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Polished motorcycle rims

2003

Put some Aircraft Stripper on my aluminum motorcycle rims.YZF600 Just wanted to do the beauty rim, but someone helping me decided to do the whole rim! Spokes and all. It's real dull and looks like a challenge to shine them up..Can anyone offer any help?

Thanks,

DONNIE
Firefighter - PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania

After using Aircraft Stripper, you need to follow up with sandpaper from the roughest grit down to the smoothest. When you first start, you will be taking the metal down and taking off what ever coating you have left on the rim. The texture is more by your touch. When you feel that you have taken down most of it, go down to the next level of sandpaper. After you reach the smoothest paper, take the finest #0000 steel wool [on eBay or Amazon] you can find and sand it down with water. When you feel the wheel is smooth, let it dry then take your metal polish and buff it down. It will take you a WHOLE LOT OF TIME but the end results is tremendous. Believe me, I have done this to my truck rims and my bike rims.

Lisa DeSilva
- Kapa'a, Kauai, Hawaii
2004

I have found out that you can get past all the sanding with an application of Jasco [on eBay or Amazon] and steel wool [affil link on Amazon]. I experimented with a friends rim and the results were almost mirror with little to no effort at all.

Dave Berry
- Visalia, California
2004

I had the same problem with the rims on my motorcycle and I gave up and bought steel chromed rims. I got them from wheeels4choppers and they are awesome. I am not trying to promote them specifically, I just wanted you to know there are people making great steel wheels that are easy to keep clean and shiny.

Mike Miller
- Columbus, Ohio
2004

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I was thinking about performing this mod on my CBR, does anyone have any pics of what stripping the wheels and polishing them looks like?

Josh Rich
- Sioux City, Iowa
2004

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Ed. note: letters 800, 1831, and 10917 go into substantial detail about aluminum polishing, including some motorcycle pictures.

Where do you get this stuff Jasco [on eBay or Amazon] at? Also, how long does it normally take to polish the rims on a bike. If anyone has polished a frame on a bike, about how long does that take as well? thanks for the help.

Mike Holmes
- Cheyenne, Wyoming
2006

Try using a Nylon stocking to clean spoked rims. Take the Nylon, wrap around the spoke area twice, then move it back and forth and up and down as if you are sawing the spoke off, this will shine your spokes.(just don't let your wife know you used her nylon.)

Chris Kelliher
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
2007