I finally snagged me a pair of 15x10 (5 on 4.5) American Racing Torq Thrust mags!! Getting a set of magnesium wheels has been a long time dream of mine. I'd like to ask you guys a bit of advice though on how to clean them up. They're actually quite clean and have no heavy pitting, but they have been sitting for quite a while and have that white dust (corrosion) forming on them. I have several cans of Gibbs that I plan on coating them liberally with but should I get the white dust off before applying the Gibbs? If so, what's the best way to do this? I've heard of people using Eagle Mag Etching Wheel Cleaner, but that stuff has phosphoric and sulfuric acid in it and these really ARE clean besides the white dust. It seems the Eagle Mag etching cleaner is more for removing grease, grime and brake dust. I'm a bit hesitant of the acidic nature of the stuff and also having to rinse it off with a bunch of water afterwards makes me nervous too. Will this white dust remain if I only apply the Gibbs? I'd love to hear what has worked for you guys. These are going on a drag car ('61 Falcon) so their looks aren't the main focus, preserving them the best possible way for the future is though. Thanks in advance!
I always heard of guys using brasso and lots of rags bitd...oh and they will start to tarnish again a few hours later haha..very cool rims...you obviously did some rear suspension work to fit those.. I don’t know if I’d really run them at the track..nice show pieces though
Etching wheel cleaner seems like the WORST thing to try. I'd try a small amount of Gibbs on a rag on the back side, to see if the white powder wipes off. Look on Roadsters.com website for more info first.
Check Racer X’s Rebuilding After the Crash thread for wheel clean and polish. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
"Mag Wheel Cleaner" is another way the world is fucking with English. Calling "aluminum wheels"..."Mag wheels". It's used for removing the brake dust from..."aluminum" wheels. ANY sort of etching compound is the first step to disaster on Magnesium wheels. If you want to leave them as they are, the Gibbs will work well. If you want them shiny...depends on their current finish. If the surface is smooth now, all that's needed is some Scotchbrite or fine sand paper, then polish as any other wheel. If the surfaces are still rough...A lot of sanding/light grinder work is required, then to fine sand paper and or Scotchbrite, then polish. Nice find. Mike
Use fine Scotchbrite to knock the white oxidation off. Keep rubbing! Graduate to progressivley ultra fine sandpaper. Polish out with Mother's. WD-40 on the spokes. The rears in my avatar took 30 mins each and look like mirrors. Repeat next week. Bowie probably thinks I'm nuts.
I should have mentioned this originally but I'm not wanting to polish these if at all possible. I love the natural dark finish look of magnesium and want them as dark as possible. Thanks for all the suggestion thus far! Right now I'm leaning towards just knocking off the white stuff with steel wool and Gibbs.
The rear wheel wells have been radiused and it has a narrowed rear end. Here's how it looks with my 15x10 slotted wheels.
Elbo grease and a good detergent. I would first go to the local power washer and blast the living hell out of them then its elbo grease time. Once you get them clean then start after the rims with a good polishing compound. Those should actually polish up pretty easy with a little work they have already had the rims polished once. I don't know much about gibbs, I have never used it. On the polished surfaces I would use lemon pledge.
Chevy57dude has it down. I don’t miss that drill! If you’re going for the dark look , use diesel fuel instead of WD40. Either will keep the white furry’s at bay. I’m to ol time to use Gibbs LOL
I decided to use some course steel wool to knock off the white powdery corrosion and then just soak them with the Gibbs penetrating oil. This is some good stuff!
What ever you decide don't use any water. Ever. Water causes magnesium to corrode. Its like putting acid on them. The white powder is corrosion. I have glass beaded several sets with good results. Its fast and cheap. It wont hurt the wheels. Don't use regular sand. I like to blast them to achieve a uniform appearance. It eliminates the light and dark spots. They will turn dark all by themselves due to the moisture in the air. To speed up the dark look wd 40 works. I have not tried Gibbs. When having the tires mounted don't use water to set the bead. You don't want any water getting trapped on the mounting surface. The first area i look at when i look at mag wheels to buy is the bead sealing area. Many wheels i run across are junk because of the corrosion to this area. Here is a set I did recently going through the different steps. Eventually going with a full polish. You saw you like dark mag. I do to. I just like polished mag more. Nothing looks like mag when it's polished.
Stop right there and call it "DONE"! There's nothing like the color of magnesium not shining in the sunlight. I could find it in my heart to forgive you if you left the centers dark and rubbed the outer rims with steel wool to a satin finish. (Treated with Gibbs brand again.) That would be a distant second choice, though.
Polished outers is also a option. I like them all different ways. If you don't like the look or get tired of polishing its no big deal. They will return to a dark grey in no time if you leave them alone. Painted centers was also popular. Usually done the same color of the car.
The shiny, wet look of the Gibbs will soon subside and they'll then look even better. The Gibbs squirts out of the can like nothing else (they presumably get to sell more that way!) and the excess gives that wetness - I've found, admittedly on bare steel, that a quick squirt followed by spreading the product with a cloth works well as a later re-application without the shiny. Too darn expensive to be splashing it about too much! Chris
The dream would be to find a pair of 15x4 Magnesium AR Torq Thrusts for up front. Those may just have to be my retirement gift though, seeing as the prices are stupid high when they do come up for sale. In the meantime, I'm planning on a pair of 15x4 ET Vintage V wheels. They look exactly like a vintage American Racing Torq Thrust wheel but they're made out of aluminum and I can actually afford a pair. I heard they actually used a vintage 15x4 magnesium American Racing wheel for the wheel pattern. The plan will be to either have them sand blasted and then powder coated for the dark magnesium look, or I may just spray them with graphite lubricant which gives them the same look of magnesium, just not permanant. This '33 Willy's has magnesium wheels in the back and aluminum ET Vintage V's up front. I'm not sure what process he used to make them look like that, but I think they turned out amazing. They look like the real deal.
I bought some rattle can stuff at oreilys for some 5 spoke minibike wheels and they looked great..so much so that I think I’m gonna do a pair of new D spokes...
Real mags give you a new hobby. Cleaning and polishing too often!. There was a reason the Old Halibrands on Indy cars were gold in color. Dow & lasted the longest and prevented corrosion from sneaking around the corner a hour after you finishing the polish step. The wheels can be painted but I never saw any that lasted long by painting. Dow 7 doesn't shine, bu tit protects and lasts.