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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: smsw on February 02, 2022, 06:45:15 PM

Title: Polishing Borianni Wheels
Post by: smsw on February 02, 2022, 06:45:15 PM

I apologize if this is repeating other threads (I've not done a search).  I had limited luck polishing my wheels (described in other recent posts).  Simichrome struck me that it would be pretty expensive by the time I'm finished, Brasso did not do as good a job as Simichrome, and Harbor Freight's buffing wheel and white rouge seemed like it would take forever and a week. 

This evening I decided to try the compound I had sitting on my shelf for, oh, maybe 30 years or so.  This is the same stuff used by auto body painters in pre history days, when they had to lightly sand, then compound, then polish a painted car.  I remembered that Meguire's various cleaners are rated as being more or less aggressive cutting and this gave me the idea to try what I had on hand. 

First I smeared the compound on the wheel in a small area and rubbed it by hand.  That seemed to do a nice job so I applied more over roughly half of the wheel (it is still laced up) and hit it with a 3" buffing wheel in my electric drill.  Every once in a while I cleaned the wheel on an old drywall rasp (simply expanded metal nailed to a block of wood).  When I'd done one whole side (the flat and the rim), I took another wheel and repeated the process with polishing compound (a finer cutting material).  I wiped the wheel between passes and when I was finished, it looks so much better than when I started.  I might yet try the rouge, but I could stop here.

Title: Re: Polishing Borianni Wheels
Post by: aklawok on February 03, 2022, 12:16:03 AM

 I have a fondness for FLITZ polish for hand work; non toxic, non abrasive works on metal and plastic, even frosted windscreens!

Title: Re: Polishing Borianni Wheels
Post by: Kiwi_Roy on February 03, 2022, 12:29:14 AM

I pulled all the spokes out of mine and polished the rims using a buffing wheel in my electric drill.
The spokes and nipples I polished on a bench top buffing wheel
One hub I did in a bead blast cabinet but the other I did as best I could with a wire wheel then sprayed it with silver engine paint.
I'm not sure which hub will last the longest, it's hard to tell the difference at the moment.