Rodney sent me one of these tools to try out. Very nice little gadget ! Quality of the pic isn't so great, but that's a before and an after.
I worked with strictly used centercaps. You have to be carefull pressing them on to avoid busting up the little teeth, but that's no problem, really.
I used a small drillpress @ 480rpms, with a flat wood block to press against. You have to get used to the idea that very little pressure will generate a bunch of heat. So go slow and don't melt anything. I never did, but was amazed at how fast the caps heated up.
I tried everything from household duty scotchbrite to 600 grit wet/dry paper for the initial sanding. What I liked best was squirting a dab of non abrasive household stainless polish on the dirty cap and cleaning it up with a cloth. Then chucking up into the drillpress and lightly sanding on the scotchbrite.
The crud disappears and the circular sanding pattern appears. Nicks and dents remain. The dents get polished later, and aren't really a consideration. The nicks are going to stick around.
I tried quite a few polishes including 2000 grit mold polish. but what I liked best was Mothers' Aluminum Wheel Polish and a terry cloth.
Fold the cloth over twice so you have a bed to press into. Either put a dab of Mothers' onto the disc or onto the cloth and press. First press will give back black residue and the second press is a lot cleaner. I did this two step deal about three times on each disc.
The circular sanding pattern remains and the shine just jumps out at you. I never noticed the little bowtie reflection untill I used Rodney's tool.
BTW, Rodney. Can you come up with something like this for the aluminum wheels now ? :>
David Breeze
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Pantera Rebody Kits
Custom 85 SE/87 Coupe
