ironranger

My brother-in-law has a 2002 coupe with the polished aluminum wheels as I do. His however have small rust like spots on the "inside" of the barrels. He is bringing his car over next week and we're going to remove the wheels and clean them up. I do this on my 2001 2-3 times/year and use Adam's polish/wax products on them and they look like new. I have never had to clean these wheels with the rust rash on them.
I thought I would try a cleaner/wax on the inside barrels first and if this comes out good, then proceed with the Adams products.
I would appreciate any experience and advice others have had on this matter!
I know the wheels are clear coated and we have to be careful as to how aggressive we get. I am not expecting them to be like new again, but would like to remove most of the blemishes and put some protection on the wheels to guard against continued corrosion.
Outside of this the Vette is like new with fairly low mileage and not driven in the rain. I expect this corrosion was caused by sitting on the bare concrete floor during winter storage.
Thanks for any advice you can provide me!

meflyfrc

Check out Toque's website, excellent information

http://www.toquez06.com/ccwscratch.html
http://www.toquez06.com/ccw.html

ironranger

Toque's cleaning procedures and NOT FOR CLEAR COATED wheels.

1965markaccount

If they are the original 5 spoke polished aluminum wheel then they have clear coat on them. If you are seeing rust spots then the clear has come off and the only way to correct them to look like new would be to remove the clear coat with something like "tailstrip" or something similar that removes the paint. You can then polish the wheel using something similar to what Toque does on his site. You can then have them re-cleared for ease of cleaning or plan on polishing them at least 2 or 3 times a year maybe more depending on the weather if left bare. Let us know how it works out.

meflyfrc

Good catch. I missed that in the OP.

aj98

Bubbles/pitted rust spots, or a uniform rust colored coat ?

I ask that b/c mine had an even orange coating (think heavy brake dust, but rust orange, not grey/black)

Thought it was rust b/c of the color and it wouldn't come off during normal washing or even aggressive scrubbing with the washcloth/soft cloth that I normally use.

Eventually realized it did come off when I scratched it with my fingernail.

Switched to a stiff short bristle brush and lots of elbow grease.
much better now....

ironranger

It's not a uniform rust colored coat and I didn't see any bubbles, just small orange pitting. Didn't look at them that close and won't know for sure until he stops over and we take the wheels off. It could be caused from brake dust corrosion I suppose. When he cleans the car I'm sure he cleans the outside of the wheel and hasn't bothered with the inside. The car rarely gets washed with water as it is never driven in bad weather so I don't believe the rust spots can be water related corrosion.
I'm hoping we can clean them up without removing the clear coat.

3boystoys

Aluminium does NOT rust, it pits and generally turns white when it oxidizes.

ironranger

Good point! I'm a little more hopeful that whatever corrosion is on them is something that we can clean up and get the inside barrels looking new again.

3boystoys

Doubt they will look NEW, better MAYBE.