Great write up! I am bookmarking this one for later.;)

might have a go at this but I would want to go even better with the shine. I have a bench polisher and I will see if I can get some heat in there with the wheel will let you know how I get on.

Quaz - What technique did you use with the 3M brown pad. I am in the process of doing this but have found it takes 2 full pads and a good hour and a half just to get the anodizing off the rims. Not counting the petals. I also have the same makita drill and it is a workhorse. I have tried fast slow light pressure and hard. Our wheels look like they are/were in about the same shape.

I just set the speed on high and started applying light pressure. I found actually applying too much pressure was counter productive. The pad does all the work. If you just hold it in one spot with light pressure it will strip it clean in about 15 seconds. The only other thing that seems to help is to work from an edge that is already stripped. Just keep working that edge and it will come off. I am not kidding when I did 4 wheels in 2 hours.

Man that Makita drill is an animal. I have put mine through hell and back twice and it keeps going.

What paint is recommended should you want to repaint. Do you need to prime also?

I think the Wurth paint looks pretty good ... seems to be what most around here have used?

I am using a 2pk gloss with some tints added to dull the shine. very tough paint then

Let me add something. I have been polishing various AL parts on my car that have the same (I guess) clear anodize. From this BBS, I have used what others have recommended, Easy Off Oven Cleaner. 3 applications with steel wool in between and no physical effort and no dust. I leave the area right after spraying and when I get back 20 min later, there aren't too many fumes in a well ventilated area. You can start right in with repairs (sanding) of scratches and go right to polishing with the rough stuff.

Polishing is a big business and there are lots of sites with equipment and supplies. A "slapper" type wheel is great for beginning the polish, but won't cut thru the anodize like the Scotch Brite brown pad he is using. They are available all the way down to 320 grit and compounding from there is quick and easy.

I think the best fixture to work on is one of the front hubs on the car. I have a spare strut and hub that I bolt into a big vise so I can get away from the car with all the dust. I could always cover the car. ;)

All that said, AFA wheels go, I send them to Al Reed. But, it's handy to know how to do this stuff in case one wants to polish a fan or whatever. My rear quarter frames look outstanding. They shine like crazy. Makes the frames in the doors look like crap. Wish I never started because now I have to do it all. :D

Good thread. Thanks.

A little more info from my current exploit of this process. After removing the anodize with the 3M pad the wheels look like brushed aluminum. As suggested I started the polich process at this point. I was not satisfied with the result as it looked like a highly polished wheel with scratches. In an attempt to remedy the situation I continued to polish and really got no where. I finally decided to buy some sand paper and try that. I also found some finish sanding foam blocks 320 grit that I thought I might use to take out the real bad spots. Well I found those little pads are a real time saver. If you use them right after the 3M pad they sand take out all the scratches very effectively. After doing this the polish technique just jumps right off the wheel. Really fast shine and little scratches don't show anymore. I used the foam pad wet and it works much better than dry. The foam pad conforms to the wheel. The other grits of sandpaper I bought 800 and 1000 will probably never get used. Hope this helps. Also as a note I never did find a good technique with the 3M wheel. Just keep plugging away at it. Will post some pictures but I think the pictures already posted are pretty representative. I never would have thought of the 3M pads so this thread is much appreciated.

they look truly awesome.
It inspired me to do some thing similar.

Here's how they truned out:

http://www.myporsche911.co.uk/images/wheel-pic008s.gif

And here's how i did it:

http://www.myporsche911.co.uk/wheels-refurb.html

Beautiful job! I did my "lips only" the hard way, so I can appreciate what you avioded :). The only tip I have is give your dog a treat...he's obviously a great supervisor!

Great Dog!

Here's my wheel. pretty much the same process

http://www.myporsche911.co.uk/images...shed-small.jpg