Polishing Wheels

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jwc7

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I have an older '92 Prelude that I have ignored long enough. The wheels are a "brushed" aluminum finish and in dire need of some TLC. They used to be clear-coated, but the coating has worn off long ago. I am looking for suggestions on a product to use to clean-up the wheels and then polish. Not a "high-shine" polish, but just something clean. Any suggestions?
 
OK, I give up, how do you post photos to the thread?
 
Has the clear coat fully worn off completely? If there are no remnants left and you have bare metal then a metal polish would be in order.

Purchase a 1" or 2" polishing pad to go with a good metal polish on a electric drill and go to town. The level of luster would depend on how long you polish so you can test it out on one spoke before proceeding towards the rest of the face.

Unfortunately without a clear coat, the finish would most likely not last long and the face would get oxidized rather quickly.
 
I like a product not sold here, but AG has many good ones.

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What you have there is corrosion. It's possible there was a wheel weight there at some point. There isn't really anything you're going to be able to do to improve that, given that type of wheel finish. If it was a silver-painted wheel you could try some spot repair.

There are wheel refinishing places that will let you trade in that one for a refinished wheel, they will send you the wheel, and then credit you the core charge when you send the old wheel back. Where are you located?
 
I would have them powder coated and call it a day. Total might be $250-$350 tops depending on the color/finish selected. They can paint the center caps to match.
 
The corrosion looks like it's under the clear coat. I'd strip off the clear coat and polish the wheels.
 
I don't mind that the finished product won't be perfect. What I am trying to avoid is for the polish on the wheel to be close to chrome. The original finish was close to a "matte", and I don't want to go beyond that.
 
I stripped the clear off my rims with aircraft stripper from a local auto parts store. The process was relatively easy.

Rick

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I would paint them.

Get the paint code from the dealer (need the VIN).

Sand with 400 grit, filler primer, sand with 400 grit, 2 coats color and 2 clear will look like new.

If you want the original go to the original.

These wheels are painted at the factory with special wheel paint and extremely hard to remove.
 
jwc7 said:
I have an older '92 Prelude that I have ignored long enough. The wheels are a "brushed" aluminum finish and in dire need of some TLC. They used to be clear-coated, but the coating has worn off long ago. I am looking for suggestions on a product to use to clean-up the wheels and then polish. Not a "high-shine" polish, but just something clean. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

After polishing, you can protect with Metal Coat. Easy to use & protects metal for ~1 year. VOC free too: Dr. Beasley's Metal Coat
 
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