Aluminum and Stainless Steel Scratches

C

carman594

New member
I have been using Nevr-Dull on my Aluminum-lipped wheels and on my stainless steel RSR GT-2 Exhaust. I bought the car April 16th of this year. I think I may have created fine scratches due to using the Nevr-Dull, but I don't know. I'm not sure if the Nevr-Dull created the scratches or just revealed them. What I need to know now is how do I remove the scratches and restore it to looking perfect?



All help is appreciated.
 
Here are some pics:

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Is it possible the pieces had a brushed finish already? If not, the Aluminum may need a finer polish designed specifically for Aluminum. Also make sure the lips are not clear coated. Using a metal polish on clear-coated pieces would definitely cause scratching.
 
brwill2005 said:
Is it possible the pieces had a brushed finish already? If not, the Aluminum may need a finer polish designed specifically for Aluminum. Also make sure the lips are not clear coated. Using a metal polish on clear-coated pieces would definitely cause scratching.
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I'm almost positive they aren't clear coated because my towel turns black when I polish them.
 
I'm pretty sure your lips are clear coated. They look like it in the pictures. What brand are they? It's actually rare to see un-cleared wheels anymore.



I'd use a regular paint polish on the wheels and the exhaust use an actual metal polish and polishing pad. A dremel or similar tool usually works great.
 
Danase said:
I'm pretty sure your lips are clear coated. They look like it in the pictures. What brand are they? It's actually rare to see un-cleared wheels anymore.



I'd use a regular paint polish on the wheels and the exhaust use an actual metal polish and polishing pad. A dremel or similar tool usually works great.
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They are Ruff Racing. I called the manufacturer and they said that they aren't clear coated to his knowledge. But my towel turns completely black when I polish them. It probably looks like that because I polished and waxed the wheels the same day I took the picture.
 
IME Nevr-Dull *will* mar all sorts of surfaces and any residual dirt that's on there when you use it will make things even worse. I've used that stuff since forever on all sorts of surfaces, but not ones that I really care about ;)



Assuming no clear (and it does sound that way), abrasive polishing with the appropriate tools and materials. Might want to search out "Caswell", they sell a lot of good metal-polishing stuff IIRC. Polishing scratches out of ss is a very time-consuming process to say the least.



IMO that first wheel pic shows machining/manufacturing texture, not just marring. I'd sure be careful about what you use on a nice set of wheels.



The exhaust is simply scratched up.
 
The best aluminum polish I've ever found is the Nuvite line.



However, after polishing A LOT of aluminum, I've found that unless you do it with a cyclo, you will always see cut marks in the grain from your polishing motion, if the surface is a total mirror surface.



For exhaust, best bet I've found is to clean with windex+0000 steel wool and call it a day.
 
Danase said:
It just looks like some pitting and scratches I see in a clear is all.
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I think the OP needs to split the issue. Bare metal Al wheels are going to be soft metal, vs stainless steel (chromed?) which will be a very hard metal.



For the Al wheels, I think Mother's Mg/Al polish would be a fine choice, to be followed up with Eagle One Nano Wheel Polish. The E1 Nano polish is very mild, and it leaves a very nice anti-corrosion finish on the surface of the metal.
 
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