Stevexc Posted November 14, 2013 Report Share Posted November 14, 2013 So with the amount of wheels I have, and im always getting more, and the fact that hand polishing is the worst thing ever! Constantly jacking the car up, bolting a wheel to it and putting it in gear gets old very quick, not to mention the wasted petrol! I decided to make a wheel polisher. The idea was to use a old bench grinder with a pulley on the end and a fan belt to spin the wheel. To mount the wheel I use a old KE70 axle/hub mounted in a wooden box using the bearing on it to allow it to spin freely. This was my test setup- It was mounted to a bench in my garage, it worked well but the vibrations made shit fall off the selves and wet sanding made a bit of a mess in my garage. It also was very hard to remove the wheel because the belt could not be loosened. So I decided it had to be portable and the grinder needed to move to allow the belt to loosen to remove the wheel. So this is what I came up with- Using two saw horses and a sheet of MDF I mounted the axle/hub and attached another plank of wood on hinges for the grinder to allow it to tilt up to loosen and tighten the belt. I then needed to secure the second plank down to keep the belt tight. So I used a turn-buckle to hold it in place then easily loosen it to remove the wheel. This also means I can do different sized wheels! Im planning on making another one on the other side of the stand with a 5 stud hub so I can do a larger variety of wheels. Im surprised how well it worked! Ive started doing a wheel, got through 180 grit and 240 grit and It already looks 100 times better! Still have 360, 600, 800, 1200, 1500 2000 grit to go then 2 buffing compounds then polish! I should have a pair done tomorrow so I will post up before and after photos when theyre done. Anyways I thought Id put this up for anyone else who is sick of hand polishing wheels! Im happy to take more photos if someones interested in making one. 6 Quote Link to comment
Just Joel Posted November 14, 2013 Report Share Posted November 14, 2013 Looks good... mind your fingers ;) Quote Link to comment
MikeRL411 Posted November 14, 2013 Report Share Posted November 14, 2013 Turnbuckle Quote Link to comment
Stevexc Posted November 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2013 Looks good... mind your fingers ;) Haha yeah the centre of the rims not being flush makes it very easy to knock you knuckles, especially trying to get right into the inner edge. Quote Link to comment
Stevexc Posted November 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2013 Turnbuckle Thats the one!! Total mental block Yesterday! Thanks :) Quote Link to comment
MikeRL411 Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 Thats the one!! Total mental block Yesterday! Thanks :) No problem. Memory is the second thing to go. I can't remember what the first one was! 2 Quote Link to comment
Stevexc Posted November 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 So one wheel is done! Its still a long process but beats doing it by hand and the results are awesome! Heres to process of what I done- 180, 240, 400, 600, 800, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500 grit wet sands on the polisher. Takes about 5-10 mins per grit to do. The course grits are very important, I misses some of the tricky areas and it does show up in the end result. Then used Josco Brown Tripolicar Polishing Compound on a stitched rag wheel on a drill for about 10-15 mins Then used Josco White Sscard Polishing compound on a loose leaf buffing wheel on a drill for about 10-15 mins Then bolted the wheel back on the polisher and using autosol metal polish I done the final high speed polish for about 5-10mins Before- Josco Products- [/url] Comparison- [/url] End result- [/url] [/url] [/url] Now just need to strip the gold paint of the centres, then re-paint them. Bought a air brush kit to see if that gives a nicer result then using my touch up spray gun, should get into the tricky spots easier and less chance of getting any runs. 1 Quote Link to comment
MikeRL411 Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 And then a good clear coat? Quote Link to comment
Just Joel Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 ^^^^ Mount, dirty, repeat ;) Quote Link to comment
Stevexc Posted November 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 And then a good clear coat? Nah, I find clearing them actually dulls the shine. Im pretty pedantic with my wheels, and with a good clean and a polish with some autosol once a week they stay nice and shiny. ^^^^ Mount, dirty, repeat ;) nah just a quick wash and hand polish with autosol once a week or so keeps they nice, only have to do the sanding process as theyre all 30+ year old wheels haha Quote Link to comment
Just Joel Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 I know, just discouraging clear coating and enfisizing the need to constantly maintain true mirror polished barrels... In a rather simple and vague manner ;) unrelated, are you an autosol rep? :p 1 Quote Link to comment
hang_510 Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 very mad max. i like it! :thumbup: 1 Quote Link to comment
'70dime Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Got any pix of the hub setup? its suppose to rain this weekend and I'm thinking about making one of these. Quote Link to comment
Just Joel Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 I looked into trailer hub and spindle sets with no luck local in the 114.3 pattern... 1 Quote Link to comment
94EGCoupe Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 thats pretty neat. I polished a set of BBS's using the Ryobi Polish kit for a drill. Was a long and grueling process. Quote Link to comment
Cpl620 Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 looks dangerous.....i like it. Quote Link to comment
Ratwagon1600 Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Very Ratsun, good work! Quote Link to comment
bananahamuck Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I looked into trailer hub and spindle sets with no luck local in the 114.3 pattern... I tried quoting you and hit like button twice,, :rofl: :rofl: Anyway, :D ,, why not instead of trailer axle , get a strut and strip it down and use muffler clamps to bolt tube down to a workbench. Lots of different vehicles use that pattern. Quote Link to comment
Just Joel Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 lol, I was like "wow, banana REALLY liked that idea" :p Yeah, that's the plan. Not many junk yards over this way though :/ Quote Link to comment
freetheoranges Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 I want to do this but I have no extra hub nor bench grinder. Should I just go to pick n pull for a hub assembly and then a pawn shop for a bench grinder and then somewhere else for the pulley and belt? Quote Link to comment
FJ20_S12 Posted May 11, 2014 Report Share Posted May 11, 2014 Reminds me of when i did my first set of wheels, sanded/polished the lips from satin to mirror with a similar method, but mine was KA24DE powered ;) Quote Link to comment
Stevexc Posted May 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Reminds me of when i did my first set of wheels, sanded/polished the lips from satin to mirror with a similar method, but mine was KA24DE powered ;) Haha that sounds cool :P Im actually making "Wheel Polisher 2.0" tomorrow Got another plan in place to not only make it more secure/sturdy but should allow me to do wheels with tires too. Could even make it to do 2 wheels at once (with 2 people), just dunno if my smaller grinder will hold up to that, but will test it and see if the 2.0 will need a bigger grinder haha Will be working on replacing the plastic "pulleys" with metal ones too to stop them wearing out. Ill be sure to post photos if all goes well haha Quote Link to comment
Stevexc Posted May 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 Got this all made up before I left for my trip to Japan, but forgot to post it up here haha Works 100 times better then before, no wobbles! Just need to sort out a metal pulley as im burning through the plastic ones super fast! and running the belt straight off the grinder without a pulley just slow down the RPM of the wheel just a little too much, Still works just will take even longer to do each wheel. There is a reason I didnt cut the strut right down... If anyones wet sanded to re-finish wheels theyll know the mess it makes, especially when its spinning! So im going to make a "splash guard" to catch the water the spits off the wheels and drains into a bucket, saves me having to lay and hang tarps everywhere to avoid getting the dirty water on the floor... and walls.... and roof... I only got the test it very briefly as I made it the day before I was due to fly out for my holiday, but dont the first 3 sand paper grits on a SSR MKII and it worked great so far! Will finish the MK2s and everything else I have at home that needs referbing.. will probs need another holiday after all that polishing hahaha 1 Quote Link to comment
yellow510 Posted May 30, 2014 Report Share Posted May 30, 2014 nice work! your pics are inspiring me to try something like that too! Quote Link to comment
Stevexc Posted May 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2014 nice work! your pics are inspiring me to try something like that too! Thanks mate =) Yeah with the amount of wheels I refinish hand polishing / using a jacked up car got old reallll fast haha This was I can sit on a comfy chair not the floor hahha And for the amount it cost to build id recommend making one if you refinish a lot of wheels! Quote Link to comment
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