Polishing wheels

[godfearingman2011]

Trying to determine if the wheels are polished aluminum or chrome and how I can polish them thanks in advance.

[Blueline]

Re: Polishing wheels

My guess is that they are clear coated polished aluminum. If they were chrome, they would have a better shine, something like the center cap has, most noricible in the first picture. If I am correct, treat them like you would the paint on the vehicle.

[The Guz]

Re: Polishing wheels

My guess is that they are clear coated polished aluminum. If they were chrome, they would have a better shine, something like the center cap has, most noricible in the first picture. If I am correct, treat them like you would the paint on the vehicle.

I agree with them being polished. You could use a little bit of metal polish on a small area. If it turns black than they are not coated. If it doesn't turn black then they are clear coated and in this case do what Blueline suggested.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Polishing wheels

They definitely are not chrome, but whether they are coated aluminum or bare is hard to tell from these images. Our guess is that they're bare, polished aluminum since they're aftermarket wheels. As The Guz points out, a quick and easy test will tell you if they're bare or clearcoated, however. Make sure the wheel is clean and free of any dirt or dust, then take any metal polish and rub it into the wheel surface with a clean white towel. If the towel turns black as soot in a matter of seconds then the wheels are bare metal and you can proceed with a metal polish to make them really gleam. If, on the other hand, the towel does not turn black at all (even if it shows a bit of dirt simply from deep cleaning the surface) then the wheels are clear coated and should be treated like paint. That means any paint specific cleaners, waxes, polishes, etc can be used. Only use metal polishes on bare metal surfaces.

The wheel below is actually a bare aluminum wheel that has lost it's shine. The center cap is chromed plastic, so the shine remains no matter what (well, almost!).


A quick hit with our DynaCone Wheel Polishing Kit and some metal polish transforms this wheel into this. Pretty amazing, right?


Check out the write up on this process, and watch our Quik Tips Video on the topic, in this thread.

[Eldorado2k]

Wow that's like a brand new set of wheels for just the price of the wheel polishing kit. Plus the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

Quick question: So those are the kind of wheels that 1 should not use D143 or Wheel Brightener on? Can't even use D143 to clean the tires if they're wrapped around those wheels?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Polishing wheels

Ric, you are correct. A bare, polished aluminum surface is actually quite delicate and any wheel cleaner with a pH leaning hard toward either end of the scale is a no-no. D143 is strongly alkaline and Wheel Brightener is strongly acidic, and both will stain a bare, polished aluminum wheel. Of course, the good news is that the staining can be cleaned up using a good metal polish and/or the Dynacone Wheel Polishing Kit.

That staining would look like the image below. That's the wheel on the black '57 Chevy from the Quik Tips video. We intentionally sprayed Hot Rims Chrome Wheel Cleaner on it to create this staining, which is typical when someone thinks they have chrome wheels and end up using this product. Oh, and just for fun, this car is Barry Meguiar's personal car.


As you can imagine, when someone buys Hot Rims Chrome Wheel Cleaner because they think they have chrome wheels, only to find out they are in fact polished aluminum, they aren't too happy. But after that mix up, here's what happens when you spin the Dynacone and some metal polish against the wheel.

[Eldorado2k]

Thx for the great reply, Mike! I'm sure many people will benefit from reading your highly detailed posts in this thread. Topped off with an illustrated demo on Barry Meguiars own car trully makes this another 1 of Senor Stoops' golden nuggets of info

...I can't help but think back to cleaning the wheels & tires on this Jeep. This was before I had D143 so I used the DUB Wheel Cleaner and D101 4:1 on the tires. According to my cat's amatuer information, she said these would be bare aluminum. Was she right? [she crossed her paws when I thought about reaching for the Wheel Brightener. Lol]



DUB Wheel Cleaner didn't seem to hurt them. At least I don't think it did? This pic isnt perfect since they're still wet, but it's close up after using the DUB. So does this make DUB officially safe on bare aluminum?



What about using APC or Super Degreaser to clean the tires on bare aluminum wheels? Is it safe? Or was I just fortunate?

[godfearingman2011]

Re: Polishing wheels

Would a power cone or powerball be better to polish the wheels?