I have a pair of original 1960s vintage 10" wide slotted wheels that had many, many years of oxidation. No way polish would cut through all that stuff. So I mounted them on the car, put the rear axle on jack stands, put a large piece of cardboard over the wheel/tire to protect the fender well and body then I turned the car on and put it in gear and let the wheel spin freely. Then I got me some 100 grit, 240 grit, 320 grit, etc, etc and a bucket of water and started sanding. It didn't take very long before they started to shine. The wheel spinning makes the sandpaper w/water cut 10 times faster and put the scratches in a pattern that disappears as you sand because the wheel is spinning in the same direction that you are polishing (circular). Also you don't have to bub back and forth for hours, just hold you hand perfectly still and let the engine/trans do all the work. The finer the sandpaper the higher the polish. I wouldn't recommend this method for newer rims but the old rims can be had very cheap if they are all corroded with oxidation but you can make them shine in less than 1 hour using the car as the buffing machine!!!
PS - if you use the idle screw to raise the idle to around 1500 RPM you'll finish a lot faster and the shininess/gloss will be even better. It's just like polishing a round steel bar on a lathe in a machine shop, the faster you go and the finer the sand paper the higher the polish. Eventually it will look like a mirror with very little work!!!
PS, PS - Another hint....Put a fan some where near the driver's door blowing back towards the rear of the car to keep the exhaust away from your work area or you'll get a headache!!!
Treblig
