I am sanding tool marks out of aluminum rims and plan on polishing them. Any help to make sanding them easier would be welcome.
If they are cast with a rough finish, take them somewhere that does walnut shell blasting and have them blasted. Sand blasting and bead blasting will take off too much metal. If they are smooth, use 400 grit wet-or-dry with water, then 600, then get a jar of Mother's Mag Polish (or equivalent) and polish with a soft cloth until it has the luster you want. If you want it to look brushed, rub it with a scotchbrite pad, always keeping the same direction on your strokes.
What kind of finish do they have? Brushed? High reflection? I think that if they are brushed, you may be able to use a steel wool. I'd get a second opinion on that (I'm no expert and my rims knowledge is probably outdated).
Sanding aluminum is hard work . you need to start out with a 800 grit to get the tool marks out. Then to polish, you need to strip all of the paint (if any ) off. I recommend using a 1000 grit wet sand paper in a single direction, back and forth, not circles. I also recommend using Mothers aluminum mag wheel polish (works on any polishable metal) at the same time. again it is hard work, lots of elbow grease! But it does pay off as it looks better than chrome, I also dont reccomend using power tools as you might end up taking to much off of a surface causing a wavy apperance, after a 1000 grit you could go up to 1200 grit for a mirror finish!
