What to use for oxidized polished wheels?

J

Josiah

New member
Anyone know how to fix, or "reattach" pin striping that has come off? There are small pin stripes on the side of a truck that are starting to fall off. Is there a glue that you would recommend?



I'm looking to get involved in the detailing business, and hope to contribute to this forum in the near future.



Thanks,

Josiah
 
I was wondering the same thing. My maxima has a pinstripe that is delaminating, and small portions are missing. It is a gold pinstripe, and I can't find a match. Most auto parts stores have the standard pinstriping colors for repairs, but larger stripes may require you to look to a custom effects shop.
 
Aftermarket stripes, and the majority of them, no matter the brand name, are produced by 3M. They are just repackaged and remarketed by others.



Get some safety solvent or lighter fluid and soak them. :et them be soaked with the solvent for 5 minutes or more.



That is right, "soak" them, it won't hurt the paint, but will remove any waxes etc. (So after you remove will have to reapply your wax/sealant. If you reapply the stripes, don't re-wax/seal, until the stripes are where you want them to be.)



Then take a hair dryer and carefully heat them and peel them off.



Once off, then use the same solvent and soak the adhesive residue, let it set.



Then dampen a portion of a towel and agitate the adhesive residue to remove.



Once they and the adhesive is gone, you may notice some slight difference in color, that is due to UV ray degradation.



To replace the stripes, you should go to someone who is talented at applying them or you can attmept to do the reapplication. These striping tape are availbale at most larger consumer parts stores and you may attempt to reapply them yourself.



It is really no big deal, unless you can't see a straight line or read and follow the written directions.



Ketch

:eek:
 
I'm in the process of helping a buddy detail his Jeep before he sells it. It's pretty nice and in pretty good condition, but his Mickey Thompson wheels are in bad shape. They're polished aluminum and are not powder or clear coated. Living near the Gulf has taken a heavy toll on them. So far I've used a mild acid cleaner on them, which did a good job or removing a lot of junk, but they still look a little shabby. After the acid cleaning, I tried using Optimum Metal Polish in conjunction with a small cotton wad/ball cone that works with my cordless drill. This duo is hardly doing a good job of polishing the wheels. What should I use? Is there an OTC product that I could get that would help me achieve the results I want more quickly? I'm kind of stumped on this one, it's my first time working with these types of wheels. TIA for your help, guys!!
 
Gords

I just started doing a home project on some weathered diamond plate. I ordered some polish called GORDS, its on the website www.gordspolish. The seller is in Texas, the stuff is the bomb, its easy to use and shines like a mirror. They also have fast shipping, just follow the directions on the bottle and you will be pleased.:clap:

They are also on "YouTube" so watch and see how easy it is by hand or with a buffer. I tried the stuff by hand first and I was amazed, I wish I had this polish years ago, back in my trucking days. Maine weathered aluminum diamond plate is not pretty, salt,sand,snow ect. Just make sure you shake the heck out of the stuff while you are using it. :Dancing Dot: :out:
 
When I bought my '82 Corvette a few years ago, the aluminum wheels were in HORRIBLE shape. Heavily oxidized after spending 8 years in a humid barn.

I used Happich Simichrome polish + a Mother's Power Ball. Then Simichrome by hand. It took about 4 polishings for each wheel so each wheel took over an hour. Lots of hard pressure and piles of black pads and rags!!!

They looked a little better after polishing, a new center cap and new tires!:biggrin:

dirtywheel.jpg
polished_wheel.jpg
 
Flash Gordon said:
I was going to recommend Bills Method. If I remember correctly, didn't you also do a resoration of a set of Corvette wheels this past Summer :driving:
Click to expand...

I sure did... Here's the link to that thread......:biggrin:

I actually used Poorboys Pro Polish on this job, but I think Simichrome is the way to go. It's the best metal polish I've ever used and it's available at any Harley-Davidson dealership.

Cleaning Up Some '79 Corvette Wheels:

http://truthindetailing.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=1785
 
Depending on much versatility you want (and frankly how much you want to spend) I would 100% recommend our Blackfire metal polishing system. This system was the first of it's kind in our industry.

The heavy cut compound is like a compound for your paint. It will remove heavy defects, scratch, swirl, haze, oxidation, but will leave the surface dull, but fresh.

The fine cut polish is a middle step polish that will remove light damage, some oxidation, and light scratches. It will bring up the gloss tremendously and repair light damage in one step.

At this point the wheels are ready for a final polishing, in which you can use any of your favorite 'consumer level' polishes for the final gloss or protection. Our Wet Diamond Aluminum Show Polish is probably one of the best final polishes on the market, but it is a custom formula and expensive to make.

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