Aluminum Rims... Need to shine em up... any ideas

[tybardy]

ok... so i have a set of aluminum rims and these things are harder to clean and shine us than chrome!

I bought some mothers aluminum junk and it works pretty good but i just saw another tahoe with my exact same rims and my god they were shiny!

Does anyone out there have a sweet trick for getting rims clean (preferably not spending 45 minutes per rim)

thanks again guys

 

[Gordo]

I would try the Mother Buffer Ball Im not sure what its called but it shines any surface right up.

 

[tybardy]

I would try the Mother Buffer Ball Im not sure what its called but it shines any surface right up.

have it... its tough to use on my rims.. lots of little crevasses

 

[treepete]

Super Clean All Wheel Cleaner

spray and rinse is what the container says. dont get it on the paint, it has some kind of acidy technology that makes it work.

 

[CHISTOSO]

If you're using Mothers and it's not doing the trick, your wheels probably have a clear coat on them.. You will have to have the clear coat removed before you can get them to polish up.. Do you have pics..? Also if they are cast aluminum you will not be able to get optimum shine because cast aluminum has metal impurities and no matter what you do you will not be able to shine them up as much as forged aluminum which is pure..

I have a set of Alcoa Forged aluminum wheels on my k5 and they shine up like no other and I use Mothers aluminum polish..

 

[tybardy]

If you're using Mothers and it's not doing the trick, your wheels probably have a clear coat on them.. You will have to have the clear coat removed before you can get them to polish up.. Do you have pics..? Also if they are cast aluminum you will not be able to get optimum shine because cast aluminum has metal impurities and no matter what you do you will not be able to shine them up as much as forged aluminum which is pure..

I have a set of Alcoa Forged aluminum wheels on my k5 and they shine up like no other and I use Mothers aluminum polish..

interesting note on the "clear coat" because i was thinking that it had at some point had a clear coat and rubbed off (I bought the truck recently and it came with the wheels)

That was my initial perception... i will keep going at em with the mothers i suppose... just wish i could remove the grim that doesnt seem to want to be removed

 

[tnezukon]

Being a truck driver, I dont think anyone has spent more time polishing Alcoa aluminum than I. I use jewelers rouge, which can be picked up at lowes or home depot for a few bucks. Its in the tool section, but you kinda have to look hard for it. They are in small tubes and vary in abrasiveness, depending on how badly the wheel is. If its just surface stains, I wouldnt use anything too abrasive as this will scratch the wheel. If the wheels are just stained, then you should be able to clean them right up with rouge, as long as they aren't clear coated and you should just be able to use your hands to polish the stains out. Otherwise you are going to need to use a buffing wheel of some sort. Rouge is meant to be used at high speeds but if it isnt too bad, you shouldn't have a problem. Hope this helps



This pic is kinda dark, but you can still see the bling bling

 

[tybardy]

Being a truck driver, I dont think anyone has spent more time polishing Alcoa aluminum than I. I use jewelers rouge, which can be picked up at lowes or home depot for a few bucks. Its in the tool section, but you kinda have to look hard for it. They are in small tubes and vary in abrasiveness, depending on how badly the wheel is. If its just surface stains, I wouldnt use anything too abrasive as this will scratch the wheel. If the wheels are just stained, then you should be able to clean them right up with rouge, as long as they aren't clear coated and you should just be able to use your hands to polish the stains out. Otherwise you are going to need to use a buffing wheel of some sort. Rouge is meant to be used at high speeds but if it isnt too bad, you shouldn't have a problem. Hope this helps



This pic is kinda dark, but you can still see the bling bling

Thanks, I will for sure give this a shot... however you are the second person to mention a clear coat... how can i tell if the wheels have one and how can i get it off is they do? (and do i want to get it off?)

 

[tnezukon]

If the wheels are pretty shiny, then they prolly have clear on em. Aluminum wheels, if not cared for properly, become very dull over time, and a clear coated wheel would only require cleaning with soap and water. If the clear is screwed up then you will want to remove it, however with that type of wheel (you said it had lots of crevices) you may have your work cut out for ya. Wal-Mart sells this stuff called aircraft remover(see pic) which is a paint remover that works very well and is made for aluminum. This $hit will eat paint or clear coat off of anything, but dont get it on ya. (Anyone who has ever used it can attest) Perhaps someone else can give you an idea about what to use to remove it. Keep us posted on what you decide to do. Here is also a link so you can read about it. You may be able to take them somewhere and have that clear removed and reapplied, Im sure someone in here knows something about that. I think it would be a lot of work to try and remove the clear yourself.

http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=72&prodid=135

 

[06tahoez]

Try s100 polishing soap. I use it on my polished wheels on the TBSS and the chrome wheels on the Tahoe. This stuff is absolutely amazing.... You can pick it up at most Harley-Davidson dealers for about $10.

 

[tybardy]

Try s100 polishing soap. I use it on my polished wheels on the TBSS and the chrome wheels on the Tahoe. This stuff is absolutely amazing.... You can pick it up at most Harley-Davidson dealers for about $10.

Sweet... i will give it a shot... got a question for ya... where did you get that break light bar? I want one!