I live in chicago & my Z is my daily driver.
Winter was a killer on my polished ZR1s
My wheels are a mess!
Does anyone know how to get them back to looking good?

 

Aluminum wheels and road salt do not mix.... I suspect you have some heavy black deposits, and some white ones, and maybe even some "pits". Sounds like your wheels were not "clearcoated".

You need to get some really aggressive aluminum polish. I've had good luck with one called "Simi-chrome" as far as getting the salt rash off. But it may still leave black spots on the surface that can not be removed. In that case, the wheels may need to be refinished. If you need to do that, make sure you get them clearcoated this time.

 

Thanks
I used Mothers mag polish & after about 1 1/2 hours on 1 wheel it looks 100 times better. Still can see some white spots but now at least they shine. I'm going to do some more polishing to see if I can't get thm looking alittle better

 

Did you look at the first post in the Wheels and Tires FAQ? It has a section on "polishing".

 

If you're polishing by hand, you'll be miles ahead if you switch to using some automated power. (Drill or die grinder.) It's a good possibility that you're not getting all the spots off because you're not building up enough friction on the surface of the wheel. I've found that one of these buffs is about perfect for polishing wheels:



They will mount in any electric drill or die grinder. They can be found here:
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/facer.htm

I'd take the path of least resistance and start off with just using the buff with your current wheel polish. If after using the buff you discover that the blemishes are too severe for your current wheel polish to take care of, then you'll have to take a step up in aggressiveness with some of this:

This is called emery compound. It has cutting action similar to about 2,000 grit sandpaper. It will take care of anything short of a nick or a gouge in the surface finish. I just used that pic as an example of what to look for but you can get this stuff at just about any hardware store. After you've buffed all the crap and blemishes off the wheel with the emery, you can finish up with the wheel polish you're currently using just as long as you use a different buff. Hope that helps.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions I will definitely try them