Been Playing with Aircraft Stripper & a Polisher Again.

[apextrans]

Same deal as last time but no need to wet sand. Added bonus was I machined them with a white bar & went right to hand polishing, no other bars needed. Did 3 wheels yesterday afternoon (while laying hardwood floors in the dining room) & started/finished the last wheel tonite. Got some 305/70/16 Nitto Terra Grapplers at the shop waiting to go on them in a day or 2. Now if I could just get it back from the body shop.....Pics aren' the best. the single wheel shows all the crap left behind from the stripper but they were in great shape otherwise.

 

[geonc]

Looking real Scott!
Care to elaborate just a bit more on that process please

I like your choice and size on the Nitto's ...I'm ready for my third set

 

[apextrans]

Looking real Scott!
Care to elaborate just a bit more on that process please

I like your choice and size on the Nitto's ...I'm ready for my third set

*Take a set of clear coated wheels & wash 'em down pretty good on the face of the wheel. Dry them completely on the face.
*Use either brush-on or spray-on (rattle can) aircraft stripper & thickly cover the entire face of the wheel & as much of the outer lip than will show against the tire. DO NOT get that stuff on your skin. Starts to burn on contact. I found that the rattle cans seem to work better & quicker.
*Let it sit for 15-45 minutes or until you can see the clear coat blistered under the stripper & pressure wash them off. You may have to re-apply the stripper a few times to get it all off. (just use the stripper, don't try to sand the clear off, I made that mistake last time)
* If you have deep scatches in the wheel, now would be the time to sand 'em out. If you have to do that, sand down the scratch as best you can. Then you will need to wet sand the entire face of the wheel, starting at 200 grit & go up to 1000 grit. Always sand with the grain, never against it.
*Get a machine polisher (like a Dewalt or Miluakee) with adjustable speed. Should run no lower than 1850RPM & no higher than 3000RPM & a grey, brown, green, & white tripoli bar. Also need some polishing wheels. Everything except the polisher can be found at a truckstop. Flying J always has this stuff in the shelf.
* if your wheels have been sanded, start with the grey bar & polish the entire way around the wheel from outside to inside. You want to move the polisher side to side & work your way around the wheel using the edge of the polishing wheel to cut in the new shine. Don't use the flat face of the polisher wheel as you could scratch the alum. Change polisher wheel & go to the brown bar, same procedure, then grey & then white. The better shape the wheel is in after stripping, the higher up in color you can start. (I needed no sanding so I started at white)
* They should be pretty shiny right now after the white bar & don't worry about the black streaks being left by the polisher, just used rouge coming off the polisher wheel.
* grab some high quality aluminum polish & polish them by hand 2-3 times or until your happy with em' I like White Diamond Polish or Deep Purple. Both are widely available but they are also @ the Flying J for certain. Thats it. Should take about 2-3 hours a wheel if you don't have to do any heavy sanding

Easier to do just the rim. I've never done this process with a tire mounted. Not sure if the aircraft stripper would harm the sidewall.

Or just send 'em to me & I'll do 'em for ya. I love those tires. Had 305's on my 2003 SD & they were awesome. I've talked 3 of my buddies into running them & they are just as happy as I am. You got any pics of your truck with em mounted? Haven't ever seen them on an OBS.

 

[res0wc18]

grey, brown, green, & white tripoli bar

I think i know what those are but does any one have a link to a major manufacturer of these?

Can they be bought at napa?

 

[1dieselman]

Here's where I get my stuff from since no one has it in my little town. http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=435&itemType=CATEGORY&path=1,2,432,433&KickerID=495&KICKER

 

[res0wc18]

so can some one refresh my memory as to why this is better than the mothers power ball type?

It has varying amounts of grit correct?

Anyone have a beginners user guide for it? Ive only ever used the mag polish type and have heard that this stuff works even better?

 

[1dieselman]

Mothers power ball and aluminum polish works great if your rims or what have you are already clean and shiny to start with. But if your trying to bring something back from the dead or have something that was painted or clear coated then it takes a whole lot more effort to make it pretty and shiny. Check through the eastwood website there are instructions for polishing.

 

[geonc]

Or just send 'em to me & I'll do 'em for ya. I love those tires. Had 305's on my 2003 SD & they were awesome. I've talked 3 of my buddies into running them & they are just as happy as I am. You got any pics of your truck with em mounted? Haven't ever seen them on an OBS.

OK! when ya got some time
here's a few pics...she's dirty but you can see how they set
And the last pic was from when I had the bumper off to install the horns to get an idea how the inset...

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[apextrans]

so can some one refresh my memory as to why this is better than the mothers power ball type?

It has varying amounts of grit correct?

Anyone have a beginners user guide for it? Ive only ever used the mag polish type and have heard that this stuff works even better?

Mother's is more of a light touch up kind of polish. The bars are designed to actually scratch the aluminum into a uniform swirl of scratches, grey being the most abrasive & white being the least. You actually make the metal shine by minimizing those scratches down to where they blend together & become smooth. each color bar has less abrasive & more rouge mixed together until you get to the white bar which is almost all polishing rouge. The bar order for dead wheels would be wet sand, grey bar, brown, green, white, then hand polish.

The only real trick to it is ALWAYS work with the grain in the wheel. Never sand or polish a wheel top to bottom across the face. All the hard work you did will be ruined because you just put verical scratches on the wheel.

Geo, if your getting ready to do tires now is the time. I'll be in the triad & Charlotte this weekend. If you got a set of wheels you can throw on your ride( which is very nice by the way) & meet me with your rims, I'll do 'em for ya, for a little coin of course.

 

[res0wc18]

yeah i was reading up on this... so brown bar, white bar, green bar, regular mothers right?

Is there a liquid type like the bars?

 

[apextrans]

yeah i was reading up on this... so brown bar, white bar, green bar, regular mothers right?

Is there a liquid type like the bars?

White bar is the last bar. If you do green after white, you'll dull them down a little as green is more abrasive than white.

I've never tried it but alot of the higher end liquid polish states that you can use it for machine polishing too. One that comes to mind is a liquid polish called Heavy Metal. I think they have different liquid compounds that correspond to the color bars. Not sure though as I've never used that brand. The White Diamond polish I mentioned can be used for machine polishing but you gotta start out slow & spread it around or you'll be wearing it.

Also something I forgot to mention, it's best to keep adding polish to the wheel very often. if the polishing wheel goes dry, you could burn the metal & actually blue it. Not a concern with hand polishing though.

 

[res0wc18]

So would i go in a circular direction then or? Any special application pad etc i need to use to apply it and buff etc? Are all of the bar type polishes solid? or is there some that are more liquid type? Or can i just heat up part of the bar?

got it brown then white then mothers powerball?

 

[Papabear]

I know this is opposite what the post is being it is basically giving advice on chrome polishing what i want to know is does anyone have any tips on how to strip chrome as all the accesories that i want that are available for our trucks are chromed and i do no want to have to polish chrome so i am opting for a matte black finisn in place of chrome but i do not want to damage the accessory in question.

 

[apextrans]

So would i go in a circular direction then or? Any special application pad etc i need to use to apply it and buff etc? Are all of the bar type polishes solid? or is there some that are more liquid type? Or can i just heat up part of the bar?

got it brown then white then mothers powerball?

you would hold the polisher wheel up & down so the edge of the wheel is touching the face of the truck wheel, then just work it back & forth following the truck wheel surface all the way around. You can move it side to side as you move back & forth to get a better cut too. If you look at the 2nd pic I posted, you'll see the polisher wheel laying on the bench. Its a very stiff fabric wheel. It'll soften some as you use it. No heat needed for the bars & tes, they are solid. Just run the polisher & dig the polisher wheel into the bar a little to pick up some polish on the wheel.

 

[TLBREWER]

Great tips Scott. I have to admit, since I've been around airplanes most of my life, when I saw "aircraft stripper" in the title, I thought we were in for some nose art.

And he's right about gloves. That stuff burns... Whatever you do, don't get it in your eyes.

Tom