Aluminum,Chrome,Mag,Billet

C

CleanMachine

New member
I was wondering how you can tell the difference between wheel and metal types such as chrome,aluminum, mag ,alloy, staineless steel, clearcated, Etc. What do you have to use to clean the different types and how can you distinguis between the many types?



Thanks, Dave
 
i really can't tell the differnce, to clean all of them,

i use metal madness on all my motorcyle mag stuff and power shine aon the rest.. best stuff i have used so far...
 
Chrome is not really a type of wheel, but the type of finish on the wheel. it is a thin layer of nickel and chrome that gives the wheel the shiney mirror finish. These wheels are usually aluminum or steel.



Aluminum is a lightweight alloy that is commonly used for wheels. Many factory "sport" wheels are aluminum. These wheels rarely have hubcaps. Usually a grey finish but can be polished.



Mag wheels are usually the term given to any aftermarket wheels but originally it referred to racing wheels that were made of magnesium which is even lighter than aluminum but a lot more expensive.



Alloy usually refers to aluminum



Stainless Steel is usually used for exhaust tips and other high heat surfaces.



Most Quality wheels are clearcoated and should be washed and waxed just like the paint on your car, but metal polish should be used on aluminum wheels and stainless steel. You can use chrome polish on chrome wheels also.
 
When looking at an exaust system (including the tip)... how can you tell what materials it is (defently not clear coated).



I have a Toyota Matrix, and the exaust tip keeps rusting (not to mention does not shine)... is there a special kind of polish I should use on it?



Can I use a polish like "never dull" and not worry about what material the tip is really made of?
 
If your tip is rusting, it is mild steel. I would use never dull as long as the part is not clearcoated, but it should be fine for an exhaust tip.



Redcarguy probably knows more about metal polish than anyone here. Look at his pics.:cool:
 
Nagchampa said:
Redcarguy probably knows more about metal polish than anyone here. Look at his pics.:cool:
Click to expand...

Most of the polishing I have done was on Aluminum and Stainless Steel. On my chrome wheels I just use Zaino and haven’t had to polish them with any "chrome cleaner" yet. I use Simichrome on most of my alum and other polished stuff. I know this all doesn’t really help with the original question but I am not sure how to tell which metal is which.. Most of the time I can tell just by looking but I have been wrong more than a few times....

:wavey
 
For polishing aluminum etc the best thing to use is a buffing wheel and polishing compounds like tripoli and jewlers rogue.



Once you have the metal to where you want it, I have been using Mothers Billet Alum Polish. It awesome stuff. Much better than their regular aluminum polish. It costs alittle more but its worth it.



To keep the aluminum from dulling I sometimes use Metal Magic. Its supposed to be like a clearcoat type metal cleaner that is supposed to keep metal dulling etc.



I have polished alot of metal on my engine bay with good results. The hard part is just keeping up on everything so the metal doesn't start to dull....
 
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