losimus

Well, here's a little thread to show the progress of my rims (well, RIM, singular, I only had patience and time for one today).

VS-XX's have an ANODIZED clear coat on the aluminum lips (Rays/Volks do the same as well), not chrome. SOME of the older ones have a high POLISHED lip with a clear on it. For those of you who don't know, anodized finishes stain when certain acidic wheel cleaners come into contact with them...well, it LOOKS like a stain, what it is, is that the anodized finish has been eaten and is now UNFIXABLE.

What to do? You can strip it of it's anodized finish, de-anodize it with easy-off or drano...or you can just use a low grit sand paper and sand it off...that's the route I took.

Step 1.) 220 grit sand paper (WET SAND), if you don't wet sand, you risk it scratching pretty deep. You will see the difference between the anodized finish/coat and the bare aluminum...keep sanding evenly until all of the coat is a uniform BARE ALUMINUM.

Step 2.) 600 grit sand paper (WET SAND)...keep water running over the rim and keep the paper moist/wet. This sands down the deep scratches and smooth's it out.

Step 3.) 2000 grit sand paper (WET SAND), some people do 1500 and then 2000 to reduce the visible surface scratches once polished, I jumped right to 2000 because we are going to get them re-anodized in the near future. This step "polishes" the aluminum metal to a shinier finish...SMOOVE.

Step 4.) Mag/Aluminum metal polish (I used MOTHER'S), use terry cloths because it isn't harsh on the metal when polishing. Take a dab and rub it on the (now bare) aluminum until it turns "black"...they say you don't have to use force...I applied some pressure and it seemed to help polish a little better. Do this in small chunks, like 4-5 in. blocks.

Now, stand back and admire yourself in that MIRROR reflection!

I did all of this by HAND...I was too nervous to use any type of dremel or rotary tool to sand or polish, BUT, I think I will be getting a little cloth polishing wheel for my dremel to really make them shine. ALSO, after the polish you want to seal it, DON'T use wax, it will just melt off as soon as you drive it...instead, use an actual sealant. I think Meguire's makes one NXT or something like that.

the pics attached are in order, from test sand and polish to complete sand and polish.

zapco

Lol. U are dead set on a set of Work wheels huh?

That is way too much upkeep for wheels....they will look like crap in direct sunlight and get dull in no time.

For the money u are going to spend restoring those...u could have got a new set.

zapco

Those faces unbolt by the way. Might want to clean those edges up Work boy.

potmilkz

what are you talking about??? he just repolished the lips.. upkeep is like every few months of repolish..

and yes.. i am sure he knows the lips come off captain obvious.....

Kenstlshawd

iTrader: (2)

Ha ha it's funny how Pot and Zapco posted after each other. You guys are so much a like in your smart ass replies to posts.

Guest I don't have to ask about your wheels now that you know what finish is on the lip. Don't be afraid to put some force when you're polishing with the Mothers polishing compound. You can also get a Mothers polishing foam cone or ball from Pepboys that attaches to a power drill. The polishing ball/cone will save you a lot of time and energy.

losimus

yeah, I know they can be taken off, I have a set of Volk GT-U's on my V6 Altima...same process, I just didn't know the torque specs on these center piece bolts/nuts, so I didn't bother. When I refinish them all, I'll break out torque wrench...I think M8 bolts are only spec'd to 6-10 ft/lb.

Haha...Potz has been pretty kind to ME...

but yeah, when I refinish them all, I think I'll take that advice and break out the power drill instead of that lil' Dremel.

CerberusKy

iTrader: (1)

Looks good.

zapco

With no anodized clear coat those things will dull in days. Plus, unless he uses a machine with scotch brite still pads, he won't get it to a perfect luster.

Go take out your parent's trash before they kick you out of the house...25 y/o peter pan.

TeamAcura

Nice job! Looks great. Most if not all JDM wheels use an anodized finish on their lips. They are the only ones who use it from what I was told.

Mr Marco

Finally figured it out...I thought I recognised your tone...You keep joining as a new member but you've been spreading this BS for a while

potmilkz

i assume this guy is vivmike then? since it was banned 8/18 and this guy reg date is 8/20...

Mr Marco

Mike has better things to do with his time...like trying to sucessfully masterbate while watching TV's "The View."

potmilkz

wait so is he vivmike?

Mr Marco

Shhhhh, it's a trap!

types1fan

It sounds and looks like its him.

zapco

I just looked up vivmike....he's banned.Nice try though Monk.

potmilkz

lol cuz im asian i am a monk??? be more creative you racist dick..


oh well.. ive meet mike, cool dude, nothing against him.. big fucken guy tho.. i put on his lip kit..

losimus

yeah, after I googled it, someone else had gotten an answer from Works themselves...that's how I FINALLY found out. Thanks though bro.

zapco

Huh??? Im Asaian too. I was calling Monk....as in he detective show.

Kenstlshawd

iTrader: (2)

Wrong, they can go for weeks then he can just polish them again.

zapco

And a chrome lip would require a microfiber towel and detail spray.

Oh...but they are Work wheels yo. smh.

TeamAcura

This guy has to be vivmike! His posts are very similiar lol. Mods need to do some IP tracking. I'm pretty certain it is him.

And you don't need to detail spray chrome wheels. Water and soap on a regular basis is good enough. MF towel is recommended though.

losimus

Gotta love the intra-webz, you can be whoever or whatever you want...an iThug, know-it-all, an iGenius...etcetera. Oh well, I USED to let that stuff bother me...back when message boards FIRST started.

Thanks guys for the opinions and useful comments/advice.

ucf_bronco

iTrader: (1)

Wow, so vivmike is now zapco and potmilkz is asian? This is one of the most informative threads I've seen in a while.

BTW, looks good OP. Hopefully it will hold up and withstand the elements.

Zelaya

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for sharing your experience OP, I'm having a similar situation where I can't find a local shop to repair one of my work rim that can anodized the rim, my only option is to send it back to work in Japan and can't justify paying $600 to $700 or re polish same way OP has done but the shine will never match with my other rims.

Kenstlshawd

iTrader: (2)

Oscar, have you try contacting Wheelflip? They do repair and customizing.

Zelaya

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, I'll check into that.

losimus

That's who I'm waiting to hear back from, I sent them an email to get pricing on re-anodizing all the lips & to have the centers copper dipped...YO. Anyway, when I inquired about refinishing our 18in. Volks (powder coating centers, repair to bent lip & re-anodizing lips), they quoted me $700...so there's an IDEA of their pricing. They're in So. Cal., so you have shipping fees Zelaya.

zapco

LOL....and tell us again why you didn't just buy brand new ones with the specs you want?

losimus

It's called CUSTOMIZATION & MODIFICATION...that's the whole POINT of CUSTOMIZING a vehicle. If I would have went through Works, it would have STILL been about $2k more. THAT $$$ SAVED pays for our coils and other stuff.

This is the LAST time I explain these damn rims to you Zap...don't worry about what I'm doing...if you don't like it or think otherwise, then scroll right on past my threads & posts. Cheer up there guy...life's just not that bad to where you gotz ta' beez uh iThug...YO.

Booya4139

Zap has custom 3-piece forged Miro 111's

potmilkz

i guess its a hard knock life in valencia..

fsttyms1

I agree with the above. Its not hard to spend a little time polishing them to keep them looking great.

I do this yearly on my C2s. With a little mid year upkeep and polish its not hard to keep them looking great.

The torque specs i use are 17lb/ft
(sorry for the crappy cell pics)

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

Nice job OP, looks good.


P.S. Isn't pot only 1/2 asian? And viv why are you so angry all the time?

potmilkz

you are correct on that.. im Cantonese/Panamanian... im more curious on how the hell did you know that?

AntSauce

iTrader: (2)

losimus

Well, thanks for the info! I guess I'll use those specs, seems legit. Haha, plus I just need to finish them so I can slap them on while we wait for COILOVERS to be purchased (REAAAAAAL SOON now!)

Thanks!

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

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