Trying to decide what to do with my MT's.....
#1
Trying to decide what to do with my MT's.....
I'm trying to decide what I want to do with my Mickey Thompson Classic II's. After Winter, the finish on them is really bad looking and after polishing them out last summer, I really don't have the time or the will to do it all over again. So I was wondering if anyone else had this issue? Since there's no clear coat on the wheels, polishing them after salt and road grime is a bit of a chore that I'm not looking forward to at all lol. I was thinking of using a scotch brite pad on them and just going for the brushed look or maybe getting them powder coated. If anyone has any good tricks to cleaning them up, please share the experience/opinion. I thought I saw a thread on here about someone who sanded them down, but I really don't want to have to do that every year.
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ok, so i stopped by the garage and tried out the 00 grade steel wool on the wheels...not much difference. So I got a little more abrasive and used a scotch brite pad. This worked better but I'd need to do it a few times with a good cleaner to remove all the stains off the wheels. Then I hit it with some Meguairs Hot Rims paste ad it doesnt look bad, but its going to be A LOT of work. Is there a way to protect these wheels in the winter? Someone told me a coat of Vaseline would protect them and keep the weather off them.
I'm still not sure what I want to do with them....I want to keep them, but do I polish them like this every year or get them powdered? I'm not sure what getting them powdered would turn out like......
I'm still not sure what I want to do with them....I want to keep them, but do I polish them like this every year or get them powdered? I'm not sure what getting them powdered would turn out like......
#13
Old Guy User…
iTrader: (12)
How bad are they, pitted or just surface discolored ?
If just surface discolorations then sanding with variable grades of sand paper, starting with 400 wet/dry and going up to say 1500 or so or until you get a good finish then semi chrome polish with a buffing wheel, the more powerful the buffer the better.
If you are going to get them finished by painting (easiest to fix up) or if powder coating (hard to fix up) then you might be able to get them abrasive blasted and off to the finisher.
Contact whom ever would be finishing them or just a guy that knows and finding what the surface needs to look like then do it.
Just thinking out loud...
If just surface discolorations then sanding with variable grades of sand paper, starting with 400 wet/dry and going up to say 1500 or so or until you get a good finish then semi chrome polish with a buffing wheel, the more powerful the buffer the better.
If you are going to get them finished by painting (easiest to fix up) or if powder coating (hard to fix up) then you might be able to get them abrasive blasted and off to the finisher.
Contact whom ever would be finishing them or just a guy that knows and finding what the surface needs to look like then do it.
Just thinking out loud...
#15
Old Guy User…
iTrader: (12)
Then move up.
Once you've gotten to 1500 grit wet paper it is the same as sand blasting just more work.
It is a process, you need to do it all or nothing.
Yu still need to decide where you are going with this before starting the project.
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Well I spent some time on the MT's this morning. I made the decision to try and save them before I resort to powdercoating. I hit them with some Hot Rims aluminum wheel cleaner and then with a scotch brite pad followed by some steel wool and a coat of Hot Rims polish. They actually came out pretty good. The front two need a little more work, but the scotch brite pads removed most of the stains from them and I'm pretty fond of the more "brushed" look. I'm going to do some extra work to the front rims and see if I can clean them up a little more. I'm hoping to either find a connection/extension or fabricate one for my Mothers Powerball wheel polisher so that I can use the Makita polisher on the wheels....that'll help burn off the stains. So far so good though. Thanks for all the help and ideas guys. Much appreciated as usual.
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An older truck driver I work with told me to find Alcoa wheel sealant. Keeps them looking good for a long time. This stuff:
http://fleetwheel.com/images/sealant.JPG
http://fleetwheel.com/images/sealant.JPG
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