oxidized aluminum rims

[NEOPLAZMA]

anyone know a good way to remove the oxidation from aluminum rims..steel wool works but YIKES, too much work...HELP

[Arnak]

Ah, its the only way i know. Well short of new ones but that can be a lil over the top for a lil oxy buildup.

[SleeperGT]

I was told never to use steel wool on aluminum wheels, it transfers the properties of the steel wool onto the wheel itself, creates corrosion on the surface of the wheel. I would use sand paper on it instead, gradually using a finer grit then buffing out to a shiny finish. Either that or get them professionally finished.. which costs big $$$

[86 50CPRI]

Have a fun filled weekend with a tub of Mothers polish!It doesn't do anything for bad clear coat,but if you are past that,Mothers will work.Your fingers may feel like bloody stumps when you're done,but the wheels will look awesome.

I had 10 holes,that I hadnt polished in 10 years easy,as I was stupid and didnt try.At some point the clear coat came off,leaving that dull color.I thought,what the hell,cant hurt--After about 4 'coats' and alot of blackened rags,the rims looked great!Even in the dark,they would shine at the hint of light.

Now,I have TurboCoupe 'snowflakes'with bad clear coat,and am back to square one.

Anyone know an easy way to remove clearcoat?

[NEOPLAZMA]

Try your hardware or automotive store for "Heavy Duty Paint And Gasket Remover"
it sprays on and bubbles up, then hit it with a hard spray from your garden hose...
make sure you take the rims off and away from your caar in case of overspray hitting your paint.
wish i had the stuff before i spent about 30 hrs of stumpy fingers and steel wool, after that i hit it with ultra fine sand paper...sweet job though, looks great..

NEOPLAZMA :twisted:

[Gord]

You can also go to t truck wash and get them to spray the rims with acid wash and save oh I dunno about 40 hours of elbow grease. Blue Beacon is good and cheap. I have done that with the wifes VW rims and they came out beautiful.

[TangStang]

Paddock sells a kit - POR-15 Aluminum Wheel Resoration Kit

You get:
Stripper (not Female): takes old clear off
Cleaner: enough said
Polishing Compoud: 3 tubes
Buffing Wheel: 3-4" wheels, 1-3" wheel, 1-6" wheel, 1 goblet
Arbor Adaptor: for all wheels
Glisten PC- clear coat
Artisan Metal Polish

Down side... Price= $149.00, but thats still cheaper then new rims or bringing them somewhere. I had my fiances Tbird rims cleaned and it cost me a mint...

[Gord]

Neoplazma,

You can get "scotchbrite" pads that go on a drill for cheap and they use those pads in the aircraft and mfg industries to prep the surfaces for welding.

[Anlushac11]

8)

I spent a sunny Saturday and a can of duraglit and polished my rims from about 10am til almost 8pm

Felt OK at the time but almost couldnt move arms next day.

But damm thoise rims looked good!

Might want to get some rubber gloves too. After all day in the duraglit my fingers were almost raw.

[camwright]

If you pour some coca-cola on the aluminum, it will eat the corrosion if you let it sit a spell. then wipe it with a scotchbrite pad.

[84 Interceptor]

Try Blue Magic Wheel Polish in the paste form. I tried it on my Boydes and it took off 5 years of brake dust and oxidation. Like the rest , it took all day but the results were quite nice. I still haven't found cure for the hand problem though. :lol:

[NEOPLAZMA]

i have finished the polishing....including the fingerprints from my hands...it was worth all the effort...now if i can only find some TRX Tires../? the ones on the rims now are left with only enough tread to burn off this summer, after that....i guess its time to recycle the aluminum.... :( (cant find anyone that sells metric tires)

NEOPLAZMA :twisted:

[TangStang]

The major tire shops have them - Mich. sell's them, they where around $200 a piece last time I checked...

[tshnvr]

SIMPLE... Use Eagle 1's "wadding polish"...comes in a silver tin...takes it right out and shines it like new, works good on chrome as well

[82CapriRS]

TRX tires are available from Coker tire, www.cokertire.com .

A bit pricy, though. I also found 220-55-VR390's at Tirerack.com, $200.00ea.

This is the size I'm using. While very expensive, I think it's worth it to keep the TRX rims.


I had my wheels bead blasted ($17.00ea) locally, and then had them sprayed with a "titainium" wheel paint at a body shop($125.00 for the set), exactly like the finish on the silver Cobra-R wheels.

It looks great, and cleans up real easy.

Jim P.