Finally found a great Aluminum wheel cleaner! Before / after

[Capt Pie]

I went through 4 different types, one which just made it worse that claimed, "works great for aluminum!"

Ended up getting the Mothers PowerCone that I attached to my drill, paired with Meguiar's All Metal Polish. Holy cow I was blown away. Not only did it make them shine like a mirror, it took off all the other crap. I thought I ruined my wheels because no matter how hard I scrubbed or cleaned, the stains stayed on there.

Full size before:




Full Size after:



They could still use a little bit more work, but my drill batteries died. Will do a second pass today after work

[99ss405]

looks great ! Ever used adams metal polish ? they have 1 bottle that takes all the harsh stuff off then a fine polish .

[0rion]

Looks good....I've always used blue magic metal polish. It does a real good job too.

[theorangeguy]

Wheels look good! I've been through so many different polishes that's its crazy...best one I have found is White Diamond Aluminum Polish. Stuff is insanely good.

[pajeff02]

Nice work -- incredible the difference. I have bare aluminum wheels on our Vette that I seal with 200 MPH polish about once a year - keeps them damn near spotless.

[35th-ANV-SS]

Nice. I use never dull and my arm about falls off after one wheel lol.

[pajeff02]

I do it by hand as well... (that certainly doesn't sound good, but you know what I mean).

[Nutball]

Nice. I use never dull and my arm about falls off after one wheel lol.

I agree Jon. Here are the 'before-n-after' pics using Never Dull.Works great on stainless too.

[99ss405]

yeah I have to do mine buy hand to! its a pita

[The Guz]

Meguiar's makes good stuff. You should look into the dynacone from Meguiar's. The material is much better than the power cone. Also you should seal your wheels with a sealant or possibly use a coating on them to protect your hard work.

[99ss405]

I agree 100 percent on sealent

[Capt Pie]

Coat the wheels to save the shine? That's new to me. I've found that the local auto parts stores near me don't have too much good stuff in the way of appearance and detailing, so I'm probably just going to stick to online ordering from now on. It looks like the good stuff isn't carried in stores around me.

You all have some really good results and suggestions. What would be the best product to use to seal? I'm weary of just trying anything, as I learned that even something claiming to be good for aluminum can, in fact, make it worse.

[theorangeguy]

Meguiar's makes good stuff. You should look into the dynacone from Meguiar's. The material is much better than the power cone. Also you should seal your wheels with a sealant or possibly use a coating on them to protect your hard work.

Flitz Polishing Wheel is my go to...I've tried the cones and they seem to fall apart after using them for a little while. I can toss the flitz ball in the washing machine if it gets to gummed up but I've never had to do that. The dirtier it is the better it seems to work lol

Sealant is an awesome recommendation btw.

These wheels were extremely oxidized when I bought the car. Like havent been polished in 2 years kind of oxidized...

[Capt Pie]

Flitz Polishing Wheel is my go to...I've tried the cones and they seem to fall apart after using them for a little while. I can toss the flitz ball in the washing machine if it gets to gummed up but I've never had to do that. The dirtier it is the better it seems to work lol

Sealant is an awesome recommendation btw.

These wheels were extremely oxidized when I bought the car. Like havent been polished in 2 years kind of oxidized...

HRRNGGGG!! That looks so damn good.

It sucks. I get my wheels all dialed in and now I don't want to drive it and get them mucked up because it took so long to clean them. Gotta do the sealing thing so it isn't that big of a hassle

[The Guz]

Coat the wheels to save the shine? That's new to me. I've found that the local auto parts stores near me don't have too much good stuff in the way of appearance and detailing, so I'm probably just going to stick to online ordering from now on. It looks like the good stuff isn't carried in stores around me.

You all have some really good results and suggestions. What would be the best product to use to seal? I'm weary of just trying anything, as I learned that even something claiming to be good for aluminum can, in fact, make it worse.

Any synthetic wax will work such as Meguiar's Ultimate Wax or Mothers California Gold Synthetic Wax. You can find these locally. You can also pick up some Adams Quick Sealant. I have a brand new can that I have up for sale if you are interested in taking it off my hands. I also have some Detailer's Pro Wheel Glaze that I picked up from another detailer if you would like to try that as well. You just reapply these when the water stops beading and sheeting off the wheel.

I've moved onto coatings on my wheels instead of these sealants since a coating lasts longer. Let me know.

[Capt Pie]

I spent another 4 hours last night doing another run with two drill batteries fully charged. Going to seal them soon before driving so I don't have to do this again for a while. Also did some detailing on the body and after bright light inspection, there isn't one swirl mark on the entire body. Not even on the bumper.

I have my film / camera crew coming over to do a photo shoot, then off to Laguna Seca at the end of march to do a full laps during lunch. Can't wait to cut that video up.

When Motor Trend hits up track, they sometimes freelance us to run the cameras for them. This was one of my favorites I got to shoot

Updated pics after second run

[theorangeguy]

car looks good!

[Nutball]

Very Nice Capt. Wheels look great!!!