So I picked up a set of used 350z wheels that I plan to use on my winter setup. One of the wheels is covered with scratches, so I'm thinking that I will try to wetsand them away. I've never tried wetsanding, but I figure this is a good time to try.

I was going to start with rubbing compound to see if that takes it out. If that doesn't do the trick, I will use 600 grit (wet) sandpaper since it should be more aggressive. Follow that up with rubbing compound, then with a finer polish to finish things up.

Does that order make sense? Let me know if I'm missing any steps or if there are other suggestions. Keep in mind that these are the "silver" painted 6-spoke 350z wheels which I'm assuming has a clearcoat on them.

 

600 grit is way to aggressive for wetsanding scratches, you need to start with 2000-1000 grit, try and remove the scratches, then polish with rubbing compound. Expect alot of work by hand trying to remove wetsanding marks however

 

^any advice on where to purchase 1000-2000 grit? The finest that local hardware stores had was 600.

 

autoparts stores should carry it such as autozone

 

Thanks, redlude. My autozone carries 1000 grit, so I will start with that and see how it goes. Should be a fun little project (and tiring on my arm)!

 

Good luck trying to polish out the wetsanding marks by hand.

If you have a polishing machine, I'd look into buying a small polishing pad. Assume you already have the polishing compounds etc..

 

I do have a Porter cable, so I'm going to try to use that if possible. I'm sure this will be one of those things where I spend way more time than I'd like to by the time it is said and done. I think even if I can't get all of the wetsanding marks off of it, it will still look better than it does currently. I'll have to post pics before / after once I get started.

 

Random? IMHO that's not strong enough for serious scratches like you are dealing with. YOu need a rotary at least.

 

I'll have to double check them when I get home. I haven't taken a good look at how deep they are, but I think my fingernail wasn't getting caught in them (or not too many) when I felt them.


Now you've got me worried!!