Aluminum Finish Question - UPDATED w/pics

sowaxeman · 10-23-2006, 09:12 PM

I have a set of LX 10-hole rims that I plan to polish out to a mirror finish, but only on the face and outer edge - not the 10 holes or the outer recessed section. In case you don't know, the casting finish of the 10 holes and the recessed lip is course like pumice. Any ideas what I can use to thoroughly clean that surface to get it back to an original shiney aluminum? Aluminum polish did not work because of the rough casting - I'm thinking I need some sort of strong chemical and a scotch bright pad or something. Any ideas - simple green maybe? Really curious if anyone has done this on some 10-holes [&:]

sxynerd · 10-24-2006, 03:38 AM

This is kinda not really your question but I'm sure it will help you or somebody...

Re-Polishing the Lip

Materials:
Sand Paper 400, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000
Aluminum polish (I like Motherâ€™s)
Paint remover.
Clean Rags
Pail of water

Tools:
Jack
Stands
File (if you have dents or nicks to smooth out)

Procedure:
1. Clean the wheels
2. Smooth out any severe nicks with a file
3. Jack up a front corner where you want to start polishing. Support with jack-stand and chock rear wheels.
4. With Back wheels completely off the ground, start the engine and release the clutch with the transmission in first gear. The wheel that is off the ground will begin to spin at a couple hundred rpmâ€™s. CAUTION! You have created the equivalent of a lathe. Treat it with the respect you would any power tool. Watch out for air valve stem. Mine our out of the way enough so that I could polish underneath, but it smarts when is smacks you in the knuckles.
5. Usually the lip is sealed with clear-coat. You will need to remove it if you want to polish the lip. With a rag, carefully apply paint remover to the rim lip. DO NOT allow the paint remover to come in contact with the painted sections of the wheel or you will destroy the finish. Within a couple minutes the clear-coat will start to flake off. Apply another coating or two of paint remover to be sure you get all the clear-coat off. Stop the engine and inspect to be sure. If patches remain it will slow the polishing process. If you are not comfortable using the paint remover, start sanding with a coarser grit sandpaper. It will take a little longer but you should achieve the same results.
6. Sand the spinning wheel starting with 400 grit sandpaper and proceed all the way up to 1500 or 2000. Keep the paper wet or it will get hot and tear.
7. Finish with aluminum polish on a rag and then a clean dry rag. At this point the wheel lip should have a brilliant shine. If you want, you can apply a fresh coating of clear-coat.
8. Repeat for the opposite wheel. Exchange the front wheels with the rear wheels and repeat. You probably needed to rotate you tires anyway.

Hope it helps

Mike
sxynerd
[sm=americanasmiley.gif]

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sowaxeman · 10-24-2006, 10:17 AM

Well, very detailed post indeed but that is not my issue. These wheels are NOT polished yet, they are factory cast with clear coat. I am just trying to clean up the very porous 10 holes prior to polishing out the face and outer lip.

Perhaps a chemical that will get through the clearcoat of the holes?

sxynerd · 10-24-2006, 01:05 PM

Are you wanting to take off the paint/clear coat and make them not a porus and to polish them to?...

Any industrial Home depot will carry paint stripper, I like KleenStrip Paint and Epoxy remover, there are a few more types of Aircraft strippers that are really good to. The use of a heat gun can help speed up the process too. (!!!!!!and in an open area, dont do this in your garage!!!!!) Also Use a small to med. "BRASS" wire brush to physically remove the smaller embedded stuff. All the sanding should be the same as previously posted.

Hope it helps

Mike

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sxynerd · 10-24-2006, 01:21 PM

Cool band btw...

Mike

mustnglvr · 10-26-2006, 06:42 PM

eagle one makes some strong wheel cleaner you might try that

lookin4astang · 10-31-2006, 01:02 AM

Those are indeed some really good pointers on getting aluminum back like new. Sanding is one of the only ways to do it. When I had my MX3, the intake manifold was shot as were some other pieces under the hood. I had my dremel tool out sanding something under the hood and bumped the manifold. It was shiny where it touched. So I decided to try and polish it back to new. After removing it and some careful sanding with graduating grits of paper, I had removed enough material to make it flat and it turned out a very nice polished aluminum look with virtually no scratches. Took me a good bit of time, but in the end the results were well worth it.

Im getting ready to do it to some parts under the hood of my 98.

sowaxeman · 10-31-2006, 03:47 PM

Thanks - but I know how to polish it out to a mirror finish. I have done this on a few sets of wheels. I was just curious if anyone has been able to clean the factory casting of the actual 10 holes and the recessed portion just inside the lip (I am NOT polishing these parts) back to a factory silver shine (without sanding, grinding & polishing?

Jim D. · 11-04-2006, 04:31 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: sowaxeman

Thanks - but I know how to polish it out to a mirror finish. I have done this on a few sets of wheels. I was just curious if anyone has been able to clean the factory casting of the actual 10 holes and the recessed portion just inside the lip (I am NOT polishing these parts) back to a factory silver shine (without sanding, grinding & polishing?

Not having done this before, but I have observed methods... using a chemical stripper is probably your cheapest route, though it's difficult to say what the end result would be on the rough cast... some wire brush action might be in order afterwards.

Alternatively, some sort of media blasting should work pretty good, especially for the rough cast areas.

tdappleman · 11-04-2006, 09:01 AM

Your easiest route is to with a wheel cleaner which contains hydroflouric acid - this is what alot of folks use since it's a penetrating solution which gets into all of the areas of the wheel and breaks down road grime/brake dust pretty quickly. The downside are it is VERY dangerous - you have to wear gloves and goggles - don't try to get around that. It needs to be sprayed on a calm day because it can cause damage to other pieces on the car (including glass) - with wheels the easiest thing is to just take them off.

Several brands to think about: Alumabright, Mag Brite by Production Car Care, and Malco Automotive has a couple - Ultra Shine and Brake Off.

Just don't use a product which is designed for steel or wire wheels only as they will damage aluminum wheels. Good luck!