I am considering "restoring" my stock EX Alloys. They do not have any major rashes or anything, but rather some relatively light scuffs and chips. I have searched for forums on this, but all I really found was people refinishing to a mirror polish; I just want to just keep the matte finish. Anyone have advise as to the process such as the grit of sandpaper to use or what procedures to go through, or perhaps any threads I overlooked, any help would be well appreciated. I would prefer not to paint, but I will if I have to. Thanks in advance!
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345,000 miles and counting... -
Refinishing is the same procedure all around. Getting the mirror polish just means hitting it with high grit sandpaper(3000+0). You will never get the matte look back because of the factory style clear coat Honda applies/applied to the 90's rims. They put a circular inlay all over the wheel before coming out to be sold. Anyways, this project you want to do will take a lot of time, sore hands, probably some bleeding, frustration, and if you are impatient, an unfinished project. I didn't realize how much work it is until I actually did it myself. If you have a double action sander, that's good. Use it for the main part of the wheel. For the edges, the hard to get spots, and the delicate spots, just use the sandpaper or a sanding block. You will need to start out with a rough grit sandpaper to get the clear coat and lines out. I say start with 220, much lower will cause bad damage to the wheel. From the 220, get all the clear coat lines out, you'll know them when you see them. Using a double action sander is 50x faster than hand sanding, seriously, no exaggeration. Once you get all the lines of and are down to the bare metal, sand the whole wheel until you can't see anymore scratches from the last grit. This means you'll need to use 360 grit, 400 grit, 500 grit, 600 grit, 800 grit, 1000 grit, 1500 grit, and then 2000 grit. For example. If you don't want a mirror polish that you have to polish to make shine, don't do this. It's easier to buy off brand wheels. Or just paint them.Originally posted by Quashish -
I've done this to some stock alloys before that were in good condition, but the finish was cracking and oxidized. Blasting them with a large grit sand blaster gave them a uniform finish, followed up by a fine grit to soften the finish to a matte.
If there is any serious damage to the wheels, I would just pay a shop to restore them for you. In the end, the cost is usually much cheaper than you'd expect and worth saving your hands and your mind.Comment
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Thanks for the advice. I might do it when I have more time.
345,000 miles and counting...Comment
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Might as well just find another set of wheels if you're gonna spend money... In my opinion.Comment
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