Well it appears I'm changing over from my beloved Torque Thrusts to slot mags, because as far as I know TTs never came in 14x10s, needed for my new N50 bias ply meats. I run 14s because with a 75" wheelbase my heap looks like one of those newfangled gangster pimpmobiles with 15s on it. So I cleaned up a set of slots, soda blasted even, and tried in earnest to polish, but the corrosion and pitting (though hard to tell in the photo) is just too deep for a nice polished finish without more hours of sanding and polishing than they are worth. Plus every time the buffing wheel hits a slot I have to go over the back fence and retrieve the rim. So here they sit, phoshpo washed and flat. Not too bad I suppose. Anyone have any neato ideas, magic elixirs, out of work cousins or anything to dress 'em up? I've considered powder coating, I know they make some nice aluminum/silver like finishes. Just don't want the plastic look. Another thing I saw once was rough sand blasted slots. Looked really good, fresh out of the blast, but might need a coating to stay nice.
I cheated and took mine to a truck stop and paid the aluminum polishing guys who do the tanks and wheels on big rigs to do it . I used to use a 3" flannel clothwheel on a air die grinder with the air pressure cut back and lots of flitz to make them like chrome , but didn't like the tiger stripes I had on my face from doing it ..
no to powder coating - polishing rims takes special equipment and hard work. but, possibly call around to any shops near you that build hot rods, etc for a possible lead.
I've given them a fake "machined look" by bolting them to a hub, spinning them by hand while rubbing 80 grit sandpaper on them. They don't look like new, but they get to where they don't look too bad. N50-14 tires...wow....
I had some 14 X 9 slots I saved from a scrapper. had to pay him scrap weight which was about 30 bucks for the pair. after 3 or 4 swap meets and an equal amount of craigslist ads someone finally bought them for what I paid for them.... as for polishing aluminum, the best way is with a big old Baldor buffer.
Not saying you should but some guys have been known to spray them with easy off oven cleaner and they take on a old magnesium look. Like I say,I haven't done it but have seen some that was reportedly done that way. HRP
What it the real result you need for these wheel's? Is it really a polished out near chrome look? Raw aluminum is a high maintenance deal. There are sealants to prolong the finished look you decide upon.
Thanks guys. Slammed, good question. I guess high polish ultimately looks nicest but I can live with less, just want to know before I put the tires on. I just called a friend who has a giant Baldor buffer, the scare the shit out you kind, who says we can take a shot at them Friday so I'll persevere then. If we can at least get the outer part I like Stimpy and Crazy's idea of high speed air motor to get around the slots and lugs. Also like Squirrels idea of the sanded 'machine finish', and if all else fails that's probably the plan but I don't want to make them any rougher before Friday. Today I did try sandblasting another old slot mag (as 49er says, they're worth only scrap metal price around here, got a pile of 'em) hoping to get the nice uniform rough texture (almost like a cast finish) I saw on another set but my home blaster wasn't up to it, basically not much more than I got with the soda blast above.
if you can find it try crushed walnut hulls and low pressure in the blaster , it will leave a clean and semi peened surface thats easier to polish out , but if its real bad , nothing but good old sandpaper (400-600 grit and work your way to 1000 -1500 ) or the new roto locks will clean the surface up ,
Help us out with an up close as possible pix of the worst spot's on the wheels. Then we can give the #'s of sand papers to clear up best as you can surfaces until that #1-1500 papers Stimpy mentioned. Some coned arbors can get into the tight area's for a few dollars. The enclosed pic is a before/after of the lip of the mag. Wet sanded up from #220-1200 then hit w/a Mother's Powerball and some hand work to finish. Keeping steady and patient will make it happen.
When I did that transmission, I found some buffing wheels for the rollock set up. Man are they nice!!! And cheap. From paragon supply
I did these. About four hours per wheel. Started with 320 and worked up to 800 wet. Then a hand held buffer from Matco tools, Astro Pneumatic sells one just like it. Heavy pitting and scratches. I couldn't get everything out but you can't see the little stuff once they are shinny. It's a lot of work but it's worth it. Duane
The blue scotch bright type roloc lubed up with metal Polish will do some fine cutting. These buff pads are awesome. But if you want them perfect you'll be wet sanding ,working your way up thru the grits It's therapy work
There is actually much truth in that, days when the whole world hurts. Had a big idea last night that involves pulling an axle out of an 8.8 rear sitting in an abandoned lot a few miles away and shoving it through my lathe spindle backwards so it sticks out the end and I can spin a wheel in free air. Going to try it later today. Here's a closer shot. Still doesn't look bad but when you try and polish the pits really show. I'm guessing 220 grit to start. Wet sanding always seem to gum up the paper when using water with aluminum, I've had better results with WD40. But I suppose soapy water might work well, and without the oily mess. Nice examples guys, you're shaming me into it.
I have a set of slots that had been polished long ago, they were pretty dull when I got them. I sanded and buffed them and they look ok. You can put a lot of time into it....I usually have something better to do.
Just polish the lip and leave the center blasted. Or leave as is and forget it all together. Polishing is work, sanding, then course rouge then fine. Once blasted the only way is to do it from scratch. If you do a polishers trick I learned is to keep all your sanding marks going in the same direction. If it makes you feel any better I have a pair of polished Ansens 15x5 that someone left close to where they were welding, so they got weld spatter on them. They will never be polished again, I am thinking blast them and coat them like they did mag wheels way back when.
Jerry Kyle of Old Union Car Company has a neat trick he does with slot mags and uses a router on the slots to mimic a similar pattern found on some Halibrand and Halibrand-lookalikes. And, as we know, in the looking good department, major cheating is allowed to make one thing appear to be another, since people only judge things on the surface unless money is involved. Nonetheless, nothing says a certain period than slot mags. In the early sixties they were on almost everything that rolled; and if guys had the bucks to buy them, they turned up on a whole lot of rides. Done right (without the fiddling) they can make certain vehicles take on a totally different look. I keep thinking of older Econoline vans for some reason. There were a lot of cars, trucks and vans in the magazines of the time sporting them; which fed the frenzy. Maybe you'll start a retro-trend. Go for it. After all, they do keep unsprung weight down.
You think of econolines because the slot mag was the mainstay of the van movement in the '70s. It is a shame because a lot of us think the 70s because of that. Truth was the slots or window wheels as they were also called were around long before the van craze.
I hope someone starts a little trend with these wheels I tried, and failed...we put them on my wife's car in 1985, on my truck in 2000, on my 55 in 2007, on my 57 Suburban in 2013, and on my Chevy II last year.
Screw the whole trend thing. Look what happened with the trad rod craze, now none of us can afford the things that we used to get for almost nothing.
Blowby, I have been considering the rear end axle and lathe thing that you mentioned. I think that in order to keep the wheel from flopping around you might need to make a sleeve to fit between the axle and the lathe spindle hole on the outboard end. What I am considering is placing my mill close enough to the lathe so that I can mount a lathe tool on the mill table and thus be able to machine really big stuff. This occurred to me when I needed to work on the lip of a slotted mag and had to shim up the head of my lathe to get the wheel to clear the lathe bed.
I know the machinist mind works a little different. Put the rear on stands, bolt the wheels up and put it in drive. Get an old wheel bearing mounted on a bench bolt the wheel bearing up. and the rotary action of the tool will will spin the wheel. Tread mill motor with its flywheel drilled to bolt pattern. Mount it on the bench. Throw it in the slop sink and wet sand it.
Ha, my wife has an exercise bike with a big flywheel I could bolt a wheel to. She's only good for about 15 minutes though. Went to the vacant lot today, rear end was gone. I've done the jack stand in drive polish routine before, might try that. Not with my flathead though, too many hydrocarbons back there. Yeah, that would be something if slots made a comeback. Then we can all take turns kicking each other's ass for all ones we've tossed away.