I can't tell, but are the slotted alloys on the 78-82s clear coated? The reason I am asking is I am planning to spin-buff polish the wheel with an abrasive pad to a mirror-like finish. Has anyone out there done this?

RON

Try a pad with a bit of polish on it ,,, if you get a black residue then the clear coat has been removed . If they have the clear coat get a can of stripper and the coating will come off ,just rinse with a hose afterwards . The rims will polish right up and they do not require a great deal of maintenance to keep them that way . I know because I did mine and they really came out great .

gman

PS get a linen type buffing wheel that mounts in a drill
avoid the abrasives



















|UPDATED|3/14/2003 7:19:00 PM|/UPDATED|

Thanks for you response!
I noticed that the inside of the slotted area is painted black. WiIl that area have to be masked when applying the stripper?

No need to worry about the slots ,after you strip the rim and wash the residue off they can be spray painted from the back side with your choice of color . When you polish the rim the over spray will be easily removed by the metal polish !

gman

I re-did some 82 riums I got for the CE. You can check out how I did it here
Cleaning alloy rims

I am also trying to restore the shine to my 78 aluminum wheels and I need some advice. I hand rubbed them with Mother's aluminum polish and they look much better, but nowhere as nice as I have seen on some. Plenty of black residue when I rubbed them with the paste. Would you also recommend using a linen pad on a drill and what type of polish should I use with it?

Barry