**Extreme oxidation, need help

[lordmatt]

I just got a set of wheels that have been sitting in a shop for a long time. Long enough that they had cobwebs. Anyway, these things have an insane amount of oxidation on them. (They`re aluminum, of course). I tried using the cheap junk (armorall and turtle wax wheels cleaners) and was going to use Meg Gold Class, but it says not to use on aluminum wheels. I`ve scrubbed, polished like crazy with 3M Polish and something called Kwik Kut (Petroleum Distillates and Aluminum Oxide). The Kwik Kut can eat through the oxidation but I`ve spent well over 6 hours and have yet to finish 2 wheels!



I need something heavy duty that`ll tear that junk off. Scrubbing a bit doesn`t bother me, since the wheels are sitting in my room right now. I just need something I can go grab from Autozone that can clean these quick. Help!

[White95Max]

Klasse AIO. (You won`t find it at Autozone though. Only online).

Are the wheels clearcoated?

[lordmatt]

Doesn`t look like it.

[Canuckster]

I was in the same situation last year with the rims on the car I bought. It may sound like blasphemy, but Comet will work wonders on your wheels.

[01bluecls]

Well not knowing exactly what they look like I would suggest cleaning them with Eagle One A2Z throughly then using something like Mother`s mag polish or billet polish. I would suggest "jerry rigging" a high powered electric drill with a foam pad or terry cloth secured on the end to add the umph needed.

[lordmatt]

http://img207.echo.cx/img207/2678/wheelsbad4nf.th.jpg (http://img207.echo.cx/my.php?image=wheelsbad4nf.jpg)



Big pic, but it should show you 3 hours worth of work with the Kwik Kut vs. two coats of "spray on, rinse, scrub" cleaners. What you can`t tell is that the shiny wheel still has tons of oxidation on it. I`ve gone through about 3 dozen rags so far.

[01bluecls]

I would get a dremmel and make some foam pad attachments. It seems like you basically need the machine power to remove most of that.

[lordmatt]

Damn. What kind of cleaner should I use with that? I`m nearly out of this bottle of Kwik Kut...

[holland_patrick]

get the flitz out..

[01bluecls]

Im not sure, I have used this stuff called Carbon-off on a set of stainless steel headers I was trying to clean off. It worked very well. Its really strong stuff yet guarantees not to damage metal. My mom had some under the sink already when i tried it. I think she ordered it from a QVC or something like that. you may try Homedepot and see if they have some strong polishes for aluminum.

[lordmatt]

Flitz? The thing from TV? lol How much is one and do they work?

[Canuckster]

I tried Eagle One Chrome Wheel cleaner, Mother`s Mag & Aluminum Polish and Flitz on the inside of my aluminum wheels when I bought my car last year. I don`t think they had been taken off the vehicle and cleaned since 1999. I used all three on one wheel for a couple of hours and I made some headway but it was slow and would have taken several more hours to complete each wheel.

My dad suggested I try Comet and at that point I was willing to try anything. I couldn`t believe how well it worked. It took me about half an hour to complete each wheel and worked MUCH better and faster than these other products. It costs like $2. The Flitz and Mother`s are decent polishes if the wheels are clean and free of oxidation but I`d recommend at least trying the Comet.

[lordmatt]

Will do :thumbsup: time to go raid the kitchen sink.

[brwill2005]

Run a search on google for English Custom Polishes. Their website has lots information on restoring all types of metals, including aluminum.

[PerfectFinish1]

I detailed rims worse than that on my friends camaro.... I used diluted simple green, scrubbed with 0000 steel wool, and then mothers aluminum polish