What to do with these wheels...

KJW Detailing

KJW Detailing

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These are a set of wheels on a friends car. Don't ask how they got like this, but I'm trying to determine what, if anything can bring the lip back to looking like a polished lip, as opposed to a dull faded etc. etc....

My thinking: P21S Gel, IronX, Optimum Metal Polish
 
Definitely give them a very thorough cleaning first off with a good wheel cleaner. Then go at it with P21s polishing soap or Opt Metal Polish. Seal them up so this doesn't happen again.
 
I would use sonax instead of p21s much better for really dirty wheels like those.


Chad@Divine Details
 
Sounds like you should get good results from the process you've got lined up. Iron X will be a must.
 
That lip looks clear coated. Go hammering on it with a metal polish and you'll get some shine back but it will look marred up to no end.

Treat it just like any other clear coat. Once its clean, clay it. Once its free of contaminants, polish and wax/seal it.
 
RoadRageDetail said:
That lip looks clear coated. Go hammering on it with a metal polish and you'll get some shine back but it will look marred up to no end.

Treat it just like any other clear coat. Once its clean, clay it. Once its free of contaminants, polish and wax/seal it.
Click to expand...

BINGO!!

Most is not all wheels, especially factory are clear coated today. I'd go with some strong but meant for wheel cleaners. These combined with a Daytona brush should prove to be very successful in removing most of the grime.

Claying can be your 2nd step as I'm certain there are embedded deposits that need to removed.

CarPro Iron-X is another great product that specifically attacks iron and other particles further removing them.

Mothers makes some nice foam tools designed to be used with an ordinary drill. Use a general compound and polish and you'll be surprised how nice they'll become...
 
if clearcoated, you can still use a paint polish or paint cleansing lotion to help bring back some coloring and remove oxidation.
 
good evening gents,

update...thoroughly cleaned, ironx, p21s, and mothers ball with optimum wheel polish...as you can see, some visual improvement can be seen, but that one spot at the bottom of the wheel took 20 minutes polishing. I feel that their is something I'm missing or something i can also incorporate to receive faster results.

Any suggestions?
 
Looks like either its bare aluminum and its pitted or its clear coat failing. Either way I would sand then polish with with a high speed buffer and a buffing rouge....a 6000 rpm buffer would fix it in a jiffy.
 
ShineTimeDetail said:
Looks like either its bare aluminum and its pitted or its clear coat failing. Either way I would sand then polish with with a high speed buffer and a buffing rouge....a 6000 rpm buffer would fix it in a jiffy.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
Progress...had to do a bit of wet sanding this evening. Started with 600 grit and finished with 1500 grit. Tomorrow I'll be using the mothers power ball and optimum metal polish. My buddy told me he would buy a wheel specific wax for his wheels and then as a gift allow me to keep it. Suggestions on what I should go with?

Thanks!
 
Here are the wheels all finished. RRD thanks for the advise and I'll make a purchase of that product. I think these came out great, considering this was my first time every wet sanding wheels.
 
ShineTimeDetail said:
Looks like either its bare aluminum and its pitted or its clear coat failing. Either way I would sand then polish with with a high speed buffer and a buffing rouge....a 6000 rpm buffer would fix it in a jiffy.
Click to expand...

How different is the buffing rouge compared to the metal polishes like the Wolfgang, Optimum, and Mother's? I have seen a couple of different rouges, but not sure how they are used. I have seen buffing wheels in kits that are attached to a table "grinding wheel" machine. How could you use these buffing kits when using some other type "6000 rpm" buffer? Could you use the rouge with a rotary or DA?

I have wheels that I polished two years ago, they turned out great, but I had taken the 3 pieces wheels apart. I'd like to do it without having to take them apart again.

Don
 
Get the kit from home depot and put it on a drill....YouTube aluminum polishing and you'll see a 6000 rpm....they look similar to a reg buffer...byiu can't use a DA
 
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