Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

[WaWaZat]

I have some uncoated, polished aluminum, custom Boyd Coddington wheels that have been on the road about 3 years. A few minor scratches and a bit of a build up of road grime that even metal polish and the Mothers Ball, or a good hand buffing with a foam applicator, can't handle.

I've inquired about having them professionally done... since it's time to replace the tires and they'll be off the wheels anyway... and the few places I've found that do it are very expensive. To the tune of $160 - $175/wheel.

So my question; what can I use to do this myself? Again, I'd like to buff a few nicks out and get them looking again like they did from the factory.

[Murr1525]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

The knicks would be pretty hard to fix yourself.

Any chance of pics, so we can see the grime at least?

[WaWaZat]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

I have this one handy. Not a good grime pic... I'll take another later. If you look through the spokes you can see crud & rust spots on the inside part of the wheel... especially in the opening with the valve stem. These were just taken off & hand polished.

[Murr1525]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

Is there a 2-tone affect to the metal, or is that just the lighting? Going with too strong of a polishing method could damage a 2 tone look.

I have had good success with #0000 steel wool and some Nxt or Hot Rims metal polish on dirty/rusty metal, like mufflers. I may be hesitant to use it on the wheel face to hurt the high shine, but to run some through the valve stem hole, or on the inner parts may be ok. Do a small test spot first of course.

[WaWaZat]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

Is there a 2-tone affect to the metal, or is that just the lighting? Going with too strong of a polishing method could damage a 2 tone look.

I have had good success with #0000 steel wool and some Nxt or Hot Rims metal polish on dirty/rusty metal, like mufflers. I may be hesitant to use it on the wheel face to hurt the high shine, but to run some through the valve stem hole, or on the inner parts may be ok. Do a small test spot first of course.

No, the two-toning are just shadows. I might be hesitant to take steel wool to my rims too.

Eastwood is doing this; http://www.superchevy.com/technical/...ish/index.html

Anyone try anything like this?

[Poki]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

[Poki]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

The above photo is of my 14 year old Alcoa alum. motor home wheel. These are non coated, machined finish..that is NOT a high polish factory finish. First thing I did was rub them out with OOOO steel wool then polish with products like Mothers or Meguiar's or Zephyr Pro 40. Deep gouges are beyond me to remove but the shine can be maintained by polishing with a quality metal polish. I like using the Flitz buffing tool better than the Mother's Ball.

[WaWaZat]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

The above photo is of my 14 year old Alcoa alum. motor home wheel. These are non coated, machined finish..that is NOT a high polish factory finish. First thing I did was rub them out with OOOO steel wool then polish with products like Mothers or Meguiar's or Zephyr Pro 40. Deep gouges are beyond me to remove but the shine can be maintained by polishing with a quality metal polish. I like using the Flitz buffing tool better than the Mother's Ball.

Wow... nice! Now I see what looks like grooves running circular with the wheel. Is that factory? Does the 0000 scratch or leaves any kind of mark? What do you use with the wool? ... any kind of polish of lube?

What's better about the Fitz ball? What size do you like?

[Murr1525]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

I use the Meguiars metal polishes with the wool.

My experience is more with the mufflers as a I said, but I did a small test spot at first of course, and didnt detect any new marks in the direction I rubbed.

[Poki]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

Wow... nice! Now I see what looks like grooves running circular with the wheel. Is that factory? Does the 0000 scratch or leaves any kind of mark? What do you use with the wool? ... any kind of polish of lube?

What's better about the Fitz ball? What size do you like?

I use the 5" and 2" Flitz buffing balls. I smear the polish on a section of the wheel and buff to a high shine. Little to no wiping needed wite the Flitz tool. The "grooves" you see are instilled at the factory. Alcoa offered 2 finishes: machine finish and polished. Mine are machine finished and did not have the mirror finish like the polished. On the polished finish wheels, the grooves were not visable. The steel wool did not scratch the finish...always go with the grain..direction of the grooves on my wheels. Mother's Mag and Alum. polish is good as is Meguiar's. My favorite is Zephyr Pro 40 Metal Polish. It's marketed for the show truck folks.

[WaWaZat]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

I use the 5" and 2" Flitz buffing balls. I smear the polish on a section of the wheel and buff to a high shine. Little to no wiping needed wite the Flitz tool. The "grooves" you see are instilled at the factory. Alcoa offered 2 finishes: machine finish and polished. Mine are machine finished and did not have the mirror finish like the polished. On the polished finish wheels, the grooves were not visable. The steel wool did not scratch the finish...always go with the grain..direction of the grooves on my wheels. Mother's Mag and Alum. polish is good as is Meguiar's. My favorite is Zephyr Pro 40 Metal Polish. It's marketed for the show truck folks.

Barry, do you use the wool on that shiny center cap too? Do you use any metal polish or anything with the wool?

[BlackScreaminMachine]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

IMO I do not thing those rims are hard to polish. Just need time and some elbow grease. I use Mother's Billet Polish which works wonders and I use Terry cloth. I would only use FINE steel wool if I cannot get the desired effect. My Convo Pro's have annoying grooves/rivets which is a PITA to work but these rims look like a cake walk.

IMO Polishing *****. Most people do not want to do it so thats why companies charge so much. There is a demand for it.

Before



After

[Poki]

Re: Aluminum Wheel Finish Restoration

Barry, do you use the wool on that shiny center cap too? Do you use any metal polish or anything with the wool?

NO, I did not use anything with the steel wool and reallly only used that the first time. Have kept the shine up by polishing after that. The center hub is chrome so I only use a chrome polish or just wax on that..NO steel wool.