i got some MT classic lock rims...had them maybe 4 months i stopped at the power wash and tried my best to wash all the salt off weekly...well now they got a residue or somethin on them and no normal rim cleaning liquid works...i been told aluminum compound and a power ball will clean them right up....true? and where the heck can u get some lol cant find any at autozone, advanced auto or walmart...is it somethin i gotta order?...any brands u recommend?,...thanx
i don't really know a lot about rim cleaners, but i've heard meguiars hot rims maga and aluminum polish is good. it removes tarnish. check out their site.
As I briefly mentioned in my post asking about disc brakes, the dealer installed new American Racing Baja rims on my Jeep just prior to my purchasing it. Not sure why they chose that wheel, but they did and obvioulsy did no research on them.
Whin a couple of months I noticed a change in the way they looked. I was also at the car wash and noticed that they were changing color. I called the dealer, they contacted the supplier who gave me a CS number for American Racing to begin a warranty return. When I contacted AR they were very polite, but also acted like I had lost my mind even making such a call. The factory guy said that these wheels were never intended to be run in the winter or be exposed to salt. I had successfully voided the factory warranty without even knowing it. The wheels are now pitted to the point of being pretty ugly. I went to the auto parts store and used most of the products mentioned here, nothing will remove the amount of corrosion I have and restore the factory finish look. They pass the "10 foot test" but now look dirty all the time.
Just a word of caution. Clear coated aluminum wheels are way different than polished.
Here is a picture of mine after using Mothers Aluminum polish and a Powerball. The first wheel had not been polished yet. You can notice the difference in color. Powerballs are the cat's a$$!
i use the metal scratch pad that you get for cleaning out dishes and pans.. i used them on my fog lights to take off the surface rust that the last 10 trips to the car was hasnt cleaned.. heck i used it on the ring of my rim (i got black with chrome rings) and they work great..
Polished aluminum is uncoated and bare as indicated above. Aluminum will corrode (pit/discolor) very easly from road salt and other contaminates (brake dust). Polshed wheels should not be used where road salt is used else they will not stay shiny. Keeping them polished and a coat of wax will help. There are any number of polishes that will help get it back but is will eventually be a loosing battle unless you really keep on it. Mothers Power Ball can be found in most autoparts stores right with the wheel cleaners and polishes.
With that said, I have AR Baja wheels also that were on the Jeep when I got it. I'm in the NE but the Jeep came out of FL. The wheels were grayish when I got it but I polished them up and they did have a decent shine. They made it through last winter and shined back up in the spring to the point where they were before the winter. We'll see in a few weeks how well they clean up this year.
As you've heard....Mothers and a Powerball works great!
It took all the bleaching out of my American Eagles, that was left behind from a dildo employed tire shop.
When I was running chrome steel wheels on the CJ's, before I had the tires mounted the first time I would wipe the rims down with laquer thinner and spray them front and back with clear laquer. That seemed to do the trick as far as rust prevention.
What if after doing the Mother's and power ball treatment, you did the same thing? Wiped the alloy wheels down with thinner to remove the wax and silicone, then sprayed them with either clear laquer or something like Duplicolor Clear Coat??
Any thoughts or experience doing a DIY clearcoat treatment??
Hey guys. I know everyone has already posted their thoughts here, but I literally JUST did this exact thing a couple days ago and figured I'd show you my results. These pictures were taken on my iPhone. I apologize.
Just as a background: My girlfriend and I were driving the other day in her Jeep, and we passed a large mud pit, and since we haven't had a chance to get off road much in our area, she ran around in it for a while (maybe a little redneck, but it makes for an awesome girlfriend, right?). She left the mud on when we got home, and without me knowing, she took it to an automatic wash the next day; the kind where you pay someone 15 bucks to do what you could have done for free at home. So when she got back in it and met up with me, she was frustrated because it didn't look like it had even been touched. Mud on the top still, a film of dirt across the doors, filthy. And she made the comment "look at my wheels, they didn't even touch them". So that night I took it and cleaned it, but the wheels still looked awful. So upon closer inspection, I realized it was a rough black coating of brake dust that had corroded the wheels and that didn't come off with any sort of soaps or degreasers. I'm guessing this is the same stuff you all are having to deal with. So anyways, here's the process I used.
I used a red Scotch-Brite pad (I work in a body shop, so they were readily available. I think they sell them at local parts stores too. It's like the rough side of a kitchen sponge. I think someone else mentioned the use of these in an earlier post.) and scoured off all of the black residue. This left me with a scuffed, dull wheel. I wiped it down with paper towels to get all of the dust off from sanding because I didn't have my air hose where I was working, then I hit the whole thing with Nevr-Dull (I think it IS spelled without the second E.) I did this because it's still pretty rough since it comes in like, a fabric material almost, but it's finer than the ScotchBrite. I then wiped down the wheel with a polishing rag, then hit it all with Mother's Mag/Aluminum Wheel Polish by hand. That stuff works better the more elbow grease you put into it. This way takes a while, and takes a little work, but it made a world of difference for her wheels, and you don't need PowerBalls, or drills to do it.
They're American Racing by the way, as you can tell from the pictures.
Before:
I plan on polishing up my wheels here soon also. I friend of mine game me a link to some stuff that is supposed to be better than Mothers. I will post pics before and after pics when I have tried it out. I've heard great things about Mother's Polish and have used it myself, so I guess we will see which is better.
Process:
Soaked with Eagle 1 Aluminum Wheel Cleaner for about 3 mins
Washed/Scrubbed with Dish Washing soap.
Applied a Metal Polish called "75 Chrome Shop Metal Polish", bought from a place in Wildwood, Florida. Polish was applied using Mothers Powerball for about 3 mins a wheel.
Wiped down with wet terry cloth.
Buffed with a dry terry cloth.
Before:
After:
Overall I'm impressed with the product. It's just as good as the Mothers products I have used in the past.
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