Question on how to make aluminum wheels SHINE!!

As i have put in previous posts i am getting 18" Z06 wheels. They are high polish aluminum. When they are clean they look like chrome. What is the best polish to buy for making them BLING! A friend told me about this stuff found at truck stops that truckers use, i think it is like eagle 1's cotton stuff but pink in color?? I have used turtle wax and blue magic nd they worked fine. That eagle one stuff that is like cotton SUCKS!! Let me know what you gys use? Thanks:bow: :metal:

A lot of OEM and aftermarket "polished" aluminum wheels are clear coated. There isn't much of anything you can do to change the appearance... just keep the clearcoat well polished like any other painted surface. I prefer Zaino for my AFS ZR1 replicas.

If you have a non-clear coat polished aluminum finish, like my Weld Pro-Stars, the Mothers Billet Metal Polish is the best I have found. Bright, mirror like finsh, but still doesn't look like chrome. And requires a periodic touchup.

Originally posted by Injuneer
A lot of OEM and aftermarket "polished" aluminum wheels are clear coated. There isn't much of anything you can do to change the appearance... just keep the clearcoat well polished like any other painted surface. I prefer Zaino for my AFS ZR1 replicas.

If you have a non-clear coat polished aluminum finish, like my Weld Pro-Stars, the Mothers Billet Metal Polish is the best I have found. Bright, mirror like finsh, but still doesn't look like chrome. And requires a periodic touchup.

Hey as i said i have the AFS z06 replicas are those clear coated? How much does that zanos stuff run? Will i hurt the clear if i use some store bought stuff? Thanks:bow:

i personally use Mothers, seems to work the best. but blue magic isnt too bad. I like the look of Polished aluminum MUCH better then chrome. Chrome is just easy to take care of, wipe em off and yer done

From my experience Wenol works the best to bring out the shine in aluminum. I thought the Eagle stuff didn't work out as good. I use them on my exhaust tips and boy do they bling!;)

Originally posted by LimitedEd1LE
From my experience Wenol works the best to bring out the shine in aluminum. I thought the Eagle stuff didn't work out as good. I use them on my exhaust tips and boy do they bling!;)

Where do you buy wenol?;)

You should be able to find it at you local auto store. I believe I got mine at like Pep Boys or Auto Zone.

there is also another polish called autosol that is pretty much like wenol so either one works really well. should find it at any car parts store

I recently just polished my aluminum wheels on my pontiac 6000 s/e. They were old, oxidized and what not. First I removed the clear coat with Tal-Strip II, and then the fun began. 5 stages of sanding, starting with 50 grit, and going to 1000 grit. There are little machine "groves" that must be sanded flat. I then proceded to buff the aluminum with Mothers mag and aluminum polish. They look like mirrors now. After that, I put a good coat of Meguairs wax on them. They look 10 times better. It took about 4-5 hours per wheel. Byby weekend.

I use Eagle One. It doesn't get the aluminum shining like chrome, but it knocks that dirt right off!

I used mothers billet polish, it's okay , but i dont really reccomend it for use on polished wheels because it is not really that effective unless you polish it many many times. Wicked products makes a good polish that works great. There is another polsih i've used from environmental products or something and that works great also

Polish...time...sweat...

that is about it. I did mine this weekend...much better. did a side-by-side from the ones I did and the ones I didn't...much better.

step 1 remove wheels
step 2 send out to get chromed :D

Originally posted by naztyz28
step 1 remove wheels
step 2 send out to get chromed :D step 3 get them powder coated like i did 45 bucks a wheel

Originally posted by naztyz28
step 1 remove wheels
step 2 send out to get chromed :D
step 1 sand the chrome off to get to the alum. for those who like the look of polished wheels better then chrome

My polished wheels look tight. I'll have pics soon. Man, it's hella work though.

You can get them powder coated with that "Altmost chrome" coloring, keep the lightweight aluminum and have a prettttty close shine to chrome, if you got $125 to spend invest in some Zoop Seal for your polished products, keeps them altmost maintenence free for about a year, no polishing no waxing, brake dust on them? just hose off, its really the only way to go with polished billet unless you have alot of time to polish

The very first thing you need to do is take a look at what Injuneer has said!

If your wheels are clearcoated it completely changes how you care for them! If they are clearcoated and you do some of the above mentioned items, you will damage your wheels!

I use master formula, it's the best I have found for polishing and protecting. Once you get them polished, put the sealer on and it lasts for months. A quick touch up with sealer after you wash and they are good for another few months.

http://sites.browsermanaged.com/folder5077/index.cfm

wow has the same stuff as zoop seal....except its a 10th of the cost damn i need to buy this

Originally posted by DaddySS
I use master formula, it's the best I have found for polishing and protecting. Once you get them polished, put the sealer on and it lasts for months. A quick touch up with sealer after you wash and they are good for another few months.

http://sites.browsermanaged.com/folder5077/index.cfm

I think this is that truck stop stuff i was talking about. I will buy and try some. Thanks for the help

I went to Advanced Auto. And the they had some mothers aluminum polish. After polishing this left a black residue on the rag, but almost made the rims look worse? Is that Billet Aluminum polish different?:bow:

Originally posted by DaddySS
I use master formula, it's the best I have found for polishing and protecting. Once you get them polished, put the sealer on and it lasts for months. A quick touch up with sealer after you wash and they are good for another few months.

http://sites.browsermanaged.com/folder5077/index.cfm

:eek: :bow:

I'm getting some of that stuff ! !

Have you tried it on polished aluminum or other things in the engine bay ? How does it hold up to the heat ?

The only way to go to polish something right is machine polish, go out and buy a buffer and some rouge. It goes so much faster and better it isn't even funny, can be difficult on smaller things but its worth it. And two thumbs up for Zoops when your done with the wheel.

Originally posted by 94blackbeast
The only way to go to polish something right is machine polish, go out and buy a buffer and some rouge. It goes so much faster and better it isn't even funny, can be difficult on smaller things but its worth it. And two thumbs up for Zoops when your done with the wheel.

What does the rouge do ?

You put the rouge onto the cloth wheel of the grinder, there are several levels of the rouge to take metal from rough to a perfect jewlers shine. The rouge is what creates the friction to make the shine, a cloth wheel won't do anything but wear you out otherwise.

In my original post I was talking crap about eagle one never dul. That stuff that looks like cotton. I used it about 2 years ago on some del sol rims, and it made them look like crap. Well i still assumed the stuff sucked. So a lot of people replied that stuff really worked good for them. So after i tried mothers mag and aluminum polish, and it made the rims look worse. I decided what the Heck i will try this nevr-dul one more time. Oh my goodness the rims LOOK better than the day i took them out of the box. So i definitely will keep using it still, gonna try that stuff that has a polish and a seperate sealer for like 12.95 a bottle on that website. So thanks for all the help. :bow: :metal:

whatsup guys? i have a set of konigs ive been wanting to have polished or chromed. they come powdercoated. anyways i havent been able to find anyone locally that will chrome of polish them for me but i can get them powdercoated. anyways what is the absolute best and fastest way to get a mirror shine by doing it myself?!?! i saw in one reply to use rouge, where do i get that. also i need step by step instructions from start to finish. what are good tools for this also? i have a dremel and a 6 inch buffer.

The 6 inch buffer and dremel should be ok, rouge comes in like a small brick. I am sure there are other places you can get it but I just know of truck chrome shops from polishing my dads wheels and tanks on his semi. Can't really think of anywhere else off the top of my head but if your near an interstate theres probably a chrome shop somewhere in the general vicinity.

Just be prepared to get pieces of the cloth wheel and polish all over you.

If the wheel has some other finish or a very rough finish you'll need to sand it first to get it to smooth raw aluminum then go from there with the rouge.

my rims are powdercoated. how do i get them to raw metal the easiest? tal-strip? once they are to bare metal would i have to go through a lot of sanding or go to the polishing?

I'm not sure how to remove the powdercoat but I know that you are going to want a pretty smooth surface before starting polishing because it won't do too much to smooth it out. Although if you don't move the wheel you can make grooves in the wheel because it gets pretty hot.