I have a set of original 14 inch Torque Thrust D wheels. I have tried over the years to keep them clean but have been slowly losing the gloss. Now I can't find a product that will bring them back to their original glossiness and have been told that the only solution is to spend $100 per wheel to have them polished (front side only), which will take off the paint. $400 goes a long way in buying new rims which I prefer not to do. Does anyone know of something that will take off years of oxidation?
I just used wet/dry paper and started with about 200 and worked my way to 1000. Didn't take much buffing after that to bring mine back. Sand only the areas you want.
Jack up the back of the car, install wheels(without tires), start car, drop in gear, start sanding and polishing. You might spend an hour on each wheel total.
I find child labor works best, cheap too. A sugar rush cuts the time in half! My daughter loves to help Dad work on the cars!
The best product I've ever used is Green Magic. really works good !!! Their website is www.greenmagicplus.com . We first saw it at Cruzin the Coast in Biloxi Miss. Buddy of mine got it for me and it had no contact info on the bottle or website. Now it's on the web. Like any cleaner it usually work well with a little heat usually produced with a buffer. You should mask off the porous areas. Then use flour to remove the excess resdue. It can be done or if you have plenty of spare change pay somebody.
After you get them cleaned up use some Gibbs Brand penetrant on them. It will keep them from getting oxidized again. I have had good luck with neverdull. I have also used a local polishing guy that kicks ass on the cheap.
I have never gone wrong using Happich Simichrome which is a German product which is awesome. Been using for 35 pluse years and I discovered it works on much more then metals. I was restoring a 69 Camaro in the early 80's when repro parts were very limited. The clear plastic bezel for the shift indicator was very hazy and scratched from wear and tear. An old rodder told me to try on the corner of the bezel to make sure it would react with the plastic first, then polish away. It was better than new when I finished, really. Since then, I have used for chrome, stains on glass, plastic, aluminum, all custom wheels, stainless steel trim, etc. It is a little expensive but worth it.
I like the old look of the machined surface instead of highly polished. A brake lathe and some 80 grit paper give me the look that I want The wheel rim was not polished back in the day they were just a machined finish. I think a brake lathe may be safer.
I've used both Simichrome & Neverdull, both work great. I think the Simichrome is a little more agressive.
If you don't want to do it yourself then check the local truck stops. There's usually someone floating around the parking lot with a buffer that polishes the big rigs on the cheap. By the time you're finished with your steak and eggs and a bottomless cup of coffee your wheels will be polished.
My friend had an old set of slotted mags on his "cuda". He used Mother's chrome polish, it took a while, but they turned out looking like chrome. I used Mother's Billet polish, results were great and it lasted longer than their chrome polish.
Has anybody experienced white specs on aluminum wheels after you polished them? Whats the cause and whats the solution?
Oxidation in the pits of the aluminium is what it is. Polish it to a deeper level to polish out the pits. Or get as much of the oxidation out of the pits and then get as much wax as you can into the pits. They might be microscopic pits
I've done this too! No problems at all. The sanding fine grit and multi step polishes is best. That HAMB'r who offered the $200.00/4 wheels is good, and would be thee best results. As with any project in the garage, ANYTHING can go wrong. So use common sense. Those that put this approach down, better not smoke, booze or dope. That would be hypocritical about personal safety.
I did this about a year ago to bring back the finish on some Appliance Wire Mags. Jack up the rear, PUT ON JACK STANDS and CHOCK THE FRONT WHEELS, put the car in REVERSE (slowest gear), and if you've got a buddy around who wouldn't mind sitting in your front seat and covering the brake pedal in exchange for a couple of cold ones it doesn't hurt. I started out with 180 grit. Fold the sand paper over itself a few times, the spinning wheel on the paper will generate some heat. Multiple folds keep it off the fingers a bit longer. Then move up to 220, 400, 800, 1000, and finally, 1500. Lastly, if you're doing aluminum, try some fine steel wool and Mother's Metal Polish. Apply a little pressure and move in and out. Wipe it off with a piece of terry cloth. I guess I spent about 20 minutes per wheel, since I was able to do two of them over my lunch break at work. All four over the course of two days, two hours total. The car they're on has been sitting, waiting for a wiring harness install, but the wheels still look like new.
Yes! ^^. I've done natural finished 15x10 slot's this way with a thick pair of winter gloves and Scotch Brite pads.
There is an article on wheel polishing in the August 2012 Hot Rod Magazine (p104) that compares the Pros and cons of Mothers PowerCone, Meguiars Brilliant Solutions, 3M Wheel Restoration and Black Magic Bullet. Conclusion was - for overall ease, simplicity and lustrous shine, Mothers was first. Meguiars was a close second and Black Magic third. The 3M Wheel Restoration was great at killing all pits and finished with a deeper polished look but there are many steps and there are limited usage per kit ($29.99). Bottom line was - Mothers gave the best shine, however, if your wheel isn't bad use any of the kits, for horrible wheels use 3M's kit followed by Mothers. I tried looking at the Hot Rod site but was unable to find the article and insert a link here to it. Maybe someone else will have better luck. Although (probably) more pricey, it would save jacking up the car, running the engine to spin the wheel, changing the wheel to a different one and repeating the steps. I may give the Mothers PowerCone ($24.95 for the Cone and $10.00 for the Polish) a try.
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