I did my own. . .

Monday, 21-Feb-2000 10:07:12

I polished my own wheels. All it takes is some time, stiff wrists, and you can't mind getting covered in polishing compound. Just go to Idaho

Industrial Supply, Harbor freight, KC supply, or Valley tools. You can get a wheel setup which tightens the small 6" buffing wheels into a

little chuck setup. Then put this baby in your hand drill, or angle head grinder (I used both).

Check out how shiny my wheels are on my car at:

http://beetlecup.webjump.com

They started out as the classic 914 2.0 half faded clear coat finish and half corroded Aluminum.

I bead blasted the wheel.

Then hand sanded the sanded the scratches.

Then scotch brighted by hand all over.

Then buffed with black polishing compound.

Then finished with Movers mag and Al polish.

It works well, it only took about 25 hours of actual work. Plan on spending I believe 75$ per wheel to have someone else do it for ya. That is

what I was told and the reason I did it myself.

Steve Arndt

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Polishing BRM Flat Fours

Friday, 14-Jul-2000 03:13:57

Message:

152.163.197.197 writes:

I was wondering if anyone knows of a poilshing shop in the southern california who will strip the clear coat protectant on my Flat Four BRM's and polish them to a mirror finish. I have seen this done on a few cars (DKPIII). I want a closer look to the original BRM.

If you can help please tell me where and approximately how much. Thanks CLF

Jason

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Replies:

Try Al Reed at 3010 E. Coronado #A, Anaheim (714) 632-3907 (n/t) (Mike Gagen) (14-Jul-2000 08:36:26)

Re: Try Al Reed at 3010 E. Coronado #A, Anaheim (714) 632-3907 (Dave Cormack) (14-Jul-2000 11:17:34)

Al's the Best! He did my cookie cutters and the original wheels on my Mustang SVO (n/t) (Rick Meredith) (14-Jul-2000 19:10:43)

I did mine by hand, but I don't recommend it. (John Plow) (14-Jul-2000 12:47:28)

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I did mine by hand, but I don't recommend it.

Friday, 14-Jul-2000 12:47:28

142.107.52.15 writes:

Jason;

I used #00 steel wool, and then #0000, to strip off the clear coat. I then polished with Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish. A lot of work, and my finger tips ached for days. Do one wheel at a time, and take your time, if you decided to do it.

The black spokes were also painted with more orange peel to make them look more original. Looks pretty good. All the look with none of the corrosion or cracks! :-))

A word of warning though. If you do decide to have them polished, they will need regular hand polishing (just like the originals, although not quite as frequently) to look their best. Without clear coat, they dull quicker and are more susceptible to stains.

Good luck;

JP

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Polishing 914 alloy wheels... Tuesday, 30-Jan-01 19:24:03 Message: 208.24.88.40 writes: I recently purchased a set of original 914 2.0 alloy wheels for my bug. I was wanting to polish the outside rim and the raised fins but I am having trouble doing it. I have tried Mother's wheel polish and many other cleaners/polishers. Still the wheels are no cleaner than before. I think they might have a clean coat on them. If so how can i remove this and really bring out the shine of the wheel. thanks. Dave S. Dave Sergio

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Replies:

Tape-off what you don't want blasted, buy some soft glass beads and use a sandblaster...I did and my '73 914 rims look like a clean, dull aluminum (n/t) (Matt Portch) (30-Jan-01 20:48:50) I did what you want to do on my own 914 wheels. They are clear anodized and it has to be removed. I used 320 grit sandpaper on a DA sander to remove the anodizing, then stepped up to 400, then 600, then 1000, then1500 and finaly mothers and a small buffing wheel on a high speed drill. Worked Beeyooteeful. Lotsa work, big payoff. (n/t) (Mike Lawless) (30-Jan-01 21:00:46) Scrap all that sanding work and get yerself some AIRCRAFT stripper found at your local Auto Body Shop. Strips the clear coat and leaves the finish smooth. Have been doing it for years and cuts the time in half with cleaner results. No Offense given. (n/t) (Darryl) (30-Jan-01 21:11:39) No Kiddin! Man I have abunch of that left over form when I stripped the car. If only I'd had access to this forum back, I coulda saved a ton of work. Excellent tip Daryl. Never worry about offending when contributing useful info. (n/t) (Mike Lawless) (30-Jan-01 22:38:22) Even simpler, Mike. Oven cleaner does the same to anodizing (n/t) (Bruce Tweddle) (30-Jan-01 23:39:40)