I polished my aluminum rims now what ?

[smalltownusa]

I'm finally near the point of putting my 2005 Explorer Sport Trac on the road. I have polished three rims so far after removing the clear coat. They were quite bad with surface corrosion. Took quite a bit of elbow grease, and patience. I finished them off with Mequiar's Hot Rims Metal polish.

As far as I know your not supposed to apply silicone or wax to the rims. I really want to avoid another round of clear coating after seeing what happens with a little stone damage etc.

I'm leaning toward a product I saw on You Tube called Fritz metal polish. They claim it as leaving a residue/coating to protect the aluminum.

Has anybody used this product?

 

[Tech By Trade]

There used to be a product called zoop seal that had to be reapplied every so often, but it would stop corrosion quite well on bare metal. Not sure if they are still around.

 

[toypaseo]

You should consider clearcoating them. It will take a lot of work to keep them from getting corroded again.

I had some junkyard wheels I got for my Paseo, polished them up with Mother's Mag & Wheel Polish, and waxed them with
Meguiar's M26 Mirror Glaze Hi-Tech Yellow Wax. Yearly polishing, and some wax re-coats. Worked somewhat well, although I never ran them during winter. The last year I ran them, I was late taking them off, got ran in some very mild snow for maybe a week, and then took off without washing them for winter storage. Next spring, the faces were corroded

 

[Turdle]

The clear coat damage probably happened years ago, due to several factors. Reckless wheel installers can wreak havoc with their impact wrenches, cleaners do damage, as does road salt-ice melt stuff.



Watch entire vid

The "stain" is actually clear which has been compromised. The uv protection is gone, so, it will soon begin to chalk over and flake.

aftermarket clear coats are much more durable. If you have them coated with "chrome" and a good clear you will like the results for years.

The bare polished aluminum is going to be very difficult to maintain.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Agree with Turdle and Toypaseo, I’d consider clearing them again. It’s the most durable, forgiving option.

 

[swshawaii]

+4. Can only imagine the effect Maine roads during the Winter would have on unprotected aluminum rims.

Be prepared for daily cleaning and polishing if you leave them bare.

BTW, Flitz is an excellent metal polish. I still use Simichrome that was popular (and expensive) decades ago.

 

[Tech By Trade]

This is what zoop seal turned into. A fellow I worked with stripped a set of american racing rims on his car years ago, and used its predecessor on them. They stayed shiny for years. ShineSeal.com ::: Protect Your Products :::

 

[koda2000]

Considering where you live (Maine) unless you want to spend time every weekend cleaning and polishing your wheels, and fighting a loosing battle, I'd get them clear coated again. It's the most durable finish available. Is there such a thing as power coat clear?

 

[Turdle]

Considering where you live (Maine) unless you want to spend time every weekend cleaning and polishing your wheels, and fighting a loosing battle, I'd get them clear coated again. It's the most durable finish available. Is there such a thing as power coat clear?

Yes. In fact all metallic powders need a top clear coat.
There are even tinted clears. Check out this color wheel-clear is at the bottom center.
Choose a color and finish to find the tinted ( colored0 clear coats.

Powder Coating Colors

this is clear vision powder over chrome powder over red oxide primer powder. yep, 3 bake cycles. The red oxide is shot on while the item is over 425 degrees, then back into the oven. After cool the chrome, then after cooling the clear, and another bake cycle. > 4 hours oven time total.

this is a satin (40% gloss) over dark argent on my buddies GTO wheels

This is my valve cover- Casper clear ( low gloss) over transparent blue over chrome powder base for an anodized look ( again, 3 coats and bake cycles)

 

[koda2000]

Those wheels look great.

 

[Turdle]

Thanks for the remark!
They were a royal PITA.
even with a 1.5 hour soak in a 450 degree oven before blasting, laying on a good chrome base, during the clear coat bake first time around, gasses started bubbling out. I had to reblast the whole set of 20's, and do the red oxide primer, then start over.
any cast material which has been used, such as an aluminum wheel, may be impregnated with impurities which cook out during the final oven cure. The red oxide will seal those in if needed.