be used on car paint but I use these for doing "grunt work" that is NOT paint related. Everyone needs a collection of towels like these, might as well get a 12 pack and then you can make a "small wash load" and wash them with themselves.

Cobra Blue All Purpose Microfiber Towels - 12 pack

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Continued.....

Couple of comments...

There were some very sharp edges in the design of these wheels. I've drawn a yellow circle around these scooped out insets.

Working the FLITZ Buff Ball into these areas as best as I could by holding the drill sideways against the wheel, I was able to remove some of the oxidation and restore a shine but it also tends to tear up the felt fingers that make up the buff ball.

Here you can see and compare the buff ball I used next to one that still has the original shape for the felt fingers.

Abnormal Wear-N-Tear

Tore it up pretty good but the trade-off was SPEED and I didn't tear-up the skin on my fingers trying to polish these wheels by hand. I just wanted to share this because there's always a handful of people that don't understand the concept of normal wear-n-tear and in this case, due to the design of the wheel, abnormal wear-n-tear.

To get INTO these scooped-out insets, I used a wheel cleaning brush in the SKIL drill.

Avoiding sling and splatter

Because a drill operates like a rotary polisher, that is it spins in a single direction, I knew it would be prone to slinging splatter all over the place if I didn't use a little technique in how I applied the polish to the brush.

I poured some polish onto the brush....

Then worked it in with my fingers.

Then shoved this into those grooved areas and lightly polished them. The handle is PLASTIC and it was never meant to be used in a drill the way I used it but with a light touch and a little common sense I was able to get into these tight areas by machine and avoid rubbing them with my fingers.

That's all. Just wanted to share how I tackled these wheels to finish the job.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

For reference,

Here's an example of where I like to use a good all-in-one vinyl/rubber product.


Review & How-to: Pinnacle Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner & Conditioner


It's on an old 2-door Dodge, you know, just your average everyday Grocery-Getter.

I can no longer count how many cool cars have been detailed here at Autogeek with FULL HOW-TO ARTICLES since 2009 - but a LOT!

More than any other forum, facebook page, instagram page or twitter account.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

:updated:

Added this short video to the top of the thread showing what I used and how I used it.


Mike Phillips - Mag Wheel Polishing Quick & Easy