Refinishing Super Tricks

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HemiDenny

HemiDenny

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Anyone ever refinish Super Tricks......the fronts of the rims are nice but polished and I would like to get them back to the original spun aluminum look.

Any ideas or suggestions?.....anyone ever bead blast them?

Considered powder coating them dull silver ....but hopefully I can resurrect them back to original.

Thanks
Denny
 
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soft media, then scotch-brite on a lathe/something similar.
 
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I glass beaded my wheels it makes them look dull. It's Very hard to get the spun look back. I did try and turn them on my tire balancer slow and held a scotch-brite against each half it made it better but just like a Mopar it's only original once
 
Its not really that hard to find these wheels in unpolished condition.
They are spun. Light and weak so you have to inspect them closely for cracks. Fragile wheels.
They may look like the tougher centerlines but the similarities ends there. Centerlines are forged, heavier/ stronger.
Powder coating would just remove any 1975 vibe the wheels have. Stick with finishes as they were back in 75 or it will make the car look like a fake.
 
ssba said:
Its not really that hard to find these wheels in unpolished condition.
They are spun. Light and weak so you have to inspect them closely for cracks. Fragile wheels.
They may look like the tougher centerlines but the similarities ends there. Centerlines are forged, heavier/ stronger.
Powder coating would just remove any 1975 vibe the wheels have. Stick with finishes as they were back in 75 or it will make the car look like a fake.
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I redid the satin finish on a set of Auto Drags years ago with some acid etch cleaner and a fine scrub brush. This stuff is what they use to clean aluminum boat trailers: Aluminum Brightener - 1 Gallon | ABKIT | Nuera Trailer Parts

I propped up a spare rear end and bolted the wheel to it, then after spraying the wash I turned it by hand while slowly moving the brush out from the center. Wear old clothes because the acid wash will ruin what you're wearing.
 
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Thanks for the replys....

Biggest challenge will be to get rid of the polished / shiney finish. I think I am gonna try powder coating .......maybe buy a beat up / cracked one to experiment on.
 
If you are determined to take the polish off of the wheels you have.
You will have to take the bolts out of them, take them apart and spin them. Scuff the face with some
coarse sand paper. It would be kind of close.
More work than its worth really.
I would just get another pair of wheels that still have the factory spun finish. They are common and usually sell between 2-300.00 for the pair.
Polished wheels bring about 500.00 a pair.
Nice caps can be harder to find than the wheels.
They are anodized and ding easily.
 
You are
ssba said:
If you are determined to take the polish off of the wheels you have.
You will have to take the bolts out of them, take them apart and spin them. Scuff the face with some
coarse sand paper. It would be kind of close.
More work than its worth really.
I would just get another pair of wheels that still have the factory spun finish. They are common and usually sell between 2-300.00 for the pair.
Polished wheels bring about 500.00 a pair.
Nice caps can be harder to find than the wheels.
They are anodized and ding easily.
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Kinda makes sense..... I guess we will work on selling the polished and replace with the std look.

They are nice....anybody wanna trade?
 
Ask for Terry. 989-893-8299.
He has been trading super trick wheels for years.
 
At work we just refinished a mirror polished stainless handrail to a coarse brushed finish. Started using sandpaper and green Scotchbrite. The stainless was really tearing up the sand paper so we tried a super coarse Scotchbrite that left the coarse finish we were going for. Available at Home Depot.
 
Scotch-brite has many great uses for finishes. As I said....correct stuff will come close.
 
I clean mine with Spray Nine and leave them alone. If that don't work then I would go for aluminum acid used on tanker trailers then keep them clean with Spray Nine. The more you try to do to these wheels the worse they get.
 
the biggest issue is going from polished to standard finish ...I did call Terry and left message.We will see how that goes.

tried Leanna / Phoenix Coatings....she turned me on to her best shot at powder coating wheels......send him pics, but not heard back.
 
Commando66 said:
At work we just refinished a mirror polished stainless handrail to a coarse brushed finish. Started using sandpaper and green Scotchbrite. The stainless was really tearing up the sand paper so we tried a super coarse Scotchbrite that left the coarse finish we were going for. Available at Home Depot.
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that will be plan C....or D?

thanks
Denny
 
451Cuda said:
I already explained a method that works...
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I was slightly confused by your answer. We're the ones you refinished already a SATIN finish....or the polished version?

Thanks for the reply and info.
 
HemiDenny said:
I was slightly confused by your answer. We're the ones you refinished already a SATIN finish....or the polished version?

Thanks for the reply and info.
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It will refresh the satin finish of those that already are, or with extra effort (repeated turnings) turn a polished surface satin/brushed. A scuff pad can achieve the same look but its harder to achieve uniform lines around the features of the wheel surface.

Really the best way is take them apart and chuck the halves in a lathe, but this allows you to avoid that and still have decent results. Depends on the level you want to take it to - for a show car I'd definitely take them apart if you have a lathe or send them to a professional...race car or street beater that gets driven I'd use this quick and dirty method I described.
 
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I am restoring the Butch Leal / California Flash B/MP Hemi Duster....I want them to look "correct" with the spun aluminum look...not the shiney / polished finish. they are nice rims and not beat up...just wrong (for this car) finish.
 
jeez, supertricks are as rare as Hang-Ten Darts out here. Where are you guys finding all these? The etching acid cleaners (Eagle-One mag cleaner) will leave it sort of a lighter color, almost white. what if you unbolt them, bolt up the outer half to an axle that you can turn, (ice cream maker motor that is high torque, low speed) and run a grill brush over it slowly to put some nice radial scratches on it? I was tinkering with a wheel turner for same reason with an old set of pitted Centerlines. Take a skateboard with wheels the same width as your rim, bolt trucks at a distance far enough so that the rim sits on the wheels and can turn. cut a slot in the deck so you can run a dryer belt over the rim and down to an electric motor, hang motor on pivot so you can use weight of motor as adjuster
wheel.jpg
 
pishta said:
jeez, supertricks are as rare as Hang-Ten Darts out here. Where are you guys finding all these? The etching acid cleaners (Eagle-One mag cleaner) will leave it sort of a lighter color, almost white. what if you unbolt them, bolt up the outer half to an axle that you can turn, (ice cream maker motor that is high torque, low speed) and run a grill brush over it slowly to put some nice radial scratches on it? I was tinkering with a wheel turner for same reason with an old set of pitted Centerlines. Take a skateboard with wheels the same width as your rim, bolt trucks at a distance far enough so that the rim sits on the wheels and can turn. cut a slot in the deck so you can run a dryer belt over the rim and down to an electric motor, hang motor on pivot so you can use weight of motor as adjuster View attachment 1714949632
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trouble with centerlines is the rivets. you cant work around them and if you do, they end up looking like cheap Westerns.
 
I have about 5-6 sets of Tricks, a couple NOS halves, bolts, and centers. I always take everything I'm working on apart, and the spun finish will clean pretty easily with wheel cleaner and a stiff brush. The acid based stuff will turn aluminum white, as mentioned above. The bolts are pretty generic[nobody will notice], and the caps and good wheels/non-beat, are the key to having a nice set. I don't like the Tricks polished, and Centerlines are a cheaper knock-off. I also managed to grab a pair of the large/chrome centers[NOS]...like on the Landy Challenger. Other than Fly's, I like the Tricks the best. I'm gonna send one set out to be black-anodized for my next project.
 
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