hello had a question i just picked up a warrior with the aluminum rims they have scratches on them any way to remove thought i would ask you guys before i screw it up doing it the wrong way. thanks kris

 

you could try some aluminum polish, but there's not much you can do if the scratches are anything more than just a scuff mark.

 

thanks i was thinking could you use some steel wool or really fine sandpaper???

 

You can use polish, buff out the scratches.. if they are deep, you can use a fine sandpaper to smooth out and repolish..

 

Is it polished Aluminum? Or is it brushed? If its polished I'd be very careful using even a 0000 steel wool because, It leaves alot of fine scratches... FYI.

 

its an offroad toy....scratches happen...if you dont ride like a girl.

 

if there is deep scratches hit it with 500 grit then 1000 grit and followed by 1500 grit sand paper and it will clean it up real nice i did this on my street bike and it worked like a charm

 

Working up your grits to remove scratches is great, but how high you go will also depend on what kind of polishing otr buffing equipment you will be using.

I have sanded up to #2500, and others only to #1000, and it really depends on why and where your removing material from and how aggressive your polishing wheel and compound are.

Hand rubbing with polish will work but its tough work to do.

 

thanks for the info all the scratches are on the outer lip of the rims it looks like someone changed tires before and must have laid it on a cement floor lots of scratches i was thinking alittle paper just to try and get rid of some of them

 

Ok so then some are like scratches and others more like gouges. Its the deeper ones that are going to give you trouble, and would require lots of al to be removed when sanding (try a block or flat board to keep it straight).

This is where you really want to ask yourself some questions like will I ride in a way that will make more scratches, would I really be polishing the finished wheels everytime I rode? If your just looking to make them look better and shine some then dont out in a serious effort on the ugliest gouges and concentrate on making the overall appearance better. If the rest of the wheel including the areas around the larger gouges shine up real well it actually can look pretty good, and since not many people ever polish their wheels in the first place no one would think anything of it.

Lastly if you dont have some way to buff it like a buff wheel or die grinder etc better get one because it will make your life a lot easier.