# polishing +cleaning aluminum wheels **URL:** \ **Category:** PittSpeed Automotive\ **Created:** [January 4, 2007, 4:39pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/polishing-cleaning-aluminum-wheels/187213 "2007-01-04T16:39:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![neonracer01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@neonracer01](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/neonracer01)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 4:39pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/polishing-cleaning-aluminum-wheels/187213/1 "2007-01-04T16:39:43Z")
how do you clean an polish aluminum wheels? i have 4 that sat outside in the weather for awhile and lost the shine. i used mothers aluminum polish and a drill with a polishing pad to get 2 of them to clean up but i think they could be better what can i do? after they get a good shine what can i do to keep the shine? ---
**Author:** ![yelo69](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/yelo69/32/6023_2.png) [@yelo69](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/yelo69)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/polishing-cleaning-aluminum-wheels/187213/2 "2007-01-04T19:44:11Z")
Try Busch Aluminum Polish you can get it at a tractor trailer chrome shop. After using this you will just throw the mothers away…as far as keeping the shine, you just have to keep after it. ---
**Author:** ![whitey](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/whitey/32/5911_2.png) [@whitey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/whitey)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/polishing-cleaning-aluminum-wheels/187213/3 "2007-01-04T19:49:47Z")
I wonder how it would end up with a clear powdercoat over a polished wheel. Might be worth giving AMF a call. ---
**Author:** ![tom\_vito](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/tom_vito/32/6000_2.png) [@tom\_vito](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/tom_vito)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/polishing-cleaning-aluminum-wheels/187213/4 "2007-01-05T03:26:12Z")
> [@Post Your Pic! v. thishasneverbeendonebefore](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/post-your-pic-v-thishasneverbeendonebefore/26916/180): > > I wonder how it would end up with a clear powdercoat over a polished wheel. Might be worth giving AMF a call. I have seen this done, but over time it ends up just like the factory clear. A rock chips the powder, and then water gets under it, and they look worse than if you just didn’t clean them at all. ---
**Author:** ![red04cavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@red04cavy](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/red04cavy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/polishing-cleaning-aluminum-wheels/187213/5 "2007-01-05T13:56:27Z")
There is a company–I think it is Eastwood that makes a bare metal clear powder coat specifically for that purpose. Also, try going to Caswell Plating’s forum—there is a ton of info to help u shine them up. I’d offer to help, but I still need to refine my polishing skills. Your best bet is probably going to be to use a polishing compound and a buffing wheel—like one you can put on an air die grinder. Harbor Freight is the cheapest place to get that kind of stuff around here. ---
**Author:** ![neonracer01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@neonracer01](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/neonracer01)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/polishing-cleaning-aluminum-wheels/187213/6 "2007-01-05T15:03:25Z")
i have a polishing pad on the end of a drill for now. it gets alot of the oxidation off and has some shine but like you im not a refined polisher just a douce bag that thought 2 complete sets of aluminum wheels instead of 1. good thing is after i get 1 set polished i can put them on while im polishing the other set.:nuts: ---
**Author:** ![green](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/green/32/5996_2.png) [@green](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/green)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/polishing-cleaning-aluminum-wheels/187213/7 "2007-01-05T18:48:53Z")
Get some very fine sandpaper and sand them clean then polish them if there really bad ---
**Author:** ![red04cavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@red04cavy](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/red04cavy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/polishing-cleaning-aluminum-wheels/187213/8 "2007-01-05T20:41:37Z")
> [@FS: First Racing Jacket in Updated Mesh](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/fs-first-racing-jacket-in-updated-mesh/27071/5): > > i have a polishing pad on the end of a drill for now. it gets alot of the oxidation off and has some shine but like you im not a refined polisher just a douce bag that thought 2 complete sets of aluminum wheels instead of 1. good thing is after i get 1 set polished i can put them on while im polishing the other set.:nuts: You need something faster than a drill. Trust me, to try to get the right shine would just burn up ur drill. To get the highest shine, you need to get a loose cotton wheel and use it with white compound, then go to a canton flannel wheel with jeweler’s rouge compound. Check [http://www.eastwoodco.com/index.jsp](http://www.eastwoodco.com/index.jsp) for the right wheels. Get the smallest ones (4" I think) and use those with a die grinder or bench grinder with flex attachment to get into tight spaces. This is if they had been polished before. If they were never polished, PM me and I can provide you with a booklet of info I have on my hard drive that details how to smooth them out then polish them. I know how to do this stuff, I just haven’t had a lot of time to practice it. The few things I have done did come out looking pretty good for being practice though.