how to clean up aluminum wheels?

[Dakota Boy]

I have some fairly old Ansen Sprint mags on my car. They are not clear-coated. They have what looks like water spots on them, or some sort of etching. I've used Mothers wheel polish, and the wadding stuff that comes in the silver can. The spots remain...

Any one have any tricks for this?

If I cant figure it out myself, I'm going to have to take the wheels to a pro and have them polished.

[Coral]

I've had pretty good luck cleaning up with apple cider vinegar
I would wash the wheels off with dawn dish soap first to get Mother's off there, then soak them with full strength apple cider vinegar ( the white vinegar won't do it ) for about 15 mins then rub the areas with a shammy type cloth....

[Guest]

NAPA has a chemical for cleaning alunium

[JohnG]

Having a collection of steel wool around eventually solves all kinds of problems , including aluminum.

There are grades of steel wool, and the likes of 000 and 0000 along with something like WD40 or kerosene makes a good cleaner of aluminum; you can then polish with liquids after that. You can find them in hardware stores. The stuff in the supermarket is way too co****.

Eastwood sells small, pointed buffing attachments for drills which allow you to get into the nooks and crannies.

[Guest]

Wheels ...

I have used Norton fiber abrasive discs on alum wheels in conjunction with Mothers polish with pretty good results for removing pitting and corrosion. They are usually available at most hardware or welding supply stores, 4.5" and they come in fine, med, and co****. If memory serves I think I used the med to start, then the fine and finally finished them with red polishing compound and a cloth buffing wheel. Not much room in the wheel for an angle grinder so I made a long shaft to fit a 3/8 drill. I would do a test on the back side of the rim first. Mike

[dgs]

I've got one of those Mothers Powerball Minis, the small one on the long shaft, but haven't used it yet. Might help, but I can't say. The first polish on my wheels I did it by hand like you did, took 2 hours per wheel and my hands hurt afterwards. They are overdue for another one, I'm hoping the Powerball will make the job easier.

I used Wheel Wax after, marketed by American Racing then but now a stand alone product, to protect them. I used it on my Mazda's alloys too to keep the brake dust down and seems to be somewhat effective. Dust still gathers, but doesn't seem to attack the wheels and washes off (fairly) easily.

I'm curious, do you folks think I need to remove the wax before I polish them with metal polish & the powerball?