Cleaning Aluminum Wheels

[kentdaryl]

Does anybody have a good suggestion on cleaning up aluminum wheels? I picked up a set of old slotted aluminum wheels and need to clean the machined (smooth) surfaces as well as the rougher cast surface. Any ideas besides a toothbrush and elbow grease?

[l1k2gadd]

My daughter used Mother's aluminum polish on some parts on a 1989 Full Sized 4x4 Bronco that was her first vehicle for getting around in school. It did require bit of elbow-grease but the results were amazing.

[seattle67]

Yup, Mothers is pretty amazing, but no way around the elbow grease that I know of.

[fordman]

i have been told you can use steel wool on chrome steel wheels. i dont know how it would work on a smooth aluminum surface though.

[kentdaryl]

Yup, Mothers is pretty amazing, but no way around the elbow grease that I know of.

Is it just Mothers aluminum polish or what?

[kaptnkaos]

Another good aluminum or chrome polish is called "Never-Dull".
It comes in a silver can and you can get it Wal~Mart.
I got turned onto the stuff by our Uncle Sam... and swear by it.
It's polish inpregnated cotton batting.
You just tear a chunk of it outta the can, the stuff really works great...
It still requires manual labor but it works better that just about any thing else I've tried.
I'm sure a guy could come up with a way to attach it to a drill motor like one of those Mothers cleaning balls.

KaptnKA S

[l1k2gadd]

In regard to Mother's here is a picture and I used a quarter so you can see about how big the container is.

Fordman, steel wool is absolutely fantastic for cleaning chrome parts. It does away with a lot of small rust lines and specks on bumpers, wheels, mirrors and all kinds of chrome. ONLY use 0000 (Four Zeros) gauge steel wool on chrome on your vehicle. Anything coarser than this will scratch chrome!! I was told by some old-timers in the 80s about the 0000 steel wool and I have used it on all kinds of things. My daughter used it on the Styled Steel Mustang wheels we bought from a local e-Bay seller right here in town about 3 or 4 years ago. It did a great job on them! The 0000 should clearly be labeled on the package. Along with the 0000 it may also say very fine, but unless it shows 0000 I will not buy it.

Aaa-h-h-h-h, yes! What did we ever do before there were digital cameras?

[FoMoCo]

For the rough area, a scrurb brush and Eagle One acid based cleaner simply called mag cleaner. It has a picture of your wheels on the bottle. For the shiny edge part I'd use 600 grit sandpaper.

Nick

[kentdaryl]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try the Eagle mag cleaner for the rough areas and start with the Mothers on the smooth areas. The smooth areas aren't the worst part, hopefully the Mothers polish will take care of that, the rough areas are the problem. I'll let you guys know how it worked.