Rejuvenated a used set of wheels

[Sherif]

So I bought a used set of 18" wheels for off-roading (currently I have 20" on my Grand Cherokee), they were in good shape for the price I paid for them but I decided to make them look better..
Sorry I didn't take before photos but here's the photo sent to me from the seller before the deal, they are painted in black and clear coated:


Cleaning and decontaminating process:
- Rinsed with hose.
- Cleaned with CG All Clean+ 1:10 (dwell, scrub with wheel woollies & rinse).
- Cleaned with Sonax Full Effect (dwell, scrub with wheel woollies & rinse).
- Nanoskin mitt with ONR lube.
- Dried with MF towels and air dried.
- Paint cleaning with DP Prep Polish and black MF towels.

Here's a photo of the test 5th wheel (spare) after cleaning and just tested the compound on 1 or 2 spokes


Polishing and Coating process:
- Meg's UC using Meg's Dynacone at full speed on the drill.
- Optimum Finish Polish using the same Meg's Dynacone but at half speed on the drill and I cleaned it with a brush and MF towel before polishing.
- IPA wipe down.
- Coated with CarPro Dlux using cotton pads to wipe on and suede cloth to wipe off after a couple minutes.

Here's a photo after polishing and coating, not perfect but much better now:

I'll take photos after putting them on with the new AT tires..

Observations/issues:
- Meg's UC was dusting like crazy and very little working time, I don't know if that's normal or because of the high rotation speed on the drill.
- The Dynacone started shedding foam in the middle of polishing step and I don't think it can be used again , I think it's because I didn't wash it after compounding but I didn't have time to wash it and wait for it another day to dry.

Here's the Dynacone after polishing:

[ilian11]

Clean wheels

[Tato]

Great work!, definitively worth the time and effort invested.

My suggestion for using polishing cones is to first spray a fine mist (or two) of a quick detailer, in order to 'smooth' the foam.

You can spray it sparingly prior starting, then 'run the cone (low speed on drill) on your clean hand' to spread the QD. You'll feel the foam much 'softer and responsive'.

This may avoid shredding and some of your dusting.

Start always slowly, until your cone is 'seasoned', that means working soft, and 'covered' in polish. Use plenty of product, and spread it on low first, to avoid the cone 'dry buffing', this may cause immediate dusting.

In between sections, cover the cone with a MF or terry towel and run it to remove spent residue before proceeding. Add fresh product, spread it, and then work.

From the start, until getting to the correct amount needed, you may run a section for 2-3 times, then you move from there. Always inspect your initial (and sure, actual) results before moving to other section, otherwise you may have to redo the whole job if you don't like the end results.

Of course, above are just some ideas shared to help you adding something to your polishing approach, not intended to be 'The best or the Only way to do it'.

Also, your final results can make all my words worthless... you had dust, you have a 'shredded cone', but your wheels are one of the shiner I've seen! lol

Hope that helps,

Kind Regards.

[jamesboyy]

Superior work on those wheels

[Sherif]

Clean wheels

Superior work on those wheels

Thanks

[Sherif]

Great work!, definitively worth the time and effort invested.

My suggestion for using polishing cones is to first spray a fine mist (or two) of a quick detailer, in order to 'smooth' the foam.

You can spray it sparingly prior starting, then 'run the cone (low speed on drill) on your clean hand' to spread the QD. You'll feel the foam much 'softer and responsive'.

This may avoid shredding and some of your dusting.

Start always slowly, until your cone is 'seasoned', that means working soft, and 'covered' in polish. Use plenty of product, and spread it on low first, to avoid the cone 'dry buffing', this may cause immediate dusting.

In between sections, cover the cone with a MF or terry towel and run it to remove spent residue before proceeding. Add fresh product, spread it, and then work.

From the start, until getting to the correct amount needed, you may run a section for 2-3 times, then you move from there. Always inspect your initial (and sure, actual) results before moving to other section, otherwise you may have to redo the whole job if you don't like the end results.

Of course, above are just some ideas shared to help you adding something to your polishing approach, not intended to be 'The best or the Only way to do it'.

Also, your final results can make all my words worthless... you had dust, you have a 'shredded cone', but your wheels are one of the shiner I've seen! lol

Hope that helps,

Kind Regards.

Thank you Tato for your nice words and valuable inputs..
It was my first time "machine" polishing I primed the cone with lots of product first but maybe using QD would have helped more as you said, and I was using ample amount for each section (1 wheel = 6 sections) starting with very low speed to spread the product...
I think the main reason the cone is shredded now is going from compound to polish without cleaning it properly.