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Wheel repair and polishing
I sat down the other day with a friend of mine and we were discussing polishing aluminum. I have been doing a lot of that since I started doing restorations; it's a lot cheaper to polish it yourself than replace some of the items. At first I thought it would be easy just get some rouge and a buffing wheel and go to town.
It's a lot of work
and it requires a lot more than a buffing wheel. The material being polished
has to be clean and your hands have to be in gloves to prevent the oils from
your skin messing up your work.
By the time you get a little way into
the job you realize just how dirty you get along with the area you're working
in.
All of the above are good reasons to find someone else to do it;
especially if the aluminum is in need of repairs.
My friend Will
McCormick owner and operator of Showstoppa Customs does just that repair
wheels, polish motorcycle frames or any other part made of aluminum. As we
talked he explained to me how expensive some car wheels are and how repairing
them is a lot cheaper.
Motorcycle cast wheels get to looking pretty
shabby after a couple of years, between weather and the corrosive effects of
brake dust they tend to lose that factory shine after about five years.
Will showed me pictures of some of the wheels he had repaired. These
are wheels with dents or sections missing altogether. He would weld up material
and then cut or mill the weld down and reshape it to conform with the wheel.
Yes it sounds expensive but it's still cheaper to spend a couple of hundred on
a wheel which can cost up 1200 dollars. Having the wheels color matched or just
having them polished up can add lots of great looks as well style to your ride.
Take a look at these pictures I scanned from his portfolio….
click on the thumbnails for a larger image....
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