Machined aluminum wheel question

Looking for a little advice:


Picked up a set of cheap wheels for my wife`s car that were previously used for snow tires. Best way to describe them is the wheels were painted/cleared, then the face and decorative lip behind the spokes were machined. From doing a hidden test spot with some One Step Sealant, I think the machined aluminum is bare as the towel got dark and the aluminum shiny.

Since they`re just cheap wheels + bare aluminum, it`s not surprising the aluminum is starting to corrode where it`s machined but not clear coated.


https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...5-img-0095.jpg


First, from my understanding from the Car Pro site, it would be safe to use Iron X on these during clean up, correct?


Second, it didn`t show very well in the picture, but where the corrosion is starting actually has a light machined texture to it - any recommendations for what to use to clean these up without making that texture uneven? Hoping to not spend a week getting them all cleaned up. I currently have Griot`s compounds/polishes (BOSS and Complete) and Mother`s mag and aluminum polish (looks like it may be from `00 if it matters).

At this point I`m hoping to not end up having them look (be) polished, but if that`s the only way I can slow down the corrosion and make maintenance easier, that might be the way I have to go.


Thanks![/QUOTE]

Pics?

Shoot, did it not show up? I`ll work on getting some more to better show the state of them.

EDIT: Checked from another browser, link didn`t work. More in a minute.

Sorry, forum-photo illiterate - Picture was too big. How bout now?

http://www.autopia.org/forums/attach...1&d=1491334962

Oneheadlite- This is absolutely *just a wild guess*, but I`d be surprised if the "machined" areas are actually bare aluminum, even if abrading them does result in "black oxidation transfer". Heh heh, scare-quotes because I don`t really know what I`m talking about.

I just finished a quick cleanup of the A8`s summer wheels (very quick to the point of being not-to-Autopian) which are also a "Machined Finish" and I got the black transfer from areas that are *definitely* not (supposed to be) bare aluminum. Same thing with the Machined Finish wheels I run on the Tahoe. Bot the A8 and Tahoe wheels are *absolutely* not bare aluminum but rather cleared with what I assume is a powedercoat (like most oe aluminum wheels that I`m familiar with). On all these wheels, the finish, which looks OK, was compromised enough that I got the black transfer and I didn`t get aggressive lest I make things worse. Those wheels are in much nicer shape that the ones in your pic, so if *they* give the transfer I wouldn`t be surprised if cleared areas on more weathered wheels like yours do too.

Just thinking out loud as I was doing those wheels recently.

I originally figured they had to have some kind of clear on them. Along with the black transfer, the other factor that makes me think they`re bare is that you can feel the machine ribbing with your fingernail.

So, it seems my options for getting rid of the corrosion would be to go all in with polishing them or just let it go till I can`t stand it and look into having them blasted and powdercoated?

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Originally Posted by Oneheadlite

I originally figured they had to have some kind of clear on them. Along with the black transfer, the other factor that makes me think they`re bare is that you can feel the machine ribbing with your fingernail...

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I dunno, mine have discernable texture too...it`s hard to say what`s up, huh?

Come to think of it, the factory mags I`ve run on Crown Vics had Machined accents that were cleared and they had texture too. I just don`t see normal wheels having bare aluminum these days.

Quote:

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So, it seems my options for getting rid of the corrosion would be to go all in with polishing them or just let it go till I can`t stand it and look into having them blasted and powdercoated?

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Eh, I`d live with them and/or have them Pro refinished.

Usually they have a clear powder coat on them. It looks like someone dropped that wheel and the face of it hit concrete.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DaveT435

Usually they have a clear powder coat on them. It looks like someone dropped that wheel and the face of it hit concrete.

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If they weren`t cheap chinese wheels, I would automatically assume they were cleared.

The picture is a little deceptive - it could look like an abrasion, but I assure you it`s corrosion/oxidation. I`m a tech by trade, so I`ve seen all varieties of wheel damage. :bigups

Thanks all for the input!!!

Heh heh, we`re gonna think this to death!

Yeah, it looked like the exact type of corrosion damage my old Blazer had on its wheels. (Come to think of it, *those* were a "machined finish" with deep ridges too, guess I`ve had a scad of those. ) Miniscule compromises in the finish lead to that as soon as the aluminum starts corroding and a big clue is the pitting around the centercap. Who knows, maybe some of it *did* start from being dropped on the face...I did that to a wheel once (expensive lesson! it was an S8 wheel), the friction media on my shop floor caused tiny little pits in the finish that would`ve been immediately obvious had the wheel ever been exposed to salt.