aluminum rims clean up/polishing help please

[andy9743]

hey all,
i have a set of raceline polished aluminum rims on my lifted excursion. this truck sees some winter duty in NW ohio. we use salt and other crud on the roads. trying to polish them back up and i'm not getting very good results. i've attached some pics. the rims appear cloudy and what i am using isn't cutting through the corrosion/oxidation. the pics actually look better then real life (don't they usually?!) what i have tried thus far:

washed with soap/water, cotton cylinders in a power drill with both mothers and meguires metal polishes, 0000 steel wool with same polishes. i have a pc da and a dewalt rotary buffer at my disposal with limited use and i have limited knowledge of both. what should i try to clean these up better?

any help greatly appreciated...of note the center caps are new as the units that were on over winter were really rusted and corroded.

[andy9743]

link to wheels:
Raceline Wheels - 886-Renegade 6 Polished

cotton cylinders i've tried:
http://www.amazon.com/Anytime-Tools-...=rim+polishing

[Setec Astronomy]

I know this is a dumb question--but you're sure those are raw polished aluminum and not polished aluminum with clearcoat over?

[74 thing]

If you try a metal polish and black comes off on your towel then it is raw metal and not clearcoated.

The salt may have etched the raw aluminum. If so there are acids available that you can spray on (I believe Duragloss and Flitz has those products available) then you can sand and buff to get your shine back (lots of labor).

There are sealers available on the market for raw wheels that are supposed to seal in the pores of the raw metal. Also you may want to look into something offered in the boating detailing world that is meant to be used on metal in a harsh saltwater environment.

[andy9743]

I know this is a dumb question--but you're sure those are raw polished aluminum and not polished aluminum with clearcoat over?

not a dumb question as i am new to all this. when i buff my rag/wheel turns black so i'm assuming they are raw.

[andy9743]

If you try a metal polish and black comes off on your towel then it is raw metal and not clearcoated.

The salt may have etched the raw aluminum. If so there are acids available that you can spray on (I believe Duragloss and Flitz has those products available) then you can sand and buff to get your shine back (lots of labor).

There are sealers available on the market for raw wheels that are supposed to seal in the pores of the raw metal. Also you may want to look into something offered in the boating detailing world that is meant to be used on metal in a harsh saltwater environment.

thanks i'll see what i can find.