Polishing my 4.6's wheels

[TravsX5]

If you've ever wondered what was under all that paint on your OEM wheels. I have done the work for you.

I want to warn anyone wanting to attempt this, that it is NOT a fast project. Currently i have 100+ hours just in sanding and polishing time. So if you want to attempt this, make certain you have secondary transportation or a second set of wheels and tires.

I started by having my wheels soda blasted, which looking back was a mistake. The soda blasters had my wheels for almost a month before they got around to them, and I could have just worked through the paint and primer with other methods.

Next I used 2" Scotch-Brite Roloc surface conditioning discs and worked through the rough casting to get down to the bare metal. The product numbers 051131-07515 (medium) and 051131-07516 (fine) are specifically made for aluminum.

I then started dry sanding at 320 grit, but I'll be honest. There were spots where i had to take a step backwards to 120 grit to get rid of marks I couldn't get out from the inital sanding with the conditioning discs. After removing all the marks i went back to 320. Yes this was a time consuming process.

Next i started wet sanding at grits

400
800
1000
2000

Then finally i buffed with a buffing wheel and metal polish.

I hope everyone enjoys the pics of my shiny 4.6's wheels.

As a side thought for anyone thinking that stopping at 800 or 1000 grit is enough to make mirrors out of your wheels. I have buffed them up at 800 and 1000 grit both and both was disappointing. 2000 grit was far superior IMHO. But thats just my opinion