brushed aluminum finish

[maxnine11]

hello metal finishing experts -

I bought a new set of Centerline wheels for my work truck. They are polished aluminum. I want to change the look to a brushed aluminum appearance, like the old, original Centerline wheels.
Does anyone have a suggestion on how to achieve the desired finish ??

TIA for any advise or links.



max

[Danny_Ocean]

[Normy]

Brushed aluminum looks good to me. It just needs to be applied in the right place at the right time.

N!

[Oh Haha]

Yep, Scotchbrite works great.

I had a set of Centerlines on an old Camaro and used this technique. Be sure to go with the "circle" of the wheel.

I put a light coat of clearcoat on mine as well. Satin, I think.

[maxnine11]

Thanks for the quick reply Danny. Any particular "grade" of scoth-brite pad ??

I also found this- if it makes sense to anyone: http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/biophysics/technotes/fabric/finish.htm#brushed

[Danny_Ocean]

I would start with the WalMart stuff first to see how it goes. If not satisfied, step-up to something more industrial. Do you have a lathe or any way to turn the wheels?

[maxnine11]

Do you have a lathe or any way to turn the wheels?

Yes !! The rest of the F-150 !
I thought i would just put it up on blocks and engage "D"

[red911sc]

Originally Posted by maxnine11

Yes !! The rest of the F-150 !
I thought i would just put it up on blocks and engage "D"

It's amazing how sometimes the simplest statement makes you ROFLMAO!

[Oh Haha]

Originally Posted by red911sc

It's amazing how sometimes the simplest statement makes you ROFLMAO!

Actually, this method works pretty good.

I did this with my wheels before I had the tries mounted so that I could get a consistent finish.

You can do it with the tires mounted but the valve stem kind of gets in the way.

[red911sc]

I absolutely agree it would work well (except the valve stem getting in the way slightly). I was being sincere in the amount of amusement I received from the simplicity of the reply. Sometimes we make things much harder than they need to be like using a lathe (which is a fine idea don't get me wrong) when the wheel (at least 1 any way) is already attached to a suitable rotating motivational device.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by maxnine11

Thanks for the quick reply Danny. Any particular "grade" of scoth-brite pad ??

I'd start with the burgundy/maroon 3m stuff, as it is a bit more coarse, and will hold up better. You should be able to find it in any automotive paint supply store, or most 3M/PPG distributors. I did a set of Fuchs using that method (after removing the anodizing) and they turned out nice. It just takes a bit of patience to get a consistent "brushed" appearance. I found that cutting a large sheet of the stuff into 2" x 2" squares worked for me, and stretched the material-life out a bit.
Have fun!

[maxnine11]

thanks everyone.
Eric, I'll try to track down the 3M stuff you suggest.

max