Cleaning Aluminum wheels

SPOA87YJ

SPOA87YJ

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2005
Location
Charlotte
Anything special yall are using? Wheels are coated in brake dust and haven't been washed in about a year. Need to get
'em cleaned up pretty soon. I've tried all kinds of stuff...thinking about taking the wire wheel to 'em as the clear coat is pretty much gone. Got to love the salt on Boone's roads :rolleyes:

Tips, tricks? lets hear it.
 
find a trucker with aluminum wheels get some of the muratic acid they use to shine thiers up will eat just about everything off the rim.....dont leave it on too long tho or use it to strong it will eat the rim as well.

other alternative is mothers alum polish and preferably the polishing ball attatched to a drill.
 
Yea I tried industrial cleaner from auto bell, and from another shop. Didn't put a dent in it. I need something to cut through the grime, so I can polish them back up. I figure a little wire wheel won't hurt?
 
wire wheel is going to cut into the wheel bad you might could use a polishing disc on a 4.5 inch grinder but a wire wheel i thing will dig into the wheel and cause more of a problem then the grime
 
gotcha. I was planning on using the smaller(3" i think) wire bristles that go into a drill, not one for an actual grinder. Figured they'd do less damage. Guess I could try it on an old wheel and see. Plan on getting after it sometime tomorrow.
 
They probably just need polishing. My wheels looked filthy (like they had super baked on brake dust) and I bought some aluminum wheel polish (mothers or meguiars or whichever was the cheapest per ounce), and tested it on a spot. WOW! I was just going to test it that evening, but the test came out so good, I did the whole wheel, and an hour later, I had done all 4. Using a clean cloth to buff off the polish really helps too.
 
Here's what Mickey thompson recommends for their uncoated Al wheels...

1.
Only wash your wheels with mild soap and water, then hand dry with a soft towel. Some commercial wheel cleaners and soaps, both for home use and at car washes, use acid or caustic chemicals and will damage the wheels. Wash as often as needed to remove brake dust and road dirt and grime before it accumulates on your wheels.

2.
When you first get your wheels and at least after every fourth wash you should wax them with a wax developed for custom wheels. This will help seal the pores and prevent corrosion.

3.
In areas where salt or sand is used on the roads in the winter, the wheels should be removed and stored until winter ends.

4.
We provide steel center caps free of charge with every wheel purchase. These caps will rust under harsh conditions. However, aluminum center caps are available at an extra cost.

5.
If corrosion has occurred on your wheels there are several off the shelf products that will help to restore the factory finish. Another option is to use 000 steel wool and WD40 to remove the corrosion, washing, and then polishing the wheel to restore their luster.


My fronts are fawked with brake dust and road salt and they're just over a year old. Tried a powerball and it did nothing, going to try the steel wool soon.
 
Mothers....its amazing what the junk will do. Get you a buffing pad for the grinder and go to town son. I will sit back at watch. :flipoff2:
 
Mothers for the $.

There are better polishes out there, but it's not worth it unless it's a show car.

I hope you don't have any plans that day..... If they're in that bad of shape you might be there a while...

X2 on the waxing. After you get them looking how you want them, seal the finish up with a couple of coats of wax.
 
powerball is crap unless you're doing mt classics but then it still aint great. best thing i ever found was Zepher PRO 40. takes half the time and does twice the work. if your rims are machined not polished then you can use a Brillo pad like you would on chrome. i did it to mine last month to get all the grunge off of em and it worked pretty darn good. went behing the brillo with the zepher and now i got an almost new lookin set of wheels
 
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