What do I do to restore these wheels?

[jgg85234]

From several feet away, the wheels look OK.

From up close, you can see the damage.

This is the left rear wheel, which I haven't touched yet.



Another photo




Left front - after FG400, Wool Pad, and rotary buffer.




These are the original wheels on the 1989 Pathfinder. I can find replacements, and I can still order new ones (for a lot of money) from a Nissan dealer. They say aluminum alloy wheels - flat silver finish

What I haven't been able to find is whether these are painted, clear coated, or just finished. I started with just a hand pad, and some Flitz polish. The pad turned immediately black, which told me I was rubbing on aluminum.

Before I started, it's the light colored sections that felt rough. After the FG400 pass, the wheel feels smooth everywhere. I didn't clean it up all the way (the black comes off) just to show the contrast better.

My question is, am I dealing with Aluminum Oxide that needs to be removed with more polishing, and perhaps the right chemicals (Flitz Aluminum Pre-Cleaner comes to mind), or have the years just rubbed off the painted coating on most of the wheel?

In the early years when we got this truck it went through a lot of car washes, as I was overseas and my wife would just take it there to get it cleaned. They've looked like this for a long time, but they weren't like that when new.

I would rather fix them than replace them. I have access to auto painters and powdercoaters.



Jim

[sproketser]

Powdercoating would be great , supposed to make that next Winter .

[jgg85234]

Not that white stuff that you guys up north get for a good part of the year.

This stuff



I guess they could do it in white, but the wheels are silver.

Jim

[Pureshine]

Powder coat would be great idea

[jgg85234]

I guess I answered my own question.

Paint Thickness Gauges do aluminum too.

Once it's zeroed, I'm getting readings 0-3 µm on both the whiter spots and the darker areas. That says there's no paint, or at least almost none left. Many of the 0 µm readings come from the areas that I was worried about it being paint.

Must be aluminum oxide (rust). I'll keep polishing.

Jim