Wheel Haze on Aluminum Lip

[SamXp]

Having a hard time figuring out if the lips on the wheels of a customers car are polished with clear coat or not. There is a milky, spotty haze that doesn`t want to polish out. Tried using a Mother`s PowerBall with Optimum Polish, 106ff, and even some mild metal polish. All of the swirls and surface scratches seem to be gone, but the milky haze remains.



When polishing, it does come out black. Does this definitely indicate no clear coat?



I considered using some wadding polish, but didn`t want to chance it with the HRE wheels.



Here are some pictures...



http://images14.fotki.com/v223/photos/7/730934/6432621/HRE_Haze01-vi.jpg

http://images116.fotki.com/v711/photos/7/730934/6432621/HRE_Haze02-vi.jpg

[BigJimZ28]

When polishing, it does come out black. Does this definitely indicate no clear coat?







yes if they are clean then they are polished aluminum

you will need several different strength metal polishes(I hear good things about adams but have not used them)

[SamXp]

Wait, so if the polishing pad comes out clean, then they are just polished aluminum, with no clear coat? I thought it was the opposite. Or perhaps I misunderstood you.

[BigJimZ28]

Wait, so if the polishing pad comes out clean, then they are just polished aluminum, with no clear coat? I thought it was the opposite. Or perhaps I misunderstood you.



if the wheel is clean

& the pad becomes black when polishing

then they are polished

[Eliot Ness]

Wait, so if the polishing pad comes out clean, then they are just polished aluminum, with no clear coat? .................Black residue from polishing means no clear coat on aluminum. If the pad stays fairly clean then they are clear coated.

[SamXp]

Ok, that`s what I thought. So either the wheel isn`t as clean as I think it is (which doesn`t seem likely, from the pictures, would you say?), or these are raw aluminum and the haze can be polished out?

The wheels are three-piece wheels, so at the end of this year`s show car season, he is considering taking them off, taking them apart, and polishing the lips back down.

[Jim D.]

What happens if you polish an area lightly by hand with a nitrile glove?



I`m not that familiar with the polishes you`re using. Are these billet or forged polishes? You`d need a fine polish for final finishing.



But also, you could be introducing too much force or aggressiveness between the polish and the effort exerted -- in other words, some additional finesse may be required. Even the PowerBall can be used with too much pressure or too much speed.

[mixxer]

Products - Automotive aluminum and metal polish (http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/automotive.html)

[imported_cushdrive]

Almost exactly my wheels. Hand polishing those things will take you days...especially if you plan to do the back (which you should). The powerball gets too dirty too quick...terrible for bare aluminum IMHO. I`ve put more marring in my wheels with that POS than I`ve taken out. I got some spiral sewn buffs from Caswell.com and polishing compound. I finish off with Mothers Billet. I like to wash the Billet haze off instead of buffing it off, aluminum is VERY soft and buffing will scratch as well.

[SamXp]

Almost exactly my wheels. Hand polishing those things will take you days...especially if you plan to do the back (which you should). The powerball gets too dirty too quick...terrible for bare aluminum IMHO. I`ve put more marring in my wheels with that POS than I`ve taken out. I got some spiral sewn buffs from Caswell.com and polishing compound. I finish off with Mothers Billet. I like to wash the Billet haze off instead of buffing it off, aluminum is VERY soft and buffing will scratch as well.

Any pictures? More details on the process?

Polishing aluminum is a completely different science than polishing clear coat!

[Jim D.]

Polishing a mirror shine like that does take some finesse. The PowerBall is fine so long as you`re not using it to clean in the process -- wheels should be clean before polishing. If it gets dirty, rinse it out and squeeze it dry to continue. Use low speeds -- anything over 600-800rpm is unnecessary.