Old School Aluminum Slotted Mag Wheels - Extreme Makeover

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Old School Aluminum Slotted Mag Wheels - Extreme Makeover


I recently picked up a set of 4 old school Aluminum Slotted Mag Wheels for my truck and today they're getting and extreme makeover...

These are in about the same shape as the wheel that Oley from Flitz and I restored in this thread...

Show Car Garage Video: How to clean and polish aluminum wheels by machine with Flitz Metal Polish

Oley from Flitz calls this "White Rust"

First up... wash with Flitz Aluminum Pre-Clean. In the link above there's a video where we used this product and the results were truly amazing...

Next up will be putting the Wolfgang MetallWerk Aluminum Polishing System to the test...

Lake Country Wool-Ball 3 inch & 5 inch Wool Polishing Balls

Nitrile Gloves to keep your hands clean and shielded from chemicals...

Even though the backs and insides of the wheels are not seen I'm going do my best to clean them up a little bit...

First up is washing and cleaning with the Pre-Clean... I'll be back in a few hours...


Here's the time stamp from the start of this thread...

08-14-2010, 11:13 AM


Here's the time stamp for the update to this thread with after pictures...

08-14-2010, 06:22 PM



Took a short lunch break and a second break to run over to Robert's "Impressions Detailing" to pick up my spare, which is the slotted mag Oley and I polished out with a 35" Bogger on it...

And here are the results after about 5 hours of work; first a reminder as to how the backs of the wheels looked before starting. You can see the Flitz Aluminum Pre-Clean soaking in and going to work.

Here's the back of the wheels now...

Fronts after polishing...

And cleaned up the insides too...

These rims are now ready for tires... :xyxthumbs:



Process Comments
After investing the majority of my time restoring these wheels by first cleaning off the "White Rust" and oxidation using the Flitz Industrial Strength Aluminum PreClean with the 1500 Grit Flitz Mini ScuffPads.

I've polished out a lot of aluminum in my life as the owner of a full race Sanger Drag Boat for 20 years and all the running gear, engine mounts and many of the engine components were polished aluminum. Unlike a car with the engine usually out of site, the engine and running gear in the Sanger was completely open to view so as a "Car Guy" or a "Boat Guy" and a detailer I kept the aluminum polished to the hilt.

Also I've owned probably close to 5 sets of aluminum slotted mags on my trucks, cars and the trailer for my drag boat over the years, so again, I'm pretty familiar with restoring dull, oxidized aluminum and then maintaining a brilliant shine.

The wheels used in this extreme makeover were severely neglected and I knew that just like creating a show car finish on automotive paints, the end-results were going to be dependent upon the prep-work performed before the actual polishing work and this is where the Flitz Pre-Clean and #1500 Grit ScuffPads enter into the picture.



I didn't do a quickie when I did the washing step using the Flitz product, completely opposite, I meticulously rubbed the aluminum clean, putting a lot of passion behind the Flitz Scuff Pads and repeating the process over each wheel 2-3 times and of course with most of the emphasis on the face of the wheels.

The Fitz Scuff Pads are NOT just simple steel wool, instead they are non-metallic resin coated fibers with a cut equivalent to approximately #1500 grit sand paper but without using abrasive particles like sandpapers.

Sanding with sanding papers will also remove years of neglect but low grit papers will also leave behind sanding scratches which will then have to be worked out.

IMPORTANT NOTE
Even though the Flitz ScuffPads are not made from a metallic fiber and don't use abrasive particles for their cutting action they WILL scratch smooth, high shine aluminum surfaces so do not use or scrub with ScuffPads on high shine, smooth aluminum surfaces or you will then have to remove the scratches. In this extreme wheel makeover, the face of these wheels have machining marks and pitting from extensive corrosion, so in this example they were safe to use as they improved the surface because the surface was so far gone to start with. If you're unsure of the aluminum surface you're working on is a good candidate for this kind of process first test in an inconspicuous area or take some in focus pictures and start a thread and ask for guidance on our detailing discussion forum.
​

The Flitz Pre-Clean by the way is an amazing cleaner for aluminum in that it will rapidly dissolve built-up oxidation and what is referred to as "White Rust" all by itself and then rinse off and this is key... it will do it without dulling the aluminum. There are other chemical cleaners on the market that will dissolve and remove white rust and oxidation but many of these and especially anything with acid in it will dull and even gray the aluminum.


After the wheels were thoroughly cleaned using the ScuffPads and Pre-Clean the plan was to polish the aluminum with the wool polishing balls inserted into an electric drill. After a few minutes of using this system it was plain to see that the finish on the aluminum although clean would require more power to restore a shine, mostly because the overall quality of this particular brand of wheel was lower than hoped for and much lower as compared to higher quality aluminum slotted mags.

Enter the Rotary Buffer
After a few minutes of using the drill with the wool buffing balls, I switched over to using a Flex 3403 Lightweight Rotary Buffer with a combination of a Optimum Double-Sided Rotary Adapter and a 3M Quick Release Adapter attached together to extend the reach of the buffing pad when using the rotary buffer.


From left to right...
Optimum Double-Sided Rotary Adapter - 3M Quick Release Adapter

I started with the Edge 6" Medium Cut Wool Buffing pad, the unique center system reduces/removes vibration while buffing.

Note I have removed the handle options from the Flex 3403 Lightweight Rotary Buffer, this gets them out of the way for intricate work in tight spaces and is my own personal preference.

Below are the Wolfgang Metallwerks Compound and Polish, I did some testing with the compound and found it to be too aggressive for this aluminum so switched over to the polish for the first step.


From left to right...
Wolfgang Metallwerks Aluminum Compound, (green), and Wolfgang Metallwerks Aluminum Polish, (pinkish).

After using the aluminum polish I switched over to the Concours Polish... note that before using you want to stir the product up as it's normal to see some separation after the product has sit still on a shelf....

Stir your jar of Concours Polish with a clean utensil before using for a uniform consistency...

To apply the Concourse polish I switched over to an Edge 6" blue finishing pad.

After removing most of any leftover polishing residue I hand applied a coating of the Wolfgang Metallwerks Concours Metal Sealant.

In case you have never polished bare aluminum, it's completely normal to see a lot of blackish residue coming off onto your pads...

Products Used
Flex 3403 Lightweight Rotary Buffer
3M Quick Release Adapter
Optimum Double-Sided Rotary Adapter
The Edge 2000 6 Inch Wool Buffing Pads

• Yellow Medium Cut 50% Wool, 50% Wool Acrylic Pad
• Blue Finishing 70% Acrylic, 30% Wool Pad

Wolfgang MetallWerk™ Aluminum Compound
Wolfgang MetallWerk™ Fine Aluminum Polish
Wolfgang MetallWerk™ Concours Aluminum Polish
Wolfgang MetallWerk™ Concours Metal Sealant
Lake Country Wool-Ball 3 inch & 5 inch Wool Polishing Balls
Flitz Mini ScuffPads - 1500 Grit
Flitz Industrial Strength Aluminum PreClean
Lake Country Wool-Ball 3 inch & 5 inch Wool Polishing Balls
Black Nitrile Gloves

 

[mchess1]

Excellent work as always Mike. Those will look great on your truck. :xyxthumbs::dblthumb2::xyxthumbs:

Now you need to find some matching wheels for the Starline trailer!

 

[S2K]

WOW Mike that's impressive! Those look great! Now I want to see them on your truck.

 

[CEE DOG]

Those look great! Now I want to see them on your truck.

:iagree:

 

[Impressions]

mike, did they come out better than you thought they would??
look awesome....cant wait to put em on!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

mike, did they come out better than you thought they would??

Yes, they came out a lot better than I expected. These wheels are definitely not as high of quality and the other two slotted mags I have of which the one wheel Oley and I polished out when here was here to make the Flitz video. So I'm looking for two more wheels to match the two I have by a different manufactures. This set that's polished up and ready to go will work for now however.

look awesome....cant wait to put em on!

I'm going to run them over to your brother's shop this week to have my tires swapped onto them and installed on my truck.

:xyxthumbs:

 

[clm65]

Truly amazing recovery Mike. Do you know if those same products could be used on an anodized aluminum T-Top on a boat? I've got some pitting and "white rust" I'd like to get rid of.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Do you know if those same products could be used on an anodized aluminum T-Top on a boat?

I've got some pitting and "white rust" I'd like to get rid of.

"no"

You cannot re-polish anodized aluminum until you first remove the anodizing. Been there, done that, makes the project more complicated than most people can and will endure and more costly. Back when I did this the acid treatment to remove the anodizing also ate some of the aluminum, I think technology has improved in this area since then.

What kind of boat? Most boats I've seen with T-tops are usually on the "cool side" of boats...


To be safe, if it become important enough to you to correct the problem then look at replacements instead of repairing what you already have. If the vintage of the boat is such that replacements are not an option then locate a shop that offers anodizing and consult with them to see if they can make some recommendations.

 

[clm65]

Thanks Mike. It's just a 21' Aquasport CC. The condition of the aluminum isn't really a problem, just not aesthetically pleasing. Certainly not worth replacing or re-anodizing. I have tried a Flitz product before, but not the combination you used, so I just thought I'd ask.

 

[79Ford]

Hi,

Could you tell me how many bottles of Flitz Preclean you used to clean the wheels? When cleaning the wheels with the Preclean did you dry the wheel off before re-spraying? I need to go through the same process.

Also, what are the brand names of the two different wheels you polished? I'm curious to know if I have the higher or lower quality wheel you mentioned.

Thanks for the help

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hi,

Since this is your first post to our forum... Welcome to Autogeek Online! :welcome:

Could you tell me how many bottles of Flitz Preclean you used to clean the wheels? When cleaning the wheels with the Preclean did you dry the wheel off before re-spraying? I need to go through the same process.

I went through a bottle and a half and a pack of the MiniScuff Pads, the MiniScuff pads were just as important as the PreClean, and they are very different than steel wool, they're not even steel...

Also, what are the brand names of the two different wheels you polished? I'm curious to know if I have the higher or lower quality wheel you mentioned.

Thanks for the help

Can't help you... can't even help me... neither of the two brands of wheels I own have any kind of branding on them, they have wheel size numbers but no brand name.

I wish I new the brand... of both, that way I would know specifically what I'm looking for and specifically what to avoid...

The good slotted mags have an extra rib between the slots and the flange where the lug nuts go through is thicker.

Huge difference though... I going to take some pictures and take some measurements that show the differences but not till tomorrow and it's for a different discussion forum for classic Blazers and Jimmys, I'll send you the link via PM

 

[steamshooter]

Great job on the wheels. Slotted "mags" have always been my favorite wheel. Love 'em!rops:

 

[sspudnick]

Wow Mike. I too am into polishing Aluminium since I ride motorcycles (Harleys, LOTS of alumi) and I must say, GREAT job. Keep it up bud, without you I have no motivation ^_^ ...

 

[jimmyjam]

Hi Mr. Phillips, You are trully the Chip Foose of detailing! The wheels came out absolutely clean/restored, and you get to work in the AG shop... It doesn't get better then that! Great resto

 

[sspudnick]

Hi Mr. Phillips, You are trully the Chip Foose of detailing! The wheels came out absolutely clean/restored, and you get to work in the AG shop... It doesn't get better then that! Great resto

Omg....how weird is that.......i said that exact same thing to my wife 2 days ago..........Looks like you've made a hellova impression Mike....Kudos.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

It took me around 2 months to locate the correct lug nuts to bolt the wheels to my truck, but I finally got my tires swapped over and the wheels and tires mounted to my truck.

I'm still looking for another set of 2 or 4 Slotted Mags in the same size for my next set of tires. If you know of any 8-bolt, 16.5 Slotted Mags and wider is better, please shoot me a PM or e-mail.

I have 2 really high quality slotted mags so only need 2 more but would buy a matching set of premium quality mags.

 

[-z yaaaa-]

forgive me, mike but why not just have the wheels media blasted then professionally polished to a near chrome look?

 

[Hoytman]

forgive me, mike but why not just have the wheels media blasted then professionally polished to a near chrome look?

I was wondering if there was a way to coat those wheels with clear so they wouldn't need polished as often. I'm wondering if it isn't two different types of aluminum. Dunno...

Those slots are my favorite wheel design. I'd like to have a set of heavy plated chrome wheels like them.

 

[-z yaaaa-]

well you can actually chrome aluminum just dont expect it to last during harsh salty winters on something like a wheel. gm had a hell of a time with this around the 2000-2004 era and literally said screw chroming wheels were just gonna use chrome hubcaps that cover the wheel and look identical to it instead.

personally, ive had aluminum items cleared with paint as well as powdercoat. the paint likes to flake off and the powdercoat makes it look more or less like a shiney silver or kind of that lame chrome spray paint.

chroming would be a great option if you would keep up on cleaning them etc. hit up rbchroming.com for any and all aluminum chroming.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

forgive me, mike but why not just have the wheels media blasted then professionally polished to a near chrome look?

Umm... because I make things shiny for a living? I enjoy making things shiny for a living and I like to show others how to make things shiny for a living. Good question though... :xyxthumbs:



Because I like to be able to always be able to "maintain" them.

I was wondering if there was a way to coat those wheels with clear so they wouldn't need polished as often. I'm wondering if it isn't two different types of aluminum. Dunno...

If you have SOLID aluminum wheel, --> you <-- can always work on them whether light maintenance polishing or restoration. No big deal, whip out a can of aluminum polish and go to town.

If you coat them somehow, now you have to take care of the coating and since it's going to be thin you will run into problems over time. The aluminum is thick because it "is" the wheel, not a coating on the wheel.

Those slots are my favorite wheel design.

Me too. Over the summer I picked up another set for my new truck project.

well you can actually chrome aluminum just dont expect it to last during harsh salty winters on something like a wheel. gm had a hell of a time with this around the 2000-2004 era and literally said screw chroming wheels were just gonna use chrome hubcaps that cover the wheel and look identical to it instead.

personally, ive had aluminum items cleared with paint as well as powdercoat. the paint likes to flake off and the powdercoat makes it look more or less like a shiney silver or kind of that lame chrome spray paint.

chroming would be a great option if you would keep up on cleaning them etc. hit up rbchroming.com for any and all aluminum chroming.

Nope... the entire idea behind owning solid aluminum wheels is to NOT have a coating that will fail at some point or be THIN so that you're limited as to what can be done and how often it can be done.

Maybe I'm the only one that gets the solid, polishable medium of aluminum?

To each their own but for me the solid, aluminum slotted wheel is the best wheel on the market hands down. Strong, lightweight, good looking and always timeless.