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It looks great, it's cheap, and you don't have to have any kind of technical knowledge to do it. But whats the upkeep like? If you're like me, you spend more time riding your bike than looking at it / working on it. But for God's sake KEEP YOUR POLISHED WHEELS CLEAN! Mine got gross, and I figured I would clean them today, didn't get NEARLY as much done as I thought I could.
Attempt 1 - Aircraft stripper and steel wool like I used to strip and polish the first time. Utter failure.
Attempt 2 - Leave stripper on for 45 minutes, go mow the lawn, come back and rub the hell out of it. Got some dirt off, but that was it.
Attempt 3 - 400 grit sandpaper and a bucket of water. Getting somewhere, but still taking FOREVER.
Attempt 4 - 100 grit sandpaper and a spray bottle of water, got it.
If you're going to take the time to polish your wheels, do yourself a favor and get them clearcoated. Or, get some power tools so you're not doing it all by hand (lucky me). Make sure you realize that if you don't get them clearcoated, they are gonna be a pain in your *** to keep looking nice, even though I think it's worth the time.
My station:
This is what your wheels will look like eventually:
This is after four hours cleaning them up by hand:
Tips for keeping your polished aluminum wheels clean:
1.) HOT water and soap after every ride.
2.) If the wheels get wet, make sure they are dry when you park the bike. Water sitting in the lips is a quick way to get in trouble.
3.) Get some GOOD (read: Meguiar's) aluminum polish and make it a point to polish your wheels up pretty often. You want them to look good everytime you ride right?
4.) Finally, I am by no means an expert, but with the polished look I say you get out of it what you give. I'm willing to put in the hours scrubbing and washing, if you're not...then you might not want to polish them, because they look like absolute **** when they're dirty.
Anyone else got any suggestions to add? I feel like no one ever let me know about the maintenance and figured I'd do a little write up while I'm slaving in the driveway
Attempt 1 - Aircraft stripper and steel wool like I used to strip and polish the first time. Utter failure.
Attempt 2 - Leave stripper on for 45 minutes, go mow the lawn, come back and rub the hell out of it. Got some dirt off, but that was it.
Attempt 3 - 400 grit sandpaper and a bucket of water. Getting somewhere, but still taking FOREVER.
Attempt 4 - 100 grit sandpaper and a spray bottle of water, got it.
If you're going to take the time to polish your wheels, do yourself a favor and get them clearcoated. Or, get some power tools so you're not doing it all by hand (lucky me). Make sure you realize that if you don't get them clearcoated, they are gonna be a pain in your *** to keep looking nice, even though I think it's worth the time.
My station:
This is what your wheels will look like eventually:
This is after four hours cleaning them up by hand:
Tips for keeping your polished aluminum wheels clean:
1.) HOT water and soap after every ride.
2.) If the wheels get wet, make sure they are dry when you park the bike. Water sitting in the lips is a quick way to get in trouble.
3.) Get some GOOD (read: Meguiar's) aluminum polish and make it a point to polish your wheels up pretty often. You want them to look good everytime you ride right?
4.) Finally, I am by no means an expert, but with the polished look I say you get out of it what you give. I'm willing to put in the hours scrubbing and washing, if you're not...then you might not want to polish them, because they look like absolute **** when they're dirty.
Anyone else got any suggestions to add? I feel like no one ever let me know about the maintenance and figured I'd do a little write up while I'm slaving in the driveway
I have a plan for the can as well...stay tuned.
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