Polishing rims

[Digitalwave]

How hard is it to polish the lip of a rim? I'd imagine you have to clear coat it to keep it from oxidizing? Anybody have any tips or instructions?

[808BMW]

rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub...

[rayz]

depends on what finish the lip is. usually its just like what 808 says. rubem down. or get a rotary tool kit. polished lips usually dont have a clear coat over them. the clear usually ends up chipping and making it look worse than if there wasnt a clear coat.
i usually polish these wheels for shows here in the PNW.

https://www.evolutionsports.com/images/gallery/il3_0673.jpg

[BMW BMXER]

My lips have a clear coat, which I am in the process of removing. One down, three to go.

I dont know how to polish from scratch though.

[rayz]

Mothers metal polish werks well. im sure there are many other brands out there that will do the same job. polishing by hand is a PITA. be sure to get some latex gloves if you dont want to have greasy black hands for days.

[Digitalwave]

I am doing the throwing stars, starting from a painted alloy rim... I know I have to take the paint off first, then work it like crazy. But how does the finish stay good with just the bare metal?

[nando]

I would clear coat it to protect the metal from oxidizing and so brake dust doesn't get deposited. otherwise you will have to repolish them all the time.

I thought about polishing the lips on my BBS, but I decided it was too much of a pain, so I'm painting them body color instead.

[808BMW]

If you don't want to clearcoat them (because of the problems mentioned), then you have to just repolish again and again.

Most of my friend's civic motor, 2 quads, and 2 mopeds are all done by hand. They just have to repolish. Watch out for the elements though, it'll oxidize real fast and rust if you don't watch it. Especially at the beach. One of the quads got shipped to another island to race and came back with small rust spots after the race. Took alot of polishing to get it out.

[Digitalwave]

So what are the problems with clearcoating? There is no way the fully polished rims that you buy from the factory polished come unprotected....

[808BMW]

So what are the problems with clearcoating? There is no way the fully polished rims that you buy from the factory polished come unprotected....

Chipping mainly. The metal is smooth as hell when its polished. Don't use mothers to polish them, go to a GOOD detailing shop and ask around. It could mean the difference between 2 hours of rubbing or 6 :P

[Beej '86 325es]

Since we're on the subject of polishing wheels...

I was using some mother's metal polish this weekend to shine up my rims and my neighbor suggested that I use flour. He said he used to use the mothers, but says flour works just as well. Supposively you just wash the wheels really well and make sure they're dry; and then just rub flour on them. He says it turns black like the Mothers does when you rub it in.

Anyone else ever heard of this?

[BMW BMXER]

Clear coats peel chip and yellow after time.

[rayz]

Clear coats peel chip and yellow after time.

thats correct. the lip on my wheels are clear coated and dont look as good as if they werent clear coated. flour may do the same, because it acts as an abrasive. in mothers or any polishing formula, there are tiny grains.
wheels that are "polished lipped" brand new do come with a protectant, but its not a clear coat. its more like a treatment of some type of liquid/formula. Im sure every set HRE's Ive seen are clear coatless

[BMW BMXER]

http://performanceunlimited.com/cobravalley_chemicals/zoopseal.html

http://www.zoops.com/zoopseal.asp

Zoop seal keeps polished, non clear coat wheels shiny.

[BMW BMXER]

Old Clear coat.