Question on wheel polishing

[ziggo99]

I have an 08 Saturn Aura with the 18" "Ultrabright Alloy" wheels.
Here are the wheels in questions
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/26778-meguiar-s-all-season-dressing.html
They're in decent shape, but I feel like they could use a bit more pop to them. What's the best way to polish them up?

[Setec Astronomy]

What's the story with them, the face is machined and clearcoated, and the spokes are silver painted? Or is the whole thing clear, while the spokes are as-cast and the face is machined?

You could use these Bufferstick Wheel Polishing Tool, drill polishing tool, buffing tool (http://www.autogeek.net/bufferstick-polishing-tool.html) or Mother's has something similar for inbetween the spokes, and a regular pad for the face.

[ziggo99]

That's the thing, I don't know exactly what they are. The wheels listed on eBay all save machined silver. I would probably use my GG with a 3" pad, but I have no idea what I'd use. The face is what I'm mainly going after.

[Setec Astronomy]

I remember those Auras, I was wishing I hadn't bought a new car a year or two before or I probably would have gotten one. I looked at ur full size wheel pics, and it looks like the spoke area is silver, so if you're just going to polish the face the GG 3" sounds like a good choice (that's what I bought mine for, that kind of thing). I'd use some MF pads and start with something like M205 then move up to 105 if that doesn't do it. Bear in mind that with those GM "high-polish" wheels, they sometimes have defects in the aluminum that show through the clear, so don't go crazy trying to polish out swirls that are actually in the underlying aluminum surface (don't ask me how I know).

[ziggo99]

Yeah, they're pretty nice. I don't have many a fault with mine, just the turning radius is a bit large at 42 ft. A shame that Saturn let their name get soiled for too long. There is still a stigma to them. Thanks for the tip on over polishing. There are a couple spider web spots that I'm concerned with, so I'll be extra careful on those wheels. Now I just have to wait for the weather to dry out.

[Setec Astronomy]

Thanks for the tip on over polishing. There are a couple spider web spots that I'm concerned with, so I'll be extra careful on those wheels. Now I just have to wait for the weather to dry out.

It's not really the danger of over-polishing, more the danger of wasting time and getting a headache from swirl aggravation. I went out and got a felt bob and hit one area on mine forever before I finally realized the guys polishing the wheels before the clearcoat aren't Autogeeks...