Aluminum Wheel Polishing

Looking for advice on how to clean up these wheels. They are pretty corroded, but not pitted. Just use some coarse rubbing compound and then finer?

 

Start off with some spray bottle aluminum brighter.
Let them soak for 10 min before rinsing.

 

I used some 800 wet/dry paper on mine after using Busch's Aluminum wash on them then used a Mother's Power Ball on a drill got mine cleaned up real good

 

Mother’s powerball and zephyr 40 polishing compound and lots of elbow grease. Wear a dust mask for your safety

 

You can do a major polishing of the outer rim by jacking it up onto jack stands and running it at idle to spin the wheels. Hold a wet SOS pads against the rim. Just be careful of the lug nuts, you don't want to get your fingers into those, don't ask me how I know.

 

Aluminum Storm Door Cleaner available at most hardware stores works good to remove oxidation from natural causes first, then like Old Pappy says an SOS pad wet just enough to make a soapy creamy pad to start with. Then you can use any of the Aluminum Polishes to finish it up. Mothers makes aluminum polish of several types that work well. If the wheels are real bad you can water sand them with 400 wet or dry sand paper and then go to 600, and then rubbing compound to polish them. I like the sanded finish like they have when new, not a so much polished. Good Luck.

 

Did that on my Harley. Glad I'm not the only one foolish enough.

 

I first hit them with 320 wet sandpaper the various grits of Scotch bright and flitz polishhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/Zb29kYkXKevGujkM7

 

Just got 4 wheels for $100. Not my favorite design AND the center hole is only 3.75" (needs 4.25") . I know a guy with a mill and a lathe.

 

16" wheels open up a world of possibilities with metric tire sizes.

 

they are 15". I'm just going to put the 31" AT around town tires on them I think.

 

X2, there is a much better selection of tall skinny tires for 16" wheels.

 

Those are factory F150 wheels from the mid 90's

 

Exactly-1995 but these were on a Bronco.

 

Youtube has some videos to give you an idea. It is not an easy thing to do, at least the first time. Afterwards much easier to keep them looking good. But the only true way to polish them short of a machine, in my opinion, is to wet sand them by hand moving down a few grit steps. Then polishing them with some sort of compound of your choice.

But it would be cool to have this machine and make it this easy.