Stock aluminum wheel polishing

[81' Corvette Guy]

Hi all,

Just wondering what you guys use to polish your stock slotted aluminum wheels with. Looks like mine has a clear coat and wound not want to ruin that finish. But, alas..there looks like I have a couple of very small spots where the finish has chipped..any recomendations. Any info would be greatly appreciated.


Just my two gold pieces worth, thanks and peace out<*)))><

Joe :)

[68Roadster]

Joe,
The same thing was happening to my '85 wheels.....ended up using lacquer thinner and 00 steel wool to remove the clear coat and then polishing the wheels with Met-All or Mothers.....supposedly this was the answer from GM if your clear coat was coming off or turning white....

Mine turned out pretty good, lot of work but pretty good....

Good luck!

Cee

[Yoda]

Originally posted by Rare81
Here is a post from a thread from the past that may help;)
Have you removed the protective coating? There is a clear coat on the wheels that yellows and/or dulls after 20+ years. You will not be able to shine the aluminum until this is removed.

Acetone, tooth brush and soft rags works really well to remove this protective coating.. Once the coating is off then "Mothers" Aluminum polish would be my recommendations.. This topic has been discussed in the past, but a revisit is always nice. I'm sure one of the others here will find the link and post it, if not I'll look later for it and post it for you... Or you can search in this section and enter Acetone and probably find it too.

Follow all precautions when using any chemicals, ie Acetone.

BudD

Gordy,
I've had great success using ACETONE to remove the protective coating then MOTHER the heck out of it.. The secret to using Mothers is not pressure, just keep rubbing it on until it starts to turn dark or black then let it dry then wipe clear.
Good Luck.

[BORDERBUM]

Ladys and gentlemen, just a quick hello since this is my first reply, bear with me as i am not a computer pro yet. I DO WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR HELPING ME WITH YOUR TOPICS WHEN I WASN'T A MEMBER. I'VE BEEN WATCHING THIS FORUM FOR SOME TIME. I am not a mechanic but I have learned as a "problem" arises.
aluminum wheel polishing, i got this from who knows where on the net maybe from here, but it works so well i had to make sure i could share this with you.
first, sand the wheel with 600 grit wet sand paper I have even heard 400 for those with really scratched wheels.i did use a laqueer thinner to aid here and there as the clear coat was comming off. From the 600 go to 1000 keeping the sandpaper wet and not putting too much pressure, just letting the sandpaper do it's job. from there 2000 grit same thing wet, not too much pressure. from there use the mothers aluminum polish.
I was a little worried using the sand paper on my rims but they were so bad i figured i was going to have to spend a crud load of money on them anyway why not. I AM SO GLAD I DID, THEY CAME OUT LIKE NEW!!! I NEVER EXPECTED SUCH A GOOD JOB. True no more clearcoat but by taking care of them and maybe wax would help protect them what specific kind, i don't know, but for less than $20!!! one draw back though, the article said around one hour per wheel, maybe if your wheels are in good shape. mine took approximately 3 hours per wheel. but the result was amazing!! the article also said that he takes them off each winter and does the same thing.
sorry so long, but if you try it you wont mind my jabber.

hope this works as well for somebody else.


git r done borderbum

[ben81]

Hey Joe,

Had this problem with my motorcycle. I used a product that work just great.Here's their web" heavymetalpolish.com". Try it you'll like it.

Ben81