Recommended metal polish for alloy wheels

**spike** · 04-06-2014, 03:47 PM

Hello everyone, I have some machined face wheels that have been damaged by what looks like a cleaner that was applied to the wheels when they were too hot, or left on too long or something like that...and now they look soo cloudy. I've tried to polish them with Megs 105, Megs 205 by hand, and they seem to look better at the time, then when it dries the surface doesn't look any different and the cloudy appearance is back.

So I guess I need a good metal polish to try to restore the finish as best I can. I know it sounds like the clearcoat is damaged, and that is probably true, but I just want to make them look better. I know I'll probably not be able to restore them to like new, but with the right product I hope I could make them look better. These are the OEM wheels on a 1999 camry xle.

Thanks for the suggestions!

**Bill1234** · 04-06-2014, 03:51 PM

ironically, I was just working with metal polish today. If they are not chrome or imitation chrome, I would try mothers aluminum or all metal polish. They are both good products.

**SYMAWD** · 04-06-2014, 03:55 PM

If they are clear coated, a metal polish really wouldn't be a good choice. I say keep on going with M105. When you are using it by hand, with what pad?

**MrOneEyedBoh** · 04-06-2014, 04:18 PM

Im guessing an acid may need to be used if the above doesn't work AND they AREN'T clear coated. If an acid is used you're going to need to polish them to a shine again. I don't know if that's the best method, but sometimes extremes are needdd

**spike** · 04-06-2014, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by Bill1234

ironically, I was just working with metal polish today. If they are not chrome or imitation chrome, I would try mothers aluminum or all metal polish. They are both good products.

I'm not an expert at identifying the composition of wheels (still learning!), but I'm pretty sure they are not chrome. I was looking at the Mothers line of polishes. Have you gotten good results with their all metal polish before?

Originally Posted by SYMAWD

If they are clear coated, a metal polish really wouldn't be a good choice. I say keep on going with M105. When you are using it by hand, with what pad?

Not sure how to figure out if they are clear coated or not. Any suggestions? And I was trying to polish the cloudiness out by hand with a microfiber cloth. Maybe I need that Mothers polishing ball that you attach to your drill or something like that...and I can tell that the wheels are machined because I can see and feel the machine lines on the surface, like little grooves...

**SYMAWD** · 04-06-2014, 04:50 PM

Something like this will help with hand polishing:
Cyan Cutting EZ Grip Hydro-Tech Hand Applicator

Can you post a picture of the wheel?

**spike** · 04-06-2014, 05:29 PM

Here's a couple of quick pics of the wheel:

**Durallymax** · 04-06-2014, 05:54 PM

Those are clear coated wheels. You can try to buff the clear with normal paint compounds like you had been using. True metal polish isn't needed because you are not polishing metal, you are polishing clear similar to whats on your paint.

In the pictures above I am assuming you have not touched them at all on the right half of the wheel and the left appears you may have? Looks decent, just stay at it. If the right hand side is after you have tried though you may be out of luck.

In order to tell the difference between chromed aluminum, bare aluminum, and clear coated aluminum its easiest to take a little bit of metal polish on a white rag then rub a spot on the wheel. If the wheel turns black and the rag turns black, that is aluminum oxide and thus you have uncoated wheels. Polish away with a metal polish of your choice. Mothers works well for easy to get OTC stuff and is a great price. If you do not get black then they are either chromed or cleared. I have no scientific way of telling the difference between chrome and cleared, you just look at them. Clear coated wheels will look dull 90% of the time compared to chromed wheels. Chromed wheels will have a deeper darker shine to them. Clear coated OEM wheels are not often polished to a mirror and then cleared either. If the OEM wants a mirror they tend to chrome them instead.

Acid cleaners work well for bare aluminum that is in very bad shape. Do not use them on polished aluminum though. The acid cleaners are usually labeled as "brighteners" because they take aluminum from dull grey/gold oxidized nastiness to bright white, but not shiny. The shiny part you have to do by polishing. It's important to note there are different acid cleaners as well. Hydroflouric/Sulfuric Acid combo's are very popular at truck shops for agressive work and citric acid based brighteners are available as a milder solution.

Before Acid.

After Acid

What acid will do to shiny stuff (see the lines?)

If the clear coat on your wheels has failed and you are still determined to make them look nice, you can strip the clear coat and start over. You will want to be somewhat committed though. You will want the wheel off the car, I prefer to dismount the tire, valve stem and any external weights as well so you do not miss anything. Make sure to mark the location of the stem and wheel weights on the tire before removing it for proper balance when you re-mount the tire. You can get away without removing the tire, it's just easier if you can. I would still remove any weights though and reinstall later so that you can get the clear underneath them.

To remove the clear coat you can use any aircraft stripper. Just follow the directions on the label.

This is the reason I don't clear anything, once the clear fails the results of the corrosion are 10 times worse than if it would've been bare. The pitting gets so deep from stuff getting trapped behind the failed clear that it takes far too much sanding to remove it. Everybody has seen GM's PYO wheels with failed clear I am sure. This is before stripping the clear.

After stripping the clear.

After you get the clear off you can decide if you want to paint them, polish them as they are, bring them to a mirror shine or simply just recoat them with clear. Many people choose to paint or just recoat them with clear. I'm no expert on that part sorry. You can take a simple polish like Mothers and a powerball or something with a drill to get them looking nice and shiny if you want. Then you can either clear them (and wait for the clear to fail again) or leave them bare but keep them clean and repolish them as needed. Pick your poison, one big maintenance or a lot of little. Kind of like taking care of the paint on your car, never protect it and plan on a repaint, or keep up on the maintenance and have something that looks good year round and lasts. Others may disagree, I just hate clear coated polished aluminum.

If you want to get more shine than is available you need to sand the wheels and then use different metal compounds and wheels to bring out a mirror. That is another chapter in the story though but the results can be pretty impressive.

One Issue I see with all of this is the center caps, they appear to be a faux brushed look and if you have "bling" wheels they will not match well.

**SYMAWD** · 04-06-2014, 06:05 PM

Those are clear coated. If it's just one wheel, perhaps consider getting it restored which is usually about $125. Of course try and fix it yourself first.

**spike** · 04-06-2014, 06:35 PM

Great info here! Thanks guys! I do believe they are clear coated because I don't get any kind of black on my cloth after polishing. I guess to do the job right the clear would have to be stripped and then go from there. And unfortunately those pics are of the wheel after I have tried to polish them by hand, so I guess that's the best I may get out of them. I just wondered if there was a product out there that might help me be successful at making them look better.

And props to you, Durallymax, for your awesome pictures. Wow, what a before-and-after show you have there! Those wheels look great!