Wheel restoration

[steven Durham]

Well when you find a mini bike with aluminum wheels that have gone to the gray look and do not shine at all. How is the best way to make them shine. Could you use a rotating drum to use like a shot peening action or glass beading with glass or some other media material .
I see even wheel half's sell on e-bay so if I find a set of go power wheels or Rupp Turbine wheels can they be brought back to life and once more shine.
When I worked at the Beverly Hilton Hotel we had a machine to polish the silver coffee servers and sugar and creamer pieces and that rotating drum used small steel shot and they came out real nice.
Any advise will be great these wheels are stacking up.
Steve

 

[minibikin']

I like to media blast mine, and then I use a red Scotch Brite with some WD40. It puts a nice finish on aluminum.

 

[deezildennis]

I bead blast mine and send them to JMB Performance and PowderCoat to have them coated almost chrome.

They usually come out looking better than stock. I think I paid $35 for a set of wheels last time I did it..

 

[steven Durham]

I have a wheel half that I cracked by me being too impatient so I will use it as a Guinea pig and glass bead it and see how it comes out. The powder coating sounds like a good thing for some of the more valuable wheels. We have a shop owned by a biker that does power coating I will have to give it a try. They say if the parts have a little pitting from rust that the powder coating will fill some of the imperfections.
Steve

 

[deezildennis]

if the shop is good they can actually fill small pits with powder first to fill in the lower areas.

They can also use Lab Metal to fill bigger nicks before they coat.

My hands already hurt from the work I do so $40 is easy to spend if my hands get some downtime.

The almost chrome JMB shoots has damn near the same finish as my new ball burnished astro wheels do. Its pretty nice.

 

[steven Durham]

Sound like a good plan . I remember polishing out an Edlebrock intake manifold by hand and later found out that the factory made them for a few bucks more.
Steve