Fuchs Zen

old_skul · 08-02-2001, 12:30 AM

A while back, I purchased some nice polished Fuchs, 6s and 7s. A couple of months ago, I finally had my tires put on them, and I've been running them for a little while now.

I managed to somehow lose a valve stem on the highway (damn Firestone installer) and had a flat. It ruined the tire (a Yoke AVS Sport). So Firestone bought me a new tire, and I had a couple of new ones put on my car. Whatever they used to lubricate the bead left a *mess* on my rims, though.

So today I pulled each wheel off my car, and polished it with Mother's Mag Polish. Let me begin (ahem) by saying Mother's is a great polish. It made my wheels very, very shiny.

Now for the Zen part: I was just sitting there, in a chair next to my car, with wheel after wheel up on another chair next to me. The way to do this is to smear on some polish...grab your polishing cloth...rub firmly on a small area, and as the cloth turns black, move to a light area. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. You kinda go in sections...the petals first, then the webbing, then the rim itself. In bits and peices, you slowly wind up with a polished rim again.

It takes hours. And it's not exactly kind to your fingers, either. I still have mag polish under my fingernails.

So you sit and polish...and for me, I slowly just got into this pattern of smear...rub...buff...smear...rub...buff...and I sank into this totally Porsche-suffused state. It was all Porsche, just me, my car, a hot-ass day, and my rims. You think about different things at first, but eventually your mind runs out of things to think about (unless you're Jack and uber-creative

) and you kinda sink into this state of not thinking at all. Smear. Rub. Buff. Smear. Rub. Buff. It's pretty cool.

Man, my rims are shiny now. Thought I'd share.

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Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2
1987 Escort 5-speed 1.9 RIP
The Porsche Owners Gallery

Rufblackbird · 08-02-2001, 12:38 AM

C'mon Mark, show us a pic!

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Jeff
1974 911 Targa (not running, but mobile)
1976 911S Coupe (running, but not mobile)

Ilan · Ilan's Garage

Really motivating tale, Mark. Its 95 in Utah, and a perfect day for polishing my Fuchs and getting into a Zen zone. On the other hand, having spent the entire day yesterday preparing and painting the fancy new front doors my wife wanted, I think I've had enough Zen, and instead will go for some thrills by taking the Pcar up the mountains.

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Early_S_Man · 08-02-2001, 08:23 AM

Just a brief caution about wheel polish -- It is an abrasive! Unless your Fuchs were already polished, you will RUIN the anodized finish by polishing them!

THINK VERY CAREFULLY -- about whether you want to destroy the anodized finish! Your owner's manual has cleaning and preservation tips in it for the FUCHS wheels!

Deciding to polish your wheels is an irreversible step -- think carefully, and sleep on the issue!
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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

[This message has been edited by Early_S_Man (edited 08-02-2001).]

pwd72s · 08-02-2001, 08:29 AM

Warren, I witcha! Why would anyone want to remove the beautiful anodizing?

island911 · 08-02-2001, 03:18 PM

. . .usually 'cuz some one ooked them up w/ some nasty wheel cleaner.

'81 Platinum Metalic SC COUPE

old_skul · 08-02-2001, 03:30 PM

Oh, it's OK, Warren. These wheels were already polished out long ago. They're just bare aluminum. And there's a price you pay for that beauty - they tarnish and spot and pit quickly. I expect to have to polish them once more before I put them away for the winter. (assumes German accent) "Zen again..."

Hmmm....pictures. Been a while since I did the picture thing. Maybe I'll do that, since I haven't posted any pics of the car since I got the new wheels on.

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Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2
1987 Escort 5-speed 1.9 RIP
The Porsche Owners Gallery