Aluminum polish? Steel wool (we use on our other wheels)?
I use Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish, their applicator ball and a cordless electric drill.
Not bad for a 28 year old set of wheels. It was raining when I took these pictures. They were quite cruddy looking when we bought the coach five years ago.
Don't use steel wooI. I use this product on bare aluminum rims with good results...
Shiny Metal | Chem-Pak Solutions Inc. (http://www.wickedproducts.com/wickedshop/vmchk/Shiny_Metal.html)
Mothers is excellent. If they are corroded, use a solution of phosphoric acid first wearing gloves and glasses. We use it a lot on aircraft where corrosion is involved. On the back side of the wheel and other aluminum areas, after cleaning with phosphoric and rinsing with water, apply a 50/50 mix of Alodine solution, let it sit for a minute or two and rinse. It leaves a protective coating that resists corrosion even if not painted. Cheap and easy to use. DGR Industrial Products, Inc. :: Specialty Coatings :: Conversion Coatings... (http://www.chemical-supermarket.com/henkel-alodine-1201-chromate-conversion-coating-p364.html) Phosphoric is sold at Home Depot but you have to look a bit. Called Prep and Etch: Klean-Strip 1 gal. Phosphoric Prep and Etch-GKPA30220 - The Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-1-gal-Phosphoric-Prep-and-Etch-GKPA30220/100406369)
Never use muratic acid. It's dangerous to the lungs, eyes and skin.
Pierce
Great polish for wheels and everything else shiny. Use the tire spray first, then do the wheels.
NO! Also do not use the "green" kitchen scrub pads - much too abrasive on the soft aluminum. (Don't ask how I know...).
X2 on nitehawk's recommendation - Mother's products work great. I also use on our aluminum rear view mirrors.
The alodine mentions a 1/3 product 2/3rds water formula and a gold color to the treated surface and a 120 degree F. temp degradation
I used Mothers for years. The stuff (that a forum member turned me on to) that I posted above, dries quickly and is a heck of a lot easier to polish off than Mothers. ^.^d
Follow instructions on the Alodine bottle you have. Ours is a different brand and recommends a 50/50 mix. Still others recommend 2 oz/per gal and with another 3 oz per gallon. It does leave a gold like color. Once dry, it may be painted over or just left natural.
Quote from EAA site:
"Why would anyone want to alodine aluminum?
It provides good corrosion protection. It even protects when scratched. Alodined 2024 aluminum withstands salt spray 150-600 hours before forming white corrosion. Untreated 2024 corrodes in less than 24 hours.
It provides an excellent electrically conductive surface. This helps to provide good electrical bonding in an airframe.
Paint sticks to it extremely well. In some cases, it can substitute for primer.
Advantages of alodining compared to other coatings such as primer or anodizing:
Adds no measurable weight.
Does not alter the dimensions of parts (does not make holes smaller).
Requires essentially no cleanup after application. Encourages treatment of all small parts as they are fabricated and installed.
Requires no electricity or skill to apply. (This is why I use it !)"end quote
Pierce
You can also check with your local used big truck dealer or around a truck wash lots of times there is a polish guy somewhere around that will buff your wheels shiny for 5 or 10 bucks a wheel. 8)
Macarthy tire here in Charlotte ,NC has a machine thhey take your wheel off your vehicle Tire stays on rim it all goes into the machine. Machine sands and then buffs the entire wheel . comes out looking brand new .I had a used salvage yard wheel done when I found a crack in the old one. I think it was about 45.00
Yes, back in the day as an owner operator used lots of Mother's Aluminum Polish. Makes my Elbows & Shoulders hurt just thinking about it...10 Wheels, Saddle tanks, 45' Aluminum Trailer, Headache Rack, 2 large Tarp boxes. Glad I only have 4 wheels and 2 mirrors to do now.
Just cleaned the back side of my front wheels,as of last year I have the balance beads installed,my point is there was so much
dirt and grease on the wheel that it sure was'nt helping with the balance,may be something to think about.
Just a note, for those with a newer coach (not sure what year the changeover occurred), FT switched to Alcoa with DuraBrite coating. If you have this, your wheels will be so marked. You don't want to use wheel polish/acid/polishing ball on DuraBrite wheels as you'll damage the finish. Usually just a soft cloth and warm water with a little gently soap is all you need or want for DuraBrite.
Michelle makes a good point. I think ours has "DuraBrite", but they may have been a up-grade by a PO. What I do know, is some "ham-hand" got to them at one one time, and there are scratches I'll never be able to get out! :'(
Alcoa started distribution of some DURABRITE rims as early as 2000. Early generations of DB's had particularly fragile finishes. Starting in Nov. 2002, most of their rims were produced as DURABRITEs. You can find the date code and the serial number (which indicates DB, DF OR DD) stamped in the rim. Explanation here:
Wheel Polish (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=13161.msg71798#msg71798)
Have had both "old school" & DD's and far prefer the "old school". DB's are somewhat "dull" and "yellowish" in appearance and the "old school" rims are much more work to keep looking good. So "six to one and 1/2 dozen to the other."
The DB's are easily damaged and then they show it forever with no way of correcting the damage. DB is a proprietary, factory only, process applied to new rims. It penetrates the surface and is not a film or covering that lays ON the surface. Our PO somehow damaged most of our rims and short of scrapping them for new, there is no cure (that I have found) other than sending them out for chroming, which is even more expensive than replacing them with "old school".
HTH,
Neal
Thank you one and all for taking the time to help a newbie out. I ordered the mothers ball and cone, no matter what polish one uses those seem like huge time savers.
I forgot to mention In my previous post that I used cornstarch to remove the excess polish to increase the gloss. Sprinkle on a clean towel and wipe the wheel thoroughly with the cornstarch. The cornstarch will absorb the excess polish from the pores of the aluminum and eliminate any streaks in the finish. To remove any excess cornstarch powder, use compressed air. You can also follow up with a good coat of wax and buff.
If any of you are ever I 20 X138 Rayville La there is a Pilot Truck stop and right across the street is a chrome shop and a polishing stall the man does supper good work on the rims, I saw his work on anoughter RV hope to stop by there is September and get ours done.
I went to the local truck parts store and while getting some other items, asked what they use to polish up wheels. They sold me this, "flash", which is a 3 step setup. I just bought the step 1 bottle, which looks like Pepto-bismol. I put maybe as much as 10 or 15 minutes into a wheel with a polishing ball on a drill motor and after seeing the results, I don't know if I wanna bother with step 2 and 3. I've never seen aluminum come back like this that quickly.