Aluminum Rims

[ouimetteracing]

Hi I had some questions about cleaning up my rims. My rims are in decent condition but I believe some of the clear coat is coming off of them in areas and the aluminum is starting to oxidize. I was wondering if there was any easy way to clean them up without sanding the whole rim. Also They have some black dots on them that I cannot seem to get off. If you guys could give me some recomendations on cleaning these up it would be greatly appreciated. I know there is nothing really special with these rims but I was jus looking to get them in control and keep them in decent shape before they start getting worse. Here are some pics of what I am talking about.




and a few more if needed on my photobucket page.
Removed link -Mark Kleis

Thank you in advance

[the_invisible]

Re: Aluminum Rims

I had some of my wheels reconditioned by a metal shop and they managed to remove those oxidation on the inside of the wheels without repainting or sanding them. I think they washed them with pressure washer, and then soak the wheels with some acid to reverse oxidation.

[ouimetteracing]

Re: Aluminum Rims

yeah thanks for the reply I really dont want to have to have someone else do anything to them. I would prefer to spend as little money on them as possible. The rims really are not that bad right now I was jus hoping I could find somthing to keep them from getting any worse without bringing them to a professional. Thanks anyways and I will deffinetly keep that in mind if they start getting any worse.

[the_invisible]

Re: Aluminum Rims

I am not sure if your wheels are polished or clearcoated. if it is polished, get some metal polishing product and clean those wheels.

You can try washing them with an acid-intensive wheel cleaner, like the Meguiar's All Wheel Claner in the purple spray bottle. It may reverse oxidation somewhat. Keeping the wheels clean will prevent the spread of oxidation.

[Murr1525]

Re: Aluminum Rims

Looks clearcoated to me.

I would clean them with either the All Wheel or Aluminum Wheel Cleaner. Then clay them with an old piece of clay, then use a paint cleaner like SwirlX.

Those bold caps might just be plastic, so dont use the paint cleaner on them.

[ouimetteracing]

Re: Aluminum Rims

I did try to use some Eagle 1 aluminum rim cleaner on them and that didnt work. I wanted to use the meguiars but at the local auto parts store didnt have any in stock I will try to give the clay and swirlx a try. I will let you know if that does anything. I am still open to any and all suggestions. Thank you again.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Aluminum Rims

Those wheels sure look to be clear coated aluminum, fairly typical GM issue - we had a '92 Camaro with a similar finish, and our '08 Cobalt is also the same.

An aluminum or other metal polish isn't going to do anything for you since you're not working on bare metal. Those black specs should come up with a clay bar, but the white blotchy areas appear to be places where the clear is failing. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot you can do to improve the appearance of the failing clear, but on the rest of the wheel you can use something like SwirlX or even Ultimate Compound to remove fine scratches and really brighten them up. You can follow that with a coat of wax if you wish.

[ouimetteracing]

Re: Aluminum Rims

Thanks for all of the replys. That is what I was thinking. Just figured if anyone knew of a way it would be you guys here. Thank you and I will try the swirlx and clay on the rims to make them look as good as they can. Thanks again for the help you guys are great.