Aluminum rims ruined by acid...

**Kristopher1129** · 08-22-2011, 10:22 PM

Hey guys, I have a regular customer of mine who allowed his friend to detail one of his Classic vehicles for free. Why...I don't know, and he really regrets it now. And why the guy wanted to do it for free...I don't know either. He was probably trying to steal work from me!

Either way. He screwed up BIG time, ha. He did the classic spray of acid on uncoated aluminum CHIP FOOSE rims! I know...it's nonsense. Not only that...he did this to a 69 Camaro!

It sounds to stupid to believe...but it's true. Well, apparently...the company or business the guy works for covered the rims, and he got a brand new pair of rims.

So, long story short...he has the old rims that got sprayed. I've never actually had to repair a screw up with acid on aluminum (cause I know better!)...but I've polished plenty of aluminum. I'm assuming this would be a fairly simple task with the right products.

What I have right now...is Wolfgang aluminum polish, a 3" wool ball, a hand drill, various metal polishes, Flitz aluminum Pre-Clean, Flitz scuff pads.

What I'm looking to do is make my job as easy as possible. I'd like some really good polishing tool recommendations for this job. Tools, products, methods...all advice is welcome. Hit me!

P.S. I don't have pictures cause I don't have the rims yet. I have an appointment to detail his GTO this wednesday. I believe I'll be getting them then.

**dchristo** · 08-22-2011, 10:27 PM

you may need several grits of sandpaper to start

good luck

**IOMCAMARO** · 08-22-2011, 10:32 PM

I did this for a living this summer. I worked for a trucking company that had wheels that had never been polished in the 10+ years that they had owned them. We sprayed them with acid to eat the pitting down then polished them. We used just a regular aluminum polish with rotary buffers and wool pads. This did a great job bringing the shine back, but it took a little to tool to perfect them. We used the Meguiar's polishing cone and it worked wonders. I would suggest the cone to anyone with aluminum wheels.

**Kristopher1129** · 08-22-2011, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by dchristo

you may need several grits of sandpaper to start

good luck

That I've also got. I have 500, 800, 1000, 2000, and 3000. Mainly for headlights...but sandpaper is sandpaper.

I thought the Flitz scuff pads would come in very handy instead of sandpaper though. I usually do really well with them.

**Lasthope05** · 08-22-2011, 11:53 PM

All you need is a metal polish. Acids only cloud/stain the finish so any type of metal polish would take that out.

**Kristopher1129** · 08-23-2011, 12:08 AM

Originally Posted by Lasthope05

All you need is a metal polish. Acids only cloud/stain the finish so any type of metal polish would take that out.

That's what I was hoping. I can't imagine it would be that tough to remove the stains. I bought a Meguiars cone to really get the tough spots.

We shall see. I will take pics when I get the rims.

**C. Charles Hahn** · 08-23-2011, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by Kristopher1129

That's what I was hoping. I can't imagine it would be that tough to remove the stains. I bought a Meguiars cone to really get the tough spots.

We shall see. I will take pics when I get the rims.

Great choice on the DynaCone.... they're excellent tools! I use mine way more often than the Mother's Powerballs or PowerCone.

**Ted S.** · 08-23-2011, 02:16 AM

Originally Posted by Lasthope05

All you need is a metal polish. Acids only cloud/stain the finish so any type of metal polish would take that out.

I've removed this cloudiness on bare aluminum with a terry cloth, Mother's mag & aluminum polish, and some elbow grease. No machines are required...but they do help a whole hell of a lot.

**Kristopher1129** · 08-23-2011, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by Shiny Lil Detlr

Great choice on the DynaCone.... they're excellent tools! I use mine way more often than the Mother's Powerballs or PowerCone.

I've never actually used the Mothers ball...but there's something about the Megs cone that just looked to be more useful to me. I've been wanting to get one for a while now.

Originally Posted by Ted S.

I've removed this cloudiness on bare aluminum with a terry cloth, Mother's mag & aluminum polish, and some elbow grease. No machines are required...but they do help a whole hell of a lot.

I've actually done that once before. It took one hell of a lot of elbow grease, ha. I'm going with machines this time...I ain't screwing around!