Are they water spots? I tried mothers alluminum cleaner and it doesn't seem to do anything.. Any ideas? Thanks http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/koz...heelspots1.jpg http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/koz...heelspots2.jpg http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/koz...heelspots3.jpg

 

You have a stain of some type but also pitting. This is a severe solution. But it works.






[Modified by paul79, 7:01 PM 4/8/2003]

 

What is that?

 

I'd say - that Paul's method of usinmg a mild abrasive to clean down to the
metal - then polish would work well. But - before you go that far, you may try
removing the clearcoat with a chemical stripper and polish the bare metal
with a pad on a grinder/drill.

If memory serves me, Paul was trying to get a good scratch/gouge out of the
surface.

:seeya

 

That is progressive hand-use of sandpaper from moderate to fine grit, with polishing compounds, finalized with steel wool, again with polishing compounds, to arrive at the desired look without using clear coat. Two applications of Mother's each year keeps it looking very nice.






[Modified by paul79, 7:21 PM 4/8/2003]

 

Dave,
You make a very good point: I should be more informative in my posts ;) . If the clear coat is still there it can be removed by lacquer thinner with steel wool. But I would not see this giving a good result unless the tires are off. If the clear coat has been removed, the stains can be cleaned up with a moderate grade steel wool with Mothers followed by a fine grade with the same or a similar polish. I do like SimiChrome, available from Biker/Harley shops as well as Mothers.

And if you need a professional quality tool for painting those black centres, here you go....




[Modified by paul79, 7:44 PM 4/8/2003]

 

Mine looked similiar to that, and I just used some metal polish and they turned out nice. But maybe yours are worse than mine were.

 

Is the clear coat a paint? It didn't look like paint on the rims.. I saw that the makers of POR-15 sell a clear coat and was wondering if that was any good but I don't understand how paint wll stick to a polished rim.

So I can use sandpaper and work on down to steel whool with a polishing compound and not ruin my rims? :eek: What makes them shine? The polishing material or a smooth surface?

I used Mother's Mag and Alluminum polish. Is the polishing "compound" something different? I have a bottle of Finesse-it II finishing material that I've used on my paint/ clear coat of the car and bike. Will that work on the rims? Thanks for the help!

 

What you have is a classic case of the results of clear coating getting old. Clear coat on alloys gives them a satin finish when they are new. After a few years it seperates from the alloy rim in spots...or will decompose with the heat and break dust being the harmful factors.

A good wheel polisher will remove the coating and polish the wheels. Or you can do it the HARD way such as others have (obviously) done.

 

Your other choice and my choice is to give it to http://www.fixrim.com , they charge $109/wheel, includes clearcoat. Since I need a new set of skins, I'm shipping them the rims & tires...I don't mind doing the work myself...but the results verus labor my not be there.

 

I have had good sucess removing stains on motocycle cases and forks with body shop sandpaper and 3 in one oil instead of water. This is followed by an applicaion of semi chrome polish.

 

Paul, what is a moderate grade steel wool? I have #000 steel wool and with a lot of elbow work it made a little difference. What # would you suggest to be moderate? I was thinking about the wet sand paper and oil but since the #000 somewhat worked I'd like to stick with steel wool.. for now anyway.

The $109 a wheel option didn't sound too bad until I added them up.. $440 pushed the wife over the edge.. My rims are not that bad.. just bad enough to bug me..

 

Mother's wheel polish and Flitz works wonders too. Cuts through most all tarnish without harsh abrasives. Eastwood compnay also sells a wide range of buffing compunds and special buffing pads just for wheels. Their website is:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/

They also have a great range of resto paints...... :auto:

 

It looks like a flaw in the clearcoat has let corrosion occur under it. Remember all the *** bikes in the 70's & the way the engine cases used to go white & it would never clean off (well, they did in our climate!)? It's due to the same thing - water getting under the clearcoat.
All good advice above, but after over 20 years of polishing engine cases for brit bikes I've found 2 good solutions:

1. Take them to a metal polishers. The price quoted above seems a bit high to me (but it does include clearcoat). Metal polishers here will charge about $45 - $60 per wheel to mirror polish them (no clearcoat & tire must be dismounted prior to giving them the wheel).

2. My way (can be done with the tire still mounted)! Use 240 grade wet-or-dry & work in small areas to get the clearcoat off & get the metal flat. You can do it a lot faster with 80 or 120 grade but be VERY careful if you do (and then you still have to get the deep scratches out from the coarse paper). Every casting I've ever worked on has a surface layer of good metal, but under that is a honeycomb type of construction. If you break through the surface into the honeycomb you'll end up with bad pitting in the surface & it will never polish up without specialist treatment, so go careful & work on one small area at a time. Once you've got it flat with 240 grade then go over it again with 400 & then 600 grades to remove the scratches from the previous grade. What you're aiming for is a suface that is flat with no scratches in it, the flatter the surface, the better the finished shine. It is crucial that the surface is flat with no scratches, dips or undulations.
Then, do yourself a big favour & go & buy 2 polishing mops & a pigtail to fit a normal electric hand drill. Get a rough 6" sizal mop for coarse finishing & a soft mop for final finishing along with a bar of each of the appropriate soaps. The supplier should be able to advise on soaps & mops for alloy. Then use the sizal mop with the correct soap in your drill (or bench grinder if you want a workout!) to polish out the scratches from the wet-or-dry. Keep the mop moving, don't keep it on one spot & be extremely careful that the tip of the pigtail doesn't touch the metal being polished as it will gouge it. Or get a mop that covers the end of the pigtail. The sizal mop & soap will remove light scratching, so I never rub down with anything finer than 600 grade (saves a lot of time). If you concentrate the mop on one spot you'll end up with a dip in the metal that will stand out like a sore thumb when it's all finished. When you think it's done, swap to the finishing mop & soap to give it a final buff over (this final stage should only take a few mins to give the final shine). If it doesn't come out mirror like then you've not spent enough time at one of the previous stages (a common problem - patience is the key to getting it done right). This method works very well, it just takes time & will get messy (a mask should be worn when polishing). I did all my wheels this way & for a 2nd opinion I'm sure that Stephen Irons will give an honest opinion on them. If you spend enough time & care you can get an almost chrome like finish, much better than the pace cars had from the factory. The quality of the metal has a big effect on the final shine & I found that the cast wheels are good quality, so will shine up really well.
I don't bother with clearcoat afterwards as it seems to dull the shine a bit & can also get cracked/chipped letting corrosion occur.... I just put a layer of a decent car polish on the rims after polishing. I used Autoglym resin polish on mine & they lasted all year before I gave them a quick polish over with a normal fine metal polish (Solvol Autosol).
Sorry if this has been boring in any way, but if you polish your own wheels then you're gonna get very bored! I'm quite happy polishing acres of metal (it's the only time I get any peace!!), but for anybody else I'd recommend solution number 1 :D
Good luck
Paul

 

Thanks Paul, Where can I get the mops and soaps? Autoparts store?

 

Looks to me like just regular wear, my aftermarket aluminum rims look like that after driving them through the winter- salt is harsh on them. I just use polish, I found that X-treem polish works awesome on my wheels. It's like a saturated cotton like roll. I think it's now named something else made by eagle? not sure, check at a tire place. I've seen it at numerous tire shops. I've done wheels that looked alot worse than you. I did a set of truck rims, the 80's style, 8 whole aluminum rims, they had no shine to them at all when I started, now, they look alot better

 

Sorry to be so late in my reply. I have not been feeling well. You do not use sandpaper or steel wool on the clearcoat. That is an exercise in futility. Clearcoat is acrylic lacquer and can be taken off with acrylic thinner. It is strong on acetone (nail polish remover) and must be used in a VERY well ventilated area. When you are down to the bare alloy, then you get busy with the mild sandpaper and steel wool. And yes, go from a moderate grade down to #000 with polish lubrication.

*Edit*-I had a look at that scrubbed up wheel seen in my original photo. And did a little steel wool and Mother's tonight. It looks OK: what I call a two-foot wheel. In other words you cannot see any appearance flaws unless you get closer than two feet. As to those tiny pits on your wheel, and this one, after several years of fooling with these darn wheels I am thoroughly convinced it is not corrosion. It was tiny air bubble emtrapment in the original aluminum alloy casting process. And no matter how much you sand/steel wool those pits will not go away as they are integral to the wheel itself. They were known to leak air because of porosity in the metal....




[Modified by paul79, 9:46 PM 4/10/2003]

 

Thanks Paul.. Hope your feeling better.. Can you tell me what the clearcoat does? Protects against dings? Keeps shine? If I remove it with the acrylic thinner.. assuming that I have a clear coat on them, do I need to recoat afterwards? What's the down side to not recoating?

 

Hi Paul.
Those little dips that you mention are probably the "honeycomb" structure inside the casting. Once they've started showing through it can only get worse the deeper you go. It's hard to tell from your picture, but my wheels looked like that prior to getting the polishing mop on them. It could be worth doing that to yours - you may be surprised at the results :) I'll see if I can get a picture of mine to post. A band/group have taken a close up pic to print on their debut album CD (seems a bit of a waste when you can't see it going round!) so I'll try & get them to email me a copy.
Koz,
I don't know where to get polishing mops & soap in the US. There must be somebody on the forum that uses them. They aren't common in shops here, but somewhere like a classic bike show has at least 6 different places trying to sell them.
The clearcoat is just a protective layer to stop the metal from tarnishing, getting eaten by road salt, etc (a varnish for metal). Most owners aren't willing to spend time polishing wheels so a clearcoat layer makes cleaning easier & keeps them looking good for a lot longer. It's great until it's damaged & allows air/water/salt to the metal surface. Personally I don't use it as it's easier in the long run to just give the metal a quick polish by hand occasionally than it is to strip a layer of old clearcoat when it gets damaged. A decent wax or resin polish on the bare polished metal will dull the shine slightly but will protect it from corrosion/tarnishing for a while (mine lasted a year before I gave them a polish - & they didn't really need it). I also find that a coating of WD40 also helps prevent road salt damage. Road salt is a killer on bare aluminum cast wheels. Just leaving a pair of cast wheels overnight with road salt on them permanently wrecked the finish on them. If you regularly drive when salt is on the roads then definately get a layer of clearcoat on them.
:cheers:

 

Isn't this a muffler from a ricer ?