Restoring mirror-like shine to rims?

Need to know whether your rims are polished aluminum or chrome, and if the former, whether or not they are clearcoated to comment. All three require different care and feeding. Polished aluminum can be re-polished, unless it's clearcoated in which case you treat it like paint. (if it's real bad, you strip them, polish, and re-clearcoat, but a new set of rims may be cheaper.) If chrome, you polish, but with a different polish, and if they are real bad you just deal with it unless you want to pay for rechroming.

nate

aluminum

Sounds like the clear coat is failing and the aluminum is getting oxidized. Common problem with aluminum rims. Two ways to fix them remove the clear coat and polish and reclear, or remove the clear coat and polish, then keep them polished.

How would I be able to tell what I have? Chrome, aluminum, clear coat etc? Thanks

Since you mention a whitish haze you have aluminum rims, Chrome looks good until the steel below it rusts and causes it to bubble or pinholes the rust. Since all aluminum rims are clear coated to keep them looking nice I would say that is what you have. If it is a factory rim it is cast aluminum with a polished surface and either a powder clear coat or a polyurethane based clear. If the clear coat is getting cloudy then it has to come off to restore it. The aluminum under it will corrode even if the clear isn't damaged, just the way aluminum is.

if steel with chrome, a magnet will stick to it. Personally, I didn't know you could have an alum rim without the clear coat (well you could but it wouldn't look very good for very long). If a magnet doesn't stick, you probably have the clear coat failing as others have said. Stripping and polishing will probably be fun.. bbb

sure you can have aluminum with no clear coat... I've got several sets of slotted mags from the late 60's just like that... another option would be chromed aluminum alloy, some newer Chryslers have wheels like that

nate

bob wrote:

Ok so it's been established that I have aluminum...how should I go about stripping them? Water & fine grade sandpaper? Or is there a stripper that I can apply? Thanks.

Depends on what type of clear is on them. Carb cleaner will take off some types. Paint stripper will take others off. Just don't leave it on there any longer than needed. Then use some buffing compound and clean them up real good. Next you need to decide if you want to keep polishing them every couple weeks OR recoat them with some spray on clear. If you want to coat them you will need to clean them REAL good with some Wax and Grease remover (paint and body shop supply store will have it) and remove the oil/grease that was left behind and make sure any wax from the buffing is gone. Then as soon as they are clean and dry spray them with some clear lacquer or enamel wheel paint.

OR you could contact a wheel restoration shop and exchange your rims and some money for some "new" rims.

Ok sounds interesting & not so bad...after the stripping is done, what brand/type of polish do you recommend to bring back that mirror-like shine? I have blue magic metal polish & muthers mag & aluminum polish. I'm guessing the latter. Thanks.

I stripped the clear off my 86 vette rims and keep them polished using Mother's Aluminum cleaner (it's a spray, and corrosive) when I wash the car, and once a year with Mother's Aluminum polish, which is a paste. They look better than ever. I get comments on them from non-car people all the time.

Are you sure it's aluminum? In your original message you mention a "mirror like shine". Mirror like says chrome to me. Aluminum look like, well, aluminum.

Are you sure it's aluminum? In your original message you mention a "mirror like shine". Mirror like says chrome to me. Aluminum look like, well, aluminum.

Ok I spent all day Saturday working on my rims. I stripped the clear coat off then used polishing compound & then polished with Muthers Aluminum polish, they look alot better & they shine but there's still a little haze to them & you can see the scratches from the steel wool I used to get the stubborn dirt off. From far back they look great but close up you can see some haze & scratches, is this a process of cleaning & polishing that will eventually look alot better or is this the best they'll look? I am impressed though, don't get me wrong. Thanks.

You can also buy a polishing wheel that attaches to an air tool or drill, and polishing compound such as Tripoli. See the following

I have no affiliation, just one of the first results from google that came back.

I've used the various compounds on my vette wheels, and it works great. Lot of work though, even though you're using power tools to do it.

On 2005-08-15 snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com said: >Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech >D wrote: >> Ok I spent all day Saturday working on my rims. I stripped the >>clear coat off then used polishing compound & then polished with >>Muthers Aluminum polish, they look alot better & they shine but >>there's still a little haze to them & you can see the scratches >>from the steel wool I used to get the stubborn dirt off. From far >>back they look great but close up you can see some haze & >>scratches, is this a process of cleaning & polishing that will >>eventually look alot better or is this the best they'll look? I >>am impressed though, don't get me wrong. Thanks. >You can also buy a polishing wheel that attaches to an air tool or >drill, and polishing compound such as Tripoli. See the following >

>I have no affiliation, just one of the first results from google >that came back. >I've used the various compounds on my vette wheels, and it works >great. Lot of work though, even though you're using power tools to >do it. Simicrome (sp?) was the standard when I was in the motorcycle business.

Tom Willmon near Mountainair, (mid) New Mexico, USA

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