Triumphrat

06-12-2006

Was wondering if anyone has had to re-polish the lips of their rims and what they used. After years of use with little or no cleaning, the rims are stained and need re-polished. All of my normal polishes are not working very well, any advice? These rims are cast aluminum correct (95 Triumph Trident 900)? Any outstanding product that you guys use?

tealetm · 06-12-2006

I've thought about polishing the lip on my S3 wheels... and have inquired here n how to go about it. No response.

marcosmaniac · 06-13-2006

My Sprint 900 had coated wheels, I stripped the rims , then used wet/dry paper starting with 800 grade and working to the finest available. Use a little lube with the paper (WD40)
Then get a really good metal polish, Auto Sol seems about the best in the UK and work really hard. You should be able to get a good result in about 8 to 12 hours!!! It's worth it, mine give me hours of amusement when a girl in a short skirt stands next my front wheel :lgh:

tealetm · 06-13-2006

Do you have any pictures of before/after product?

BadMiker · 06-13-2006

I am a bit of a polishing pervert I'm afraid.

I think Marcos is right; start off removing any serious stains/coatings with something more abrasive; emery paper or wet&dry. This will leave a rough surface which can then be made progressively smoother until the required silk smooth mirror finish is achieved. Personally I've always found power tools necessary for this. A set of polishing mops; ideally mounted to one end of a bench, but fixed in a hand drill is OK.

Autosol is great; I love the smell of hot autosol in the morning. You can alse get jewellers rouge; red and black for a really fine polish.

Dont know how practical it is for wheels, but for small components it's definitely worth looking into hard anodising to keep your hard earned shine.

I, too, have been thinking about polishing my S3 rims. Have you got any pictures of your rims on the bike, Marcos?

marcosmaniac · 06-13-2006

I've taken a couple of pics, but the Album pages are closed to new submissions at the moment. I'll put them up as soon as I can. Unless some one can tell me of a way to post them without having them hosted elsewhere on the net.

pendraig · 06-13-2006

My wheels are grey coated. I've always admired the look of polished rims, The guys that I know who have sported them always said that they sent them off to have them done. I never knew anyone who undertook the job himself. How long does it take? Do you have to clear-coat them to keep the metal from oxidising afterward?
And then, to re-ask bgfootball67's question, are they indeed aluminum, magnesium or some other alloy?

tealetm · 06-13-2006

Marcosmaniac,

If you want to send a few pictures to me I'll post them up for ya.

marcosmaniac · 06-13-2006

How long does it take? feels like forever when your doing them! In reality one weekend should give you a reasonable result. I didn't clear coat my wheels as I'm never quite sure they're polished enough !! The bike seldom goes out in bad weather, so a quick buff with some polish every other week keeps them pretty good. When you want a mirror finish, just rub a little harder for a little longer. As far as material, they're some sort of aluminum alloy, I doubt Triumph would have used Magnesium for a road bike as it has a tendency to micro crack, Race bike/car wheels seldom last a full season when under stress.

tealetm · 06-14-2006

A few pictures of Marcosmaniac's wheels:

Mikey likey!

I think I'm going to attempt this process this week prior to putting new rubber on.