Mag Wheels

[Buffalo Dude]

My dad said at one point they were shiny, but not since I was born. What do I do to make them shiny again? What do I use? They're American Racing mag wheels from the '70s/'80s. I'll see if I have a picture.

[Mike Pennington]

Re: Mag Wheels

Picture would be very helpful...

[Buffalo Dude]

Re: Mag Wheels

Sorry, not really high res, but this is the general condition.

[Mike Pennington]

Re: Mag Wheels

From the looks of this picture, the centers are cast and the lips are machined ? This means the center of the wheels have a rough texture and the lips are fairly smooth ??

Please confirm.

[Buffalo Dude]

Re: Mag Wheels

From the looks of this picture, the centers are cast and the lips are machined ? This means the center of the wheels have a rough texture and the lips are fairly smooth ??

Please confirm.

Yes, that's correct. Spokes are non-polishable textured surface, but the outer lips are all smooth. I guess I should have clarified that. There's no piting that I can tell, just some discoloration according to dad.

[Override]

Re: Mag Wheels

see if a magnet sticks to them... probably won't .. then it is likely aluminum. and a metal polish would be my way to go....

but i have done some aluminum polishing in the paste on engine parts, I used a buffing wheel on my hammer drill ( you need a lot of torque ) , and a fine metal polishing compound brick i got from a rock polishing hobby store ( 10 years ago ).

Anyways, i also did a set of mags from my 1980 280zx, bare metal aluminum i polished to a miror finish.

so, yes, you can do it, but it depends what you are working with. bare metal, coated, painted ?

[Mike Pennington]

Re: Mag Wheels

The Hot Rims Mag & Aluminum Polish would be our 1st choice for the lips.... Please keep in mind, as bad as those are, it may take a few applications and some Passion. On the 1st pass, you may try cotton terry cloth towels, then re-polish using microfiber as the applicator and a seperate microfiber for removal.

Do a test spot 1st, to see what your up against, and to determine the best process.

Also, since they are only machined, you will not get the "pop" of a true polished aluminum....if you want that, it may be easier to have them profesisonally polished by specialized machines and abrasives.

Mike

[Buffalo Dude]

Re: Mag Wheels

Thanks!

[guitarman502]

Re: Mag Wheels

I just got to use the Hot Rims Mag and Aluminum Polish for the first time the other day, and WOW. This product is amazing. When I placed my order, I kinda questioned if I was just throwing my $7 away and if I would ever use this, since then I use this stuff all the time..... Just kinda throwing that out there.