Polished bare aluminum.. Now how to protect it?

Eldorado2k

Eldorado2k

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Hey guys, long story short.. I got the bright idea to upsell bare aluminum wheel polishing to 1 of my customers. And not just an ordinary vehicle, but an RV..

The previous time I washed his RV he got to talking about the chrome mirrors on the front of his rig and asked if there was anything I could do to make them look better.. I had some Megs Metal Polish in my bag, and in less than a handfull of minutes I removed about 90% of the pitting and gunk and made them pretty darn great. He was stoked!

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When I saw how excited he was about the chrome I got the great idea of informing him that he could have chrome wheels if he wanted to.. He was like "what do mean"? I told him "yea check it out, they can polish out and look just like chrome" He was wowed, it was pretty funny. Lol. Easiest upsell ever.:)

So today I got around to doing it.. 1st time I've ever polished a set of aluminum wheels. I decided on the little 14 piece polishing set from HF over the Mothers Powercone/Powerball, paired it with some Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish and dived right in noob style with no fear. Lol.

Before:

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After:

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I know my results weren't perfect, but hey we all start somewhere and I'm glad I tried something new with basically no real tutorial or anything prior to doing it. Plus the customer really liked the results.

My question is what now? My previous test spot from last time lost its luster as soon as I used high alkaline D143 to clean the tires, no surprise but dang it happened rather easily. That leads me to believe this current shine could be super sensitive and sort lived? That would suck! What's the best way to preserve the polished look on these wheels?
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm just now finished absorbing all the info from the thread you linked, thank you. But at the end, isn't Mr. Pain suggesting he really hasn't done the testing as far as polished bare aluminum? Or did I read it wrong?

Dr_Pain said:
I have no personal experience with coating polished aluminium but let me offer some opinions. Raw Aluminium does tend to "react" easily to acids and alkaline products, and other product of the sorts (resulting in a general dulling/tarnished effect, and in some cases a topical discoloration). I fear that using a cleansing product such as Erasor to remove the polishing oils may have that effect. I've never tried it, but before committing to your buddy, I would try and experiment. If there is no dulling/discoloration then the coating should react the same as with other metals.

Now we know that coatings offer lasting protection on modern paintwork, and also know that their longevity does diminish when applying to single stage. It would be great to see someone test the same on clear coated vs. polished aluminium wheels. Should we expect a difference!? I would assume so just on the basis of the chemistry of bonding of those nano-structure on the substrate.
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But you're saying you have tested it on polished metals including bare aluminum and it's good to go?
 
Dr Pain*
Sounds like the name of the guy who suggested my idea of polishing those wheels today... Lol.
 
Ah, this is the RV you were talking about yesterday.

I wonder if something like Hydro2 be perfect for a situation like this.
 
BrutalNoodle said:
Ah, this is the RV you were talking about yesterday.

I wonder if something like Hydro2 be perfect for a situation like this.
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Or maybe some Megs Paint Protect? I'm going back over there today for a quik stop. I feel like the faster I can lay down somekind of protection the better, and it's something I have on hand. I think that's what I'll end up going with and see how it works.
 
I did a quick look around and noted that people said sealants (including metal sealants) diminished/dull the reflection somewhat. Opticoat seems to be the one that works & assured by OPT themselves.

But if you do go the Megs route, do keep us posted how it turns out during & later down the line.
 
BrutalNoodle said:
I did a quick look around and noted that people said sealants (including metal sealants) diminished/dull the reflection somewhat. Opticoat seems to be the one that works & assured by OPT themselves.

But if you do go the Megs route, do keep us posted how it turns out during & later down the line.
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Oh yea that would be a definite deal breaker.. Thanks for letting me know. If anything I'll make sure to do a small test spot instead of diving in. Thanks.
 
I recently used Wolfgang Metal Sealant on a bunch of aluminum engine bay components after I refinished them. The refinishing process took a very long time and I really wanted the result to be protected so I went with the sealant.

At no point did the bare metal appear more "dull" after the sealant cured. Heck, a few days later the customer won a "best of show" award for his engine bay at a huge car show. The Wolfgang Metal Sealant didn't detract from the visual experience at all.

I used the same product on three-piece Lexani wheels and the results were the same - peace of mind that the surfaces are protected and they still looked great.

Others may have different experiences, mayhaps those with a trained and critical eye, but mine have been nothing but positive.
 
Maybe a dedicated wheel coating like a GTechniq Wheel Guard or PBL wheel coating? The dedicated wheel coatings have no issue going on bare metal it's usually the paint coatings that have that issue. Even then I think M37 paint coating can be used on non-clear coated surfaces but that'd be my suggestion since it'd last the longest over most other kinds of protection.
 
osiapstndp said:
I recently used Wolfgang Metal Sealant on a bunch of aluminum engine bay components after I refinished them. The refinishing process took a very long time and I really wanted the result to be protected so I went with the sealant.

At no point did the bare metal appear more "dull" after the sealant cured. Heck, a few days later the customer won a "best of show" award for his engine bay at a huge car show. The Wolfgang Metal Sealant didn't detract from the visual experience at all.

I used the same product on three-piece Lexani wheels and the results were the same - peace of mind that the surfaces are protected and they still looked great.

Others may have different experiences, mayhaps those with a trained and critical eye, but mine have been nothing but positive.
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I've been polishing aluminum for years and I just used the Wolfgang Metal Sealant on my polished aluminum and it looks great. No cloudy residue, easy on , easy off.
Red
 
McKees makes a wheel coating that works well. Brake dust comes off my truck's wheels with no effort during washing. A little mothers all-chrome as a drying aid because I have pretty hard water and they're looking good.
 
pilotpip said:
McKees makes a wheel coating that works well. Brake dust comes off my truck's wheels with no effort during washing. A little mothers all-chrome as a drying aid because I have pretty hard water and they're looking good.
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They're bare aluminum?
 
Wheels came out good,nice work. My last set of rims on my truck were similar. Pain the the butt to keep looking good for any length of time. I got rid of them after 1.5 years but your customer will have to keep them. I never found anything that lasted very long but that was before I found AG & this forum. My .02 says a sealant or coating will last longer with the heat from the wheels. Good luck,that bare aluminum looks good when polished but it is really fickle to keep that way.
 
Whitewater25 said:
Wheels came out good,nice work. My last set of rims on my truck were similar. Pain the the butt to keep looking good for any length of time. I got rid of them after 1.5 years but your customer will have to keep them. I never found anything that lasted very long but that was before I found AG & this forum. My .02 says a sealant or coating will last longer with the heat from the wheels. Good luck,that bare aluminum looks good when polished but it is really fickle to keep that way.
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Thanks, I almost forgot this was my thread. Lol.
As far as those wheels, this is what they looked like when I last saw them, it had been exactly 7 months since I polished them with Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish.

I did a test spot on the bottom right of the wheel and it shows how the rest of the wheel had held up over the span of 7 months.

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What do you think? I was actually quite surprised and impressed by how it held up with the protection left behind by the Mothers.
 
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