Got a set of turbines, now how to refinish them.

I picked up a set of Buick Turbines, Friday. They are going to need attention, so I''m looking for advice on polishing them up. TIA

Jarrod's the expert, but it goes like this:
- blast
- paint
- sand spokes/polish

Exactly what Jay said, I bead blasted mine then sanded it with 220 and left it alone. I could have sanded smoother but liked the looks of the 220 scratches. Also I should have clearcoated them when done, but didn't. Then I used rough cast aluminum wheel cleaner by Eagle1 to clean them.

Before:


After:

You can also go with Vette caps if you want the exposed lug look. Here's my set:

Good Score! On mine, I bought a gallon of Aircraft Stripper at the local parts store. The jug, it's like jelly almost. I used a paint-pan and horse-bristle brush and painted that stripper on there. Really have to put a lot on to get the clear out of the rough-metal parts. Took 2-3 coatings, with rinsing with the garden hose in-between to get the Clear off. After that I used Mother's metal polish on the smooth parts until they glowed, and followed that with a coat of paste wax, again only on the smooth parts. The rough areas I left bare metal.

Now my wheels were Texas ones, so the clear-coat was burned, but they had not been exposed to salt/winters the northern cars see. If your wheels are badly corroded, you may have to get some fine sandpaper and polishing clothes to really make them shine.

I ran mine without clear for 3-4 years, with only a touch-up and wax on the smooth areas now and then as needed. No issues doing that down here, but if you plan to expose your wheels to winter up there, you may want to re-clear them. I've not had great luck with clear on wheels...it tends to haze/fade/crack when exposed to brake heat and such over time. On mags, I just wax them. Up to you.

When I sold the car to my buddy Rich, he painted the rough areas gloss-black. I liked it better in dark-gray, but to each their own!

You will most-likely need new chrome lug-nuts. Most of these wheels require the mag-wheel nuts with flat bottoms/washers on them, however some will work with traditional "acorn" nuts. You'll have to check the style you found, but make sure you use the correct nuts or the wheels can crack!

As for center-caps, if you found some with the "dog-dish" centers, then way to go, those are HARD to find. If not, 1977-82 Corvette center caps fit these wheels perfectly, and can be bought cheaply on Ebay. My favorite are the 81-82, which are solid chrome. Just order some stick-on Rocket decals for them, and you're done.

Hope you post pics!

-Mike

Added the Turbine Wheels with 1981 Corvette centers...still had White Walls




Added T/A Radials:

And here is how it looked the last time I saw it. I sold it too a good friend and he added red pin stripes to the bumpers and side chrome, blacked out the bare metal parts on the wheels, and added surfer stickers to the car....and removed my Wally World sticker. Boo. : (

Looks something Paulie Walnuts would be proud to drive.

Nice rides,... those turbines really set them off.

I really prefer the inserts in grey. With the black, the wheels are too "General Lee"

jayoldschool wrote:

I really prefer the inserts in grey.  With the black, the wheels are too "General Lee"

I agree. Left mine bare grey. Was only changed to black once I sold it. I think they look better grey, and you can see all the fins/wheel design better in grey. I think they are fantastic and classy-looking still!

Black hides all the detail, and grey makes it stand out more. That is why I painted mine pewter, to match my insert.

Thanks for the advice, I guess you mean sand blasting as the first step, I may try that or use stripper to remove whats left of the clear coat.
Sorry it took a while to respond, but our Uverse was down due to severe weather until today.
Thanks again all, please add any other tips you may have.