Pc or Powerball on this aluminum wheel?

S

Slick71ss

New member
I want to polish the raised aluminum paddles and outer lip on 4 of these wheels. I plan to tape off the black powder coat and use Mothers Billet polish. Which will work better and faster, the PC or Powerball?



I have a limited pad selection for the PC. Meguiars yellow polishing, tan finishing, or Lake County white polishing pads are my choices.





wheel003640x480.jpg








Also need to do the billet center caps...





caps018640x480op1.jpg
 
Because the surfaces are so flat, I would think the PC would work well. The center cap would probably be best done by hand.



I don't know if you have a choice of aluminum polishes, but I have switched exclusively to "Simichrome" polish. It's available at Harley-Davidson dealerships, and it is, by far, the best aluminum polish I've ever used.:xyxthumbs



A0800112-Simichrome-polish.jpg
 
A metal polish should never be used on clearcoated painted wheels. Its designed for metal. Clearcoated wheels should be treated just like the paint on your hood, trunk, etc...
 
I ended up using the PC with a Meguiars yellow pad it it worked great! Only about 2 mins per wheel is all they needed. :waxing:





Next question. Should I put a coat of wax or sealant on them or is aluminum better left bare?
 
Guy's I got a dumb question How do you tell if you have clear coated rims? Say GMC or HONDA factory rims?? Thanks
 
maxepr1 said:
Guy's I got a dumb question How do you tell if you have clear coated rims? Say GMC or HONDA factory rims?? Thanks
Click to expand...



Most car manufacturers started clear-coating aluminum rims in the mid 90's.



To know for sure, take some aluminum polish and rub it vigorously on a flat surface of the wheel. If it turns the cloth BLACK, then they are not clear coated.



for GMC or HONDA, I'm pretty sure they will be clear-coated if fairly late model.:cool:
 
Slick71ss said:
Next question. Should I put a coat of wax or sealant on them or is aluminum better left bare?
Click to expand...



I always leave mine bare. It seems like whenever I put anything on them they seem to oxidize faster.



Between polishings, I just wipe them down with a little Z6.



Here's what they look like after polishing...



CLEANWHEEL2.jpg




In case you're interested, here's what they looked like when I bought this car... it was in a warehouse building for about 8 years... lots of dirt, oxidation, mildew, etc.



Lots of "Elbow-Grease"!!!! :rofl



dirtywheel.jpg
 
very nice luster. well done.



slick71ss... so did you stick with mothers billet? can we see some after photos?
 
I used to use the Mothers with a powerball on my old 89 Thunderbird, and that worked quite nicely on the aluminum wheels.



Gluxury, what Bimmer is that in your avatar?
 
aixab said:
slick71ss... so did you stick with mothers billet? can we see some after photos?
Click to expand...



Yeah, just used the Mothers Billet. Sorry, these are the only 2 pics I took. I'll try to get some better pics tomorrow.





wheelpolish010640x480.jpg


wheelpolish013640x480.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top