How to make your polished Y2K C5 wheels to shine again

**GoFast908Z** · 10-15-2010, 02:20 PM

This works for any wheels with clearcoat on them, which is 90% of wheels out there. Polished wheels tend to look dull after a while. Why? Well they have clear coat just like your paint, but most people never wax or seal them, so the clear oxidizes. And people use a wheel polish (designed for metal) on the wheel's clear coat. You wouldn't use wheel polish on your hood would you? Sadly many people do and it severly dulls the finish.

Method:

(Done properly, this should take 1-2 hours)
First clean the wheel with an APC or safe wheel cleaner. After cleaning them, claybar them with an OLD claybar and some detail spray. You can use a new bar, but if you do, never ever use it on your cars paint after this. Now that you've prepped the wheel, this is what you'll need. A rotary buffer (Makita, Hitachi, DeWalt, etc), a 2 7/8" or 3" backing plate, a few 4" Lake Country orange pads, and Meguiars #105. (Add 4" Lake Country white pads and Meguiars #205 if you want even more gloss). Using a small amount of the #105, work it into the wheel face/spokes/lips with even and light pressure. 900-1000 rpm is ideal. Use no more than 1200 rpm. After you're happy with the gloss, wipe it off and wash it again. Once its freshly cleaned again, seal it or wax it with your favorite wax or sealant. And remember to maintain them by putting a fresh coat on every 1-2 months.

Befores:

AFTER

And now another wheel, before...

AFTERS

Hope that helps some of you guys!!

**Y2KPewterSS** · 10-15-2010, 03:02 PM

Good post

**speedyWS6** · 10-17-2010, 11:46 PM

Hi guys...,

This may be a good place to re-ask my question on the factory clearcoat.

I had a little spin in my TA a few weeks ago and one thing i did was to dink a rim bad and i subsequently found a goodun in Nevada and shipped it here.

After stripping the paint on it (factory paint, so i guess it was an earlier rim as not polished and cleared) i went on to bring up a lovely mirror shine and now i cannot find anybody willing to clearcoat the polished rim and be happy to say it will stay adhered as they are all saying you need to rub down or scuff the rim to make it stick?!

So.... what type of clearcoat did they use from the factory as my other rims are in good shape and still ok after 10 years!!??

Oh... and i do have to say you have put up a great post on re-finishing the clear on these wheels, too.... lovely job!!

Trev...

)

**SiggyZ** · 10-18-2010, 07:18 AM

Impressive and nice write-up!

**j nix** · 10-18-2010, 09:29 AM

Hi guys...,

This may be a good place to re-ask my question on the factory clearcoat.

I had a little spin in my TA a few weeks ago and one thing i did was to dink a rim bad and i subsequently found a goodun in Nevada and shipped it here.

After stripping the paint on it (factory paint, so i guess it was an earlier rim as not polished and cleared) i went on to bring up a lovely mirror shine and now i cannot find anybody willing to clearcoat the polished rim and be happy to say it will stay adhered as they are all saying you need to rub down or scuff the rim to make it stick?!

So.... what type of clearcoat did they use from the factory as my other rims are in good shape and still ok after 10 years!!??

Oh... and i do have to say you have put up a great post on re-finishing the clear on these wheels, too.... lovely job!!

Trev... )

Where is the post on cleaning up the WS.6 wheels?

**Bramlok** · 10-18-2010, 11:21 PM

That looks great. Anybody try that buffer wheel that Chip Foose advertises on tv that works with a drill or is it a waste of money?

**GoFast908Z** · 10-21-2010, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by Bramlok

That looks great. Anybody try that buffer wheel that Chip Foose advertises on tv that works with a drill or is it a waste of money?

Not sure the drill would work well for polishing the clear, and how dense (read: cutting ability) the foam is. But you could give it a try with the correct polishes (no wheel polish).