LocostUSA.com

I'm thinking I should move to Texas! Seriously, though, costs for anything of this nature in my area are stupid expensive. Having a shop refinish them will cost $300-$400 per wheel, no matter which process I use. No wonder sales of aftermarket wheels are so brisk hereabouts - it's way cheaper than getting your existing ones fixed up! I even spoke to a machine shop, to see if they could do a cut. They referred me to wheel-refurbishing specialty shops which have a special machine for doing it, but their cost is as above.

Our big-rig shop in town says they don't refurbish or polish wheels locally - they ship them out.

I wish my lathe could swing the wheels, because I could do a nice cut myself. Unfortunately, it's only a 9" swing (well, it will go up to 9 1/2"). I did use it for my disc brake rotors, and they cleaned up like brand new.

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

I spent half a day today sanding & polishing the second wheel, and I’m slowly getting better at it. The simple answer is…”There ain’t no easy way”. Lots of sandpaper & lots of elbow grease are what’s required to make it happen.

The only power tools that are of any benefit at all are the die grinder with superfine sandpaper, followed by 3M Scotchbrite pads, to remove the spokes' “record grooves” initially. On the rims, the die grinder with a buffing wheel & red jeweler’s rouge is necessary...but first, of course, is sandpaper – lots & lots of black aluminum oxide sandpaper, starting with 320, then 400, 600, 1000 and finally 1500, all used wet. It’s mind-numbingly boring, disgustingly filthy, and shoulder-achingly repetitive.

I set up a small table to set the wheel on, and my shop stool so I can sit down, but my shoulders ache from hour, after hour, after hour, of wet sanding.

On the plus side, the handheld Scotchbrite pads do a good job of making a satin finish on the spokes & wheel centers, and once the 1500 wet sand is done on the rim, the buffing wheel finally becomes effective.

Here’s a pic of some of today’s progress. The rim is actually a lot more mirrored than the pic shows (cell phone pic, so…). A little more work with the buffing wheel, re-paint the flat black areas, wash the sanding muck off the tire, and this wheel is done. I flatted all the center caps with Scotchbrite pads, and they match the satin spokes exactly.

In the final analysis, I think this is going to work. And, if I’m not happy with it, it will already be prepped for paint!

I guess it behooves me to remember that these wheels are probably 40 years old, and have suffered the rigors of daily driving, curb rash, rock dings, salt, grease, road grime, etc., so it's unrealistic to expect them to ever be perfect again. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to fit & finish, so I'm having to come to terms with the concept of "good enough". I guess this is just one of those times when I have to accept that they'll look fantastic...provided that they're viewed from 10 feet away.

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Looking good! I'll put my vote in for the polished lip, black center. I've always been a sucker for that. Certainly much more than the all-black look which seems so popular. All polished with the black insets like that looks great too but wow that is really a lot of work!

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-Keith

WOW! You have way more stamina than me!
Wax on Wax off my friend

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Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

I think the hardest part is trying to remain patient during the sanding process. The desire to jump to the buffing wheel early, just to "see how it's coming along" is almost overwhelming, but on this wheel I resisted the temptation. I kept sanding with the 1500 wet paper until I could actually see a fairly clear reflection in the rim, and then I went to the buffing wheel. I didn't bother with different grades of rouge, just stuck to red, which has little cut, just polish. I use a 4" stitched wheel (loose on the outer 1/2" of its diameter), in a small air die grinder.

For anyone contemplating doing this, it works great, BUT...(caveat, here)...if you use the die grinder at full speed, no matter how little pressure you apply to the wheel, it will burn the wax carrier in the rouge, causing long, narrow, black streaks on the workpiece. These come off with acetone, and lots of scrubbing with a soft cloth. Don't try to remove them with your fingernail - it's very easy to do, but the burnt streaks have concentrated abrasive in them and they'll leave scratches...lots of scratches. Ask me how I know...

The trick is to not depress the die grinder's trigger all the way, and keep the speed down to 50% or less. That way there's not enough heat build up to burn the wax and, in the long run, it's a lot quicker. It's difficult to regulate the trigger like that, with any degree of accuracy. Somewhere, I have a tiny little pressure regulator that fits on hand-held air tools. Somewhere. Hmmm - I last saw it about 25 years (and 2 house moves) ago. Funny, can't quite recall where I left it...

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

For the record (to show the condition of the wheels pre- and post-polish), here's a pair of before/after pics. Same wheel. About 10 hours of stripping, sanding, and polishing made pic #2 possible.

I still have 2 wheels to go, and I'm dreading it...my shoulder feels like I've been doing one-armed chin ups for a week...



I still have some work to do on it, but it's almost done. I kind of like the satin/polished combination, but if I decide to go with paint on the spokes, it's already prepped for paint - just mask the rim, & blow it over.

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

It might be a lot of work, but the results are nice!

If you decide to stay with the polished look, there are several clear coat paints marketed specifically for wheels. None of them look at nice as bare metal, but they're easier to keep clean, and if the paint gets foggy you can remove it with paint thinner or stripper (sometimes) and reapply.

A friend had a set of Campagnolo magnesium wheels that looked *glorious* when polished... but magnesium corrodes with a hard look; he found if he wanted them to stay nice, he had to polish them every week.

Those look brand new. Well done! I'm not sure - strike that - I am sure that I would never go thru that effort personally

Polishing the wheels is just part of "the total Se7en look" though. Think of the effort those that have bare aluminum bodywork go thru. By the time you get finished polishing the last panel, it is time to start all over again.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Yeah - and, aside from the fenders & nose, I plan on going with polished aluminum body work. I foresee many hours of polishing in my future! I may have to consider a clear coat, for both the panels & wheels. I've heard there are some available that look almost as good as polished metal, but I haven't looked into specifics yet. It will be a while before I get to that stage - I have so much to do first!

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

This is shaping up really nice. Dash, Wheels, all of it. Nice job.

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Steve

My build : http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtop ... 35&t=17160

MGB/GT V8 5.0L. viewtopic.php?f=36&t=20782

Have you considered using an oscillating hand tool like this?
https://www.harborfreight.com/power-too ... 63111.html
Bill

Another option, if you have a right angle die grinder is 4" Scot-brite pads. They are available in aggressive grit to super fine, which is probably about the same a 600 grit paper. I then finished off buffing with an old aluminum buffer that weigh a ton and Formax rouge. Then a final polish with Mothers. It took less then an hour a wheel, but I was only doing the rim not centers. Dave W

I hadn't thought of an oscillating sander. I've seen them of course, but I've never used one or even known anyone who has one. I'll have to look into that!

davew - I've been using a right-angle die grinder with Roloc 2" extra-find sanding discs & 3M Scotchbrite discs for the initial sanding after stripping, to get the surfaces down to more or less flat & to remove the machined-in "record grooves" which originally gave the wheels a prismatic effect when they were new. Unfortunately, the supplies of these 3M items are woefully scarce hereabouts. I buy what I can, when I can find them, but usually only the rather coarse ones are available. I think I'm going to do some hunting on Amazon, to see if I can find some of the elusive extra-fine ones. That could save a LOT of work!

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

I got to visit the Zetec7 workshop today to meet Mike and to see his car. Wow! Is his car ever fantastic! The pictures here in his build log are great but seeing the car in person was so much better. The attention to detail and Mike's craftsmanship are awesome! The car looks like something that was built in a factory on a production line (and that's meant only as a compliment). There are no rough edges or portions that "don't look right". It is really something that he can be proud of.

A couple of the things that really stand out are the dash and the overall dimension/visual balance of the car. The dash looks exactly like something that would have come out of the MG or Austin factory in the 60's. The fit and finish are perfect, the close lines around the glove box door are exact and the components are exactly right even though they were sourced from a variety of vehicles. I'll be happy if my dash is eventually 1/2 as nice as Mike's.

The driver's seat and position are absolutely great. The car is plus 4 plus 4 (correct Mike?) and that makes it easy to get into and out of and means that the pedal box is wide enough to wear normal footwear when driving. There's even a little flip down dead pedal for longer trips.

The recent photos of his wheels also don't do justice to the huge difference between the Before and After look of the wheels. The wheels look like they're new once the polishing is complete but the process he's going through to get them that way is physically brutal and time consuming. I give him kudos for going to the effort, I don't think that I would have the stamina.

This is going to be one super nice Locost when it's complete.

During our conversation today Mike also solved a welding problem for me. I've now realized that I haven't been purging my welder and lines after changing gas mixtures and that that probably accounts for the crappy first 6" of welding when I switch to stainless from steel. I shoulda thought of that myself.

I also found out that Mike's first car was a 1962 Fiat 600 sedan. If you look at my avatar you can see that we obviously have a common interest in old Fiats so that gave us even more to talk about. A guy that owned a 600 has to be alright!

I really enjoyed the visit with Zetec7 and hope that we can get together again in the future.

Bill

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Bill H
Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Thanks so much, Bill! I had a great time visiting with you and your lovely wife - it's excellent getting to meet another forum member & car builder in person!! It's great talking here on the forum, but meeting someone in person is far better.

For those who don't know him, Bill is a very accomplished welder, builder, and fabricator in his own right - his car is going to be amazing, without a doubt! He's knowledgeable, personable, and outgoing - a pleasure to talk to!!

Bill's a Fiat guy, for sure. He's using the running gear from a Fiat 124 Spyder for his build (one of my all-time, favorite, "must-have" cars - I've coveted them for years, but every time one came up for sale it cost more than I could manage at the time), which should be a fantastic choice. It helps that he's a Fiat whiz, too - knowing the "donor" inside & out will be a BIG help in the build process. He's building the car with a full cage, to help protect him in the event of a crash while driving on the street. This differs from my strategy...if I see an impending crash, I intend to, well, duck . Not quite as effective as Bill's plan, I'm afraid, but I've gone too far to change it now!

Anyway, Bill, your comments are hugely appreciated - although my wife says that after reading them...I need to buy a bigger hat!!

Cheers, Bill, and I'm looking forward to seeing you again!!

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/