Best Way to Polish Aluminum Wheels and What to Use
Posted on June 24, 2010
First, shame on you for not getting wheels with a clear coat. That could have prevented a lot of restoration work for you right there. But if you took the time and money to invest in aluminum wheels, then it’s likely that you’re going to want them to shine and sparkle for the world to see. Luckily, it doesn’t take much time to recreate that original shine but I do recommend getting a special tool. Go out and buy a power drill buffing attachment. This tool will have multiple uses for many of your other car projects and even some home projects so do yourself a favor and get one.
Moving on, you need to wash the rims before doing anything else. Go ahead and do that to get any dirt and grime off. The rims need to be sanded to remove oxidization and tarnish. Begin with 320 grit sand paper and move up incrementally (400 grit, 600 grit, 800 grit, 1200 grit, etc.) until the aluminum looks clear. Once that is done, it’s time to polish to restore that shine. Now I use Mother’s Aluminum Polish for my wheels and other aluminum attachments, although you can use another aluminum polish if you must. Cover the exposed aluminum with whatever polish you have and begin to buff the crap out of your rims until you can see yourself in them.
Ninety percent of the time, that should be all you’ll need to do. To extend the shine you can do a couple things. A clear wax is the simplest option but will have to be repeated every month or so. A more long term option would be to go a paint shop (somewhere cheap like Maaco is fine) and get a coat of clear put on the rims. This will protect your rims from oxidizing and make it so that they don’t have to be rebuffed and polished as often.
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