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Im working on cleaning up a 2007 Super Glide. Im having good luck sanding and polishing the lower forks but am unsure how to clean the wheels.
The two problem areas are the staining in the rough cast part of the spokes and on the polished rim areas that have some sort of corrosion. Any advice is welcome.
If it were me, I'd sand down the rim surfaces along with the flats on the spokes then take them out and have them media blasted and powder coated in one or two colors to match the bike. But that's just what I'd do.
I've done a lot of polishing on aluminum , but never tried it on a rough service , for rims , I've used circa paint & varnish remover to remove the clear . Then use some steel wool or 1200-2000 grit sandpaper ( wetsand ) , finish using different sizes of buffing wheels on a drill . This was how I did the rims on my King , it's a long process , but worth the outcome .
If you don't mind a dull finish on the rough area of the rime , I would just use fine steel wool to remove the corrosion and leave it at that , but polish the smooth surface , might be a nice contrast .
Your going to have to maintain all the bare aluminum after the initial polishing is done , I use Blue Magic , works very well , but you could also just use a clear coat as well , they make some specifically for aluminum .
Consider having them powdercoated. Easy to clean, just occasional dusting.
In the long run, you will spend much less time keeping your wheels looking nice.
I've done a lot of polishing on aluminum , but never tried it on a rough service , for rims , I've used circa paint & varnish remover to remove the clear . Then use some steel wool or 1200-2000 grit sandpaper ( wetsand ) , finish using different sizes of buffing wheels on a drill . This was how I did the rims on my King , it's a long process , but worth the outcome .
If you don't mind a dull finish on the rough area of the rime , I would just use fine steel wool to remove the corrosion and leave it at that , but polish the smooth surface , might be a nice contrast .
Your going to have to maintain all the bare aluminum after the initial polishing is done , I use Blue Magic , works very well , but you could also just use a clear coat as well , they make some specifically for aluminum .
This is what Im going for. I know powder coating would be awesome but Im trying to build this bike on a budget. Ill try the steel wool and sanding for now. I can always go the powder coating route if it doesnt work out.
When you finally get to the polishing stage after you get the aluminum as smooth as possible by wet sanding , you'll want more than one buffing wheel , using rouge , start with red , the move to blue / green , polish until you get to where your happy with the outcome . The polishing process will bring out some fine scratches that you may have missed , so keep some 2000 gritt handy and wet sand those areas and re polish .
Here's a pic of the work I did a couple of years ago , forks , rims , rotors , caliper covers , took me a couple of months , but I had all winter , count on adding up the hrs .
I'm doing a set of sportster forks soon , but they will be off the bike , which makes it easier to do on the bench polisher .
When you finally get to the polishing stage after you get the aluminum as smooth as possible by wet sanding , you'll want more than one buffing wheel , using rouge , start with red , the move to blue / green , polish until you get to where your happy with the outcome . The polishing process will bring out some fine scratches that you may have missed , so keep some 2000 gritt handy and wet sand those areas and re polish .
Here's a pic of the work I did a couple of years ago , forks , rims , rotors , caliper covers , took me a couple of months , but I had all winter , count on adding up the hrs .
I'm doing a set of sportster forks soon , but they will be off the bike , which makes it easier to do on the bench polisher .
That looks incredible! I think thats more than Im going for but the results are beyond impressive.
I would duct tape off the smooth spots that i want a high luster on and then lightly sand blast the rest of the wheel. Remove tape and polish out what ever you taped off. Takes some labor on your part, but is cheap and effective.
When you finally get to the polishing stage after you get the aluminum as smooth as possible by wet sanding , you'll want more than one buffing wheel , using rouge , start with red , the move to blue / green , polish until you get to where your happy with the outcome . The polishing process will bring out some fine scratches that you may have missed , so keep some 2000 gritt handy and wet sand those areas and re polish .
Here's a pic of the work I did a couple of years ago , forks , rims , rotors , caliper covers , took me a couple of months , but I had all winter , count on adding up the hrs .
I'm doing a set of sportster forks soon , but they will be off the bike , which makes it easier to do on the bench polisher .
That entire front end looks amazing! I've never seen stainless brake rotors polished before but they turned out really nice. I might give the rotors on my Ultra a go this winter. I also find that once aluminum is polished to a really nice finish, its actually pretty easy to maintain so long as you throw some soap and water at it occasionally.
Last edited by flh canuck; Oct 31, 2021 at 12:40 PM.
Reason: Asked a question and then noticed answer was already in original post....
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How do I clean these wheels?
