What does everybody use to keep their polished aluminum wheels clean and shiny?
Thanks

 

Mothers alum.polish.Then 3 coats of "LIQUID GLASS"

 

Flitz or Blue Magic. Flitz is great for cleaning; Blue Magic is more of a polish/gloss type of aluminum cleaner. Both are formulated for clearcoated polished aluminum wheels.

 

I think lbls1 meant non-clear coated polished wheels. Its not possible to polish metal on a clear coated wheel. I use Mothers Billet polish on my billet wheels and all my custom parts on my Impala engine....

 

Believe it or not, it is. I had wheels refinished not too long ago, where I specified a smooth-shined polish, followed by a powdercoat and clear. The technician gave me three brands to use for the finished surface. Flitz and Blue Magic are formulated to work on clearcoated polished wheels. My tech (wish we were on better terms today, but that's another thread) told me not to use any other brand (especially mother's billet) because it would be too harsh and it would strip the clear.

Polished aluminum will oxidize even with clearcoat. That is why periodically you have to polish via chemically removing the oxidation with those special polishes. No other method will work on clear polished aluminum (believe me!) without stripping the clearcoat.

 

HOw do you know if you took off the clear coat?? what if your wheels just are looking a lil DULL? what would you use?

 

Clear will have a smooth to the touch feel. It feels like the surface of your paint. Non clear wheels will have a more "hard" feel (if that makes sense), meaning anywhere from coarsly smooth to a rough feel and texture.

Polished wheels will dullen with or without clear. You should use the two polishes I mentioned earlier, or if your wheels are non clearcoated, then use Mother's Billet or a comparable polish-clean product.

 

To tell if you have clear coated wheels or not, take some metal polish and rub a spot on the wheels, if the cloth turns black it is NOT clear coated, if the cloth does not turn a color, they ARE clear coated......

 

Polished clearcoated aluminum wheels with oxidation on its surface will turn your cloth dark to black. With painted cleared wheels that are clean, you could try that test. However, painted and polished surfaces with clearcoat that are oxidized will leave residue on your cleaning cloth/buffing cloth.

Look at two examples, one clearcoated and one non-clearcoated wheel. The clearcoated wheel will have an almost silk-like texture/sheen to its surface, whereas a polished surface will have a flatter, shinier (in the case of a mirror polish) appearance. Other ways to tell whether you have a clearcoated surface is to feel any pits or rises/dings/ scratches on the surface. The imperfections should be relatively smooth to the touch if a clearcoat surface exists. Also, you may see a cloudy surface next to a ding or a rise on the wheel (hope not!). If you feel any rough textures or a texture that may feel like grit or sand paper, then that surface will likely be bare.