polished alum wheels + chrome cleaner = argh!

dameeks · #1 (**permalink**) 05-13-2004, 11:22 AM

Ok, so the wheels on my FFR are polished aluminum, not chrome. Why does this matter? Well, I thought they were chrome (bought the car a couple of months ago, used) and sprayed some chrome cleaner on one of them to see if I could get a little more shine out of it. Waited 30 seconds and hosed the cleaner off, only to see my nice shiny wheel is now a milky white. I guess they're pretty serious when they say not to use the cleaner on polished aluminum!

So, I grab some aluminum/silver/pewter cleaner from the house and proceed to try to bring some life back to the wheel. It worked pretty well, but is far from being back to normal. I've never had to mess with polished aluminum before, so can someone tell me if my wheel is forever screwed up, or is there a product/buffing wheel/etc. that I can get to try to re-polish the polished aluminum?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Darren

rdorman · #2 (**permalink**) 05-13-2004, 11:32 AM

Go to www.caswellplating.com. A loose buff and white compound should bring the shine back. Everything you need to polish and all the advice you can stand is there on the site. A flexible shaft attached to a motor make easy work of this.
Rick

flipper35 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-13-2004, 11:39 AM

There are a few products that work well for polished aluminum that come in a paste. I used tripoli compound to shine my aluminum and then used Eagle One Never Dull for the fininshing touch. It just takes some time and you should be OK.

scootter · #4 (**permalink**) 05-13-2004, 11:44 AM

If you have a local truck shop by you ( like Peterbuilt, Kenworth, ect) they usally carry 2 different products that polish up aluminum great. One is in a green bottle, and the other is pink. I believe the pink one is called what a shine, it is a polish plus wax. The other is for harder to clean up, but I cant remember the name except that it starts with a Z. They are fairly cheap, And they work great.

rdorman · #5 (**permalink**) 05-13-2004, 11:45 AM

Tripoli or brown is the compound that you would use before the white or blizzard compound. It is a good general compound. Use a spiral sewn buff with the tripoli. If you have to go to a black or emery compound and a sisal wheel then it really did do some damage! Start with the lightest compound using the correct wheel if that doesn't do it step up until it does and then go back through the lighter compounds. No need to hand polish unless you want to.

Rick

rdorman · #6 (**permalink**) 05-13-2004, 11:48 AM

Forgot something! A good coat of paste wax once done will help keep the shine for a while. Of course Zoop seal will keep it shiny for a long time!
Rick

dameeks · #7 (**permalink**) 05-13-2004, 12:00 PM

Thanks for the info. Good to know I didn't screw it up permanently. I see an aluminum buffing/polishing kit from caswell, that has the black, brown and white compounds/polish, along with the buffing and polishing wheels, for $39. Will the polishing wheels work on a regular power drill? I also have a rotary drill that spins much faster, but the size bit that it takes is much smaller than a regular drill bit. Not sure which one the wheels are made for. Are these products available at an auto parts store, as well?

Thanks for the input,
Darren

Back in Black · #8 (**permalink**) 05-13-2004, 12:10 PM

I just used it on my hyper polished Edelbrock intake, my water pump and valve covers.. it was a lot of work but the finish is so slick that it shames teflon! It is a clear ceramic "penetrant" that lasts for years, the big thing is you need to completely strip the wheel of it's original finish/coating.. fortunately many wheels are naturally shaped well for a power buffer! I used Magic Mix polish, buffers of several sizes, and a lot of hand work with fine sandpaper and hand polishing with rags to get the big time gleam.

rdorman · #9 (**permalink**) 05-13-2004, 12:25 PM

Generally the buffs that come in the kits are for a buffing machine (think bench grinder). You need to have suffient speed for the buffing to be effective. Do do make buffs for drills, buffing machines, die grinders, flex shafts, etc. Check around the site. Read the free how-to booklet and browse the forum. All the answer you need are right there!

Thank for the info on the Zoop. I have been considering it since I don't like to polish very much.

Rick

sean67 · #10 (**permalink**) 05-13-2004, 02:02 PM

Darren,

Busch's Aluminum Polish will knock it right off. It will also, easily take any smooth Aluminum surface and make it shine like chrome with little effort and no black stains on your hands (because it washes right off). I found no other product and easy to use and with the same results.

I have had the same problem with my wheels.

Sean