What is the best aluminum wheel cleaner??

[87LtdT]

Bought a set of Vector rims and "dingy" would be giving them the benefit of the doubt. I've pressure washed them (in freezing weather!), wire brushed them with Wheel Magic and gasoline, and used soap and water.

Much cleaner now, but far from "new" looking.

Anything better??

Thanks, Bob

 

[RealFastV6]

Eagle One Etching wheel cleaner.

Although, I had a set of those rims, and they never did clean up as good as my stock ttype rims did. Maybe a beadblasting is in order.

 

[325DR]

I had a set of old, dull Weld Pro Stars. My friend tried to clean one of them up with Mothers aluminum polish. It turned out OK. I have Blue Magic and used it on one wheel. The results with LITTLE effort were MUCH better than the results with the Mothers.

HTH's

 

[getchasum]

Blue Magic a lot less elbow grease. There's better out there but you'll work your butt off using them.

 

[turbojimmy]

Blue Magic is awesome. Worked wonders on a pair of used Draglites I picked up (date stamp is 1992). They came out *almost* as good as the 4 new Draglites I have.

Jim

 

[87LtdT]

I looked up Blue Magic on I-net and wasn't able to find any wheel cleaner, nor anything that looks like wheel cleaner.

What was it you guys are recommending??

Thanks, Bob

 

[Doug Jacobson]

Blue magic won't work for the cast wheels, try some ot the etching wheel cleaner or a product called wheel or aluminum acid form a truck stop or a place that sells cleaning supplies to them. (truckers that is)

Another tip for the guys using the Blue Magic on your forged Al wheels or polishing parts is to wipe it all off when your done and then rub Flour (the baking stuff) into it. It will soak up and pull out the remaining compund left in the porus areas of the piece.
Another tip I learned froma trucker and it works great.

 

[turbojimmy]

If you do a search in Google on "blue magic aluminum" it comes up with lots of hits. I'm pretty sure I got mine at the local auto parts store. I've had it forever. A little bit goes a long way.

Jim

 

[salvageV6]

If they are made just like our T wheels then Muriatic Acid and a gas mask and rubber gloves will work.

No there won't be a hint of cleacoat left on them either.

No dirt just bare metal.

Don't breathe any in either.

Bead blasting is another good alternative.

These methods are for really dirty wheels.

 

[terryk]

Absolutely nothing will clean them. I learn the only way is to strip the clear, clean and re-clear.

On several wheels that look horrible, I cleaned with everything short of neutron bombardment at the local reactor. I finally decided to refinish them so I stripped off the clear in preparation. They looked new, other than the scratches and scraps. I cleaned them up and recleared. Tada.

TK

 

[Daves69]

I purchased a set of T wheels from a junk yard. These wheels were in bad shape. A previous owner had the wheels blasted and then painted gray. I had to blast the wheels again to get all the crud off of them. The smooth parts and spokes had to be sanded with 180 grit paper and then progressive papers up to 600 grit wet. Using a polishing wheel kit from Eastwood I polished the sanded areas to a mirror finish.
The wheels are now on my T and get compliments whenever I take the car out. The whole process took about three hours per wheel but the results were worth it.

 

[terryk]

How about some pics? I've high polished Pontiac (Fireo and Grand Am) wheels, but I'd like to see what a nice set of T wheels look like.

Terry

Weren't we able to attach pics at one time?

 

[6pack]

Originally posted by RealFastV6
Eagle One Etching wheel cleaner.

Although, I had a set of those rims, and they never did clean up as good as my stock ttype rims did. Maybe a beadblasting is in order.

Eagle 1 Etching works great if the clear coat is already gone....which mine was!

 

[John Larkin]

I tried cleaning my alum drums with Eagle One. They were clean but still dingy looking (gray streaks/stains). Pulled out my little sandblaster and now they look nice. If your rims have polished edges, I'd tape those off.

 

[strikeeagle]

1. Melt old rims.

2. Skim off contaminants.

3. Re-cast.

 

[87LtdT]

Yep...gotta get them damn contaminents out

When you guys say "re-clear"...is that some sort of special stuff or Krylon clear semi-gloss?? And how do you strip off the clear?

Appreciate the help...

Get to look at your rims yet Allan??

Bob