Question about neglected whheels

[dubbin]

Hi Everyone, I have a problem with a set of polished aluminum wheels. They have had some kind of chemical put on them and turned them almost white. Is there anything that I could put on them to bring them back to at least shine or is it a lost cause. I have tried everything that I know of.

[Kelso]

have you tried any metal or aluminum polishes? that usually an easy fix for aluminum wheels i think

[dubbin]

Yea I tried mothers and maguire polishes and I've seen no change yet

[Speed6 Guy]

Try steel wool, like an SOS pad. ( caution this is only for extreme cases to restore a dull and scaled aluminum wheel) I use it on billet motorcycle stuff all the time. You will get the shine back and then you can use a metal polish to bring it back to perfect.

Nate

[budman3]

Polishing aluminum isn't easy. You can't just put something on it and get results. The only way you can get results is to high speed polish them. I use a rotary with various polishing bobs at very high RPMs to polish aluminum. Heat is the key when you are working with aluminum. A powerball and a drill won't do anthing on aluminum except light polishing. You can either research the rotary & cotton polishing bobs some more or I'm sure there are professionals in your area that specialize in aluminum polishing.

[TOGWT]

Acid wheel cleaner etch and discolour the surface. You'll need to polish to the base level of the staining to remove it.

These may help locate a pro wheel re-finisher-
www.wheelcollision.com (http://www.wheelcollision.com/), Wheels America http://www.fixrim.com (http://www.fixrim.com/), http://www.wickedwheels.co.uk/ (http://www.wickedwheels.co.uk/) (also USA)

[ScottB]

first thing is to try P21S polishing soap. It is great at removing alot of tarnish. You will then move to a metal polish and Powerball or drill and mushroom buffs. It takes alot of time but results are apparent.

[coupe]

Polishing aluminum isn't easy. You can't just put something on it and get results. The only way you can get results is to high speed polish them. I use a rotary with various polishing bobs at very high RPMs to polish aluminum. Heat is the key when you are working with aluminum. A powerball and a drill won't do anthing on aluminum except light polishing. You can either research the rotary & cotton polishing bobs some more or I'm sure there are professionals in your area that specialize in aluminum polishing.

Ive turned around some seriously bad polished aluminum many times with just a powerball and aluminum polish. Its super easy with a PB.

[budman3]

It'll do some polishing but it's nothing compared to a rotary w/ bobs or a polishing wheel. The high speed and heat created by them is where the results are at.

[coupe]

Got any links to these, ill give them a try