i dont think i would every polish rims like this again. Too much work and the metal is very pitted. Here is a quick run down of the process. Everything is done by hand. I tryed using power tools but it makes deep scrathes and takes too long. Keep in mind that EACH rim took me 12-14 hours. Once you get started you really cant stop. The metal is very hard and pitted like i said so its going to be a lot of work...and you'll realise that when you start.
Use a jell paint stripper to get the old paint off. I applied it a few times and scraped it down to bare metal. The you'll need to start sanding to get the cast marks out of the wheel. You can use rough paper, but i found it best to use emory paper because it lasts 3 times as long. Start by using rough paper and take your time so that all of the casting marks are out. Then start sanding with medium paper to get out all the marks you added from the previous step. The repeat with fine emory paper. The rim should be very smooth but with many visible scatches. Now start wet-sanding with 220, 320, 400, 600, 800. Make sure to keep the paper very wet and sand just like the previous steps. After this is done i use some 000 steel wool. Then i use some fine rubbing compound on a cotton buffing wheel. After that i finish it up with white rouge on a cotton wheel then jewlers rough on a cotton wheel. Then i like blue magic polish the best. I put a few coats of that on and buff it to shine with my hand and a clean rag. The rim should look like a mirror. If it looks dull, then i would start with 400 wet sand and take your time again. I also did my center caps on a lathe. I made a fixture that lets the cap snap into that then while it was spinning i just ran some paper over the entire thing to get perfect swirl marks. They match very well. I've really got this polishing thing down pat. I did every aluminum piece under my hood and it all looks liek chrome( IC, tubes, top, sc pulley, intake tube, dress panel, water outlet, etc.) If someone has aluminum they'd like polishing i guess i could do it...but it depends on what it is. Any more question feel free to ask.