Aluminum Rim Polishing? What to use?

[HellBelly]

I have some old School Bean slots on my 69 in the garage that i'd like to clean up. Here is a picture.

What do you guy recommend to polish them up? Can they be polished up? Not a mirror shine, i'm talking remove the dull look?

[slick]

I would try some fine steel wool, then some mothers polish....I did this on my polaras rims and they came out great....I actually had to use a fine file on some parts because they had some chunks in them....

[FredM]

000 or 0000 steel wool and scrub away
great crome posish as long as your arms don't wear out
and no scratches

[Guest]

I wet sand older aluminum rims down to 1000 grit. Then buff with 0000 steel or preferably bronze wool soaked with kerosene. Then wash with acetone and polish with aluminum/mag polish (whatever I have on hand).
Found a set like yours the other day on a 74 1/2 ton van. A little dirtier, but should clean right up using above method. If only the chromed ones on my truck were as easy to clean (perfect centers, rusty rims). Oh well, that's what Hammerite is for.

[RussRoth]

Scott,

There is a guy here in Vancouver that has invented some pretty darn good metal polish. I met him at a truck (big ones)show. Those guys spend a lot of time polishing a lot of chrome and aluminum so they like EZ! I bought a bottle and tried it on some really nasty rims I have. I didn't spend much time I just wanted to see how it worked. I was amazed. Not much work on the little section I messed with and about 90% of the crud was off. Yours look like new compared to these. Not sure it would make them like new again but it was just about the best I have seen. Prior to that I used some that is made by a guy across the river in Troutdale, OR. He is a professional metal polisher. He came to the fire station one day to see me since he was trying to sell to the FD and I had used his product to polish the diamond plate on our truck. He had pics of some work he had done for one of the Casinos in Vegas. NICE! Anyway, when the Chief looked over the truck he asked if the plate was stainless. Any of you ever polish diamond plate you know how tough it is to get nice. I have bottles of both in the garage and if you want more info I can get it for you. Both products work great but they are different. Both guys want to say theirs is the best but I think there is a place for both since they work differently from each other. I would use the Vancouver guys stuff for something that is not badly corroded and for finish work. I would use the other guys for more heavy duty stuff.

[Russ]

This doesn't apply to the original question here, but someone mentioned rusting chrome wheels in one post. Before I converted my truck to 4X4 I had chrome wheels that would get rust spots on them regularly. The best thing I found to polish off the rust was Fast Orange hand cleaner. Just put some on a rag and use it like polish. It won't scratch the finish, but of course it doesn't work if the rust has gone too far.

[cowboy]

Scott, when you & howard meet, change your wheels , Then go over to I20 1 mile west of I45 & right across the side street from the flying J truck is a chrome shop for big trucks they will have the polish you need for around $20 bucks , I had those wheels looking like chrome at one time with the stuff I got there for my Frightliner

[wideblock]

scott, be carefull with the steel wool, id use brinze wool myself. very minute particles of the steel will be left in the aluminum. causeing rust spots down the road if they arent kept clean. what i found works well is jewlers rouge and a buffing wheel. you can buy it in many grits, and the electric buffer you use to keep the wifes ford waxed with a new pad works great. i once jacked up the @#% end, put the truck in gear, then sat there with bronze wool just letting it coast over the wheel till it was all shiney. scotch bright works this way too, but takes a bit longer. as long as you keep the knuckles out of the lug nuts, this sure saves the arms from laborous work. your rims arent clear coated. so if your just looking for clean, go to autozone and buy some eagle one aluminum mag cleaner that contains etching fluid. this will get all the years of crud off, but follow the directions exactly or youll damage the wheels. and in case you had any doubt, most of the procedires mentioned are best done with the wheel off the truck. correct me if im wrong, but didnt you say a while back when you bought old blue that them rims were bent? and thats why you removed them??

[HellBelly]

They had one hell of a wobble and I couldn't figure out what it was.

Until one day.. POP went the passenger front. It shredded

I put the spare on and it drove like a dream! Bad tire, must have had a bubble or something I didn't notice.

[RussRoth]

Scott,

I forgot about some acid etch I used to use on the aluminum diamond plate. It has been so long I don't recall what it was but it is the same stuff some of the big boys use on their aluminum. Works pretty good also but you don't want to use it incorrectly. It will turn the aluminum almost white. Should be able to find the name at a trailer (semi) cleaning place. I used to get it in a gallon but a quart goes a loooong ways.

[HellBelly]

Man you guys have all sorts of options.. I'm going to have to sit done and figure out which one I want to use. LOL

I really appreciate the responses, I'm sure they will help others to!

[bigblock68]

wash them with some mag wheel wash the kind for wheels without clear coat then get some mother polish after you rub some mothers on it will turn black thats when you take some baking flour and throw it on the area your working and start rubbing it out till it has a nice shine the flour helps pull out the dirt in the rim and acts as a rubbing compound i have gotten wheels to look like chrome with this stuff

[digdoug]

I've had good luck with Sure-Clean 1/15 with water and a plastic scrub brush.Its a muratic acid base wash used for cleaning efloressence off masonry but it works great on wheels.Its cheap,just rinse it good with water .