Hey guys ok so last night I went to walmart and picked up 400 1000 and 2000 grid sand paper then i got few different polishing compounds and some polishing rings for the drill after about an hour worth of work my "chrome" lip looked like polished metal which is what i was going for. Everything looks like new now and im very impressed maybe i will even write up a DIY on that with pictures or video. But my question is " Do you have to apply clear coat on the metal after you done polishing them if not then would they rust since they are just metal or not really? Thanks and if anyone ever done this please explain your way to me thanks

 

It will rust, or oxidize depending on the composition of the wheel. If it is aluminum it will haze over, or oxidize, and if it is steel, it will rust. Either way a good clear coat will protect your hard work.

 

It depends on the material.
If they are metal (like you said) it will rust. It will be a great idea to paint it over or if you want to keep the look, put some clear coats on them.

Any pictures?

 

more than likely your wheels have aluminum lips (most do), so they will just oxidize over time. i recommend getting Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish. It works great. that's what i use on my lips, and best of luck to you if they're you're daily driving wheels, as you'll have to polish them constantly

 

So i got out of work today and came home to finish these so this is what i was able to do in 3 hours today. Tell me what you think guys

 

How did you fill the low spots where you ground down the damage?

 

I just grinded the spots until it was as even as i can get to the rest and then sanded until its even with the rest of the surface. Lol it was a PITA. Im glad that there is only one wheel like that but the outcome came out amazing.

 

That looks really good! You did a nice job refinishing those wheels.

Are you planning to keep the center/spokes the same color or are you repainting them?

 

I was actually thinking about repainting them same color as my car but I will wait for the warm day to put them on first and see how black with look on my car. I found some paint that matches my car color so if i decide i will paint it silver and keep the lip polished metal which i think will look pretty sick. If you have any ideas for those rims let me know.