ok so i posted this in the how to polish wheel section, but i just really needed an answer quick. got work in an hour. haha.

so i followed all the steps and now the lip is dull looking. its primer looking. so i applied mothers polish with a clean white tee (100% cotton) and it gets a little shiny, but its still grey. and its nothing near mirror looking. what do i do? thanks

 

explain what you did step by step. You probably did not sand with enough grits or you did not sand long enough. Did you wet sand?

 

1) dry sand with 220
2) wet sand with 320
3) wet sand with 400
4) wet sand with 600
5) wet sand with 800
6) wet sand with 1500

just like the sticky on the top of this forum says.

 

maybe you didn't use enough grades. I used 220, 320, 400, 500 dry then 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000 wet. Then rubbing compound, then polishing compound, then mothers then blue magic, then wax. Dont rush it. take your time. How long total did you spend sanding?

 

maybe you should try a buffer. I remember i used mothers by hand on one rim and mothers with a buffer on another and the difference was great. The hand polished one was kinda shiny, the buffered one was like a mirror.

 

hmm i just dont wanna spend money on a buffer and end up that not being the problem. i spent like 1.5-2 hours on just the lip.

 

is it supposed to look primer looking after sanding with the last grit? and i used a lot of water.

 

no, its supposed to have a shiny look to it at that point. not like a mirror but slightly reflective. A cheap buffer will do the trick, i bought a 30 dollar one and the amount of time i saved was worth it to me. You can even get one for about 20 at walmart or something. Save time and get better results. Worth it in my book....

 

hmm ill look into getting a buffer. since you said its supposed to look shiny after the last grit, maybe i didnt sand enough?

if thats the case, where should i start sanding again? after wet sanding with 400, i honestly didnt see any change. i spent probably 7 minutes with 400. is that way too short?

 

i think that is way to short. its hard to say without seeing though. Dont use a t shirt, use an old towel or something. I think you need to have something thats a little rough for the mothers to really "bite" and get a good shine out of it.

 

oooh i think youre right. when i get home from work later, im going to sand some more. what kind of change is it supposed to look like going from one grit to the next?

 

smaller scratches. I remember that by the time i was on 500 dry it was starting to look kinda shiny but as soon as i started wet sanding it got dull again. Basically just remove the scratches from the previous grit. Maybe use a block to help you put pressure on it. Good luck and keep me posted.

 

dude, thanks a lot for your help! so after 220 grit, do i wet sand all the other grits? or do i go from dry to wet to dry to wet?

 

NO!!! dry then wet. dont go back to dry after you have started wet sanding. dont use too much water either. moist, not soaking.

 

if you use the grits i did start wet sanding on 600, if you use what you have id start on the 400.

 

this is true and also after you are done use rubbing compound thoroughly then use the mothers polish and also, i spend about 30 mins per grit (hand sanding) with each of the sub 800 grits so i can get a deeper shine..

hand polishing is a pain to do on all four wheels so i just send em out to get done.

 

oooh maybe thats why, i've been soaking it. haha. oh and rubbing compound? whats that for?

 

rubbing compound in an abrasive. Think of it as liquid sandpaper. The "grit" you get depends on the brand you buy but its supposed to remove fine lines. It usually says on the bottle what is would be the equivalent of. Yeah, its a lot easier to send it out to get polished but id rather spend my time and not my money. At least that way i can say that i did it myself. Thats just me. I dont think its really that hard to do but its very time consuming.

 

oh so is it necessary to use rubbing compound? and what grit would i need?

 

ok well i looked through the garage, and my dad has something called : turtlewax color cure car polish. i dont know if this is it. lol. i dont wanna try it unless someone knows this is it.it doesnt say rubbing compound. well while im waiting for a reply im gonna go re sand the lip.

 

i never said it was hard. it's just TIME consuming. i can replace my money but not my time. maybe you will feel the same away as me in a couple years or maybe you wont. to each their own.

and to the OP: buy actual rubbing compound

 

alright rubbing compound, ill go buy some.

so you guys were right, i sanded down with less water and sanded longer and the grey stuff came off and i've gotten a lot of progress. it actually looked shiny. but i've been wet sanding for like 1.5 hours and i've only got HALF of the lip done. and theres still some little gray dots. its such a B****. so i hope im doing this right

 

alright guys, im about to go to work right now, so i have to sadly continue my project later
:[

well this is what one looks like right now. as you can see in the 3rd picture, theres still gray lines!

 

dude once you get to 800+ wet, you gotta rub your *** off, its takes a while sand san sand hard and heavy up to 1500, take your time, go to orielly's and get a 5" buff wheel that goes on a drill with mothers and buff it again and again untill it perfect. Ive polished dozens of sets of wheels, it a bitch, but worth it.

 

those grey lines look like the clear coat that comes on the wheels to me. You probably did not get all of it when you first started sanding. Its hard to get at that small of an edge, you might want to use a block or something to get in there.