Alloy Cleaner

[Dusty]

I have some alloy wheels (Centerline) that were on the Roadster I bought back in Nov of last year.  The car had been sitting in a barn for about 5 years.  I am cleaning the wheels now and other than a power buffer or lots of Elbow Grease, the job is really tough.  Is there any product you can spray on the wheels to give you a head start before you go to the paste type cleaner/polish.  The wheels aren't pitted, just discolored.

Thanks, Dusty
Orange, Texas

[Coleman396]

Are they clear coated? If they are you will have to remove all the clear with a aircraft type paint stripper.
Hopefully they are not. Thats a really ugly job! However I did a set of centerlines a while back. They were not clear coated but the finish was pretty bad on them. I found that a quick wet sanding with some 600 grit and then a buffing with a flapper pad in the old electric drill made them look just great.
I found a metal polish called "Five Star" manufactured by a company called ZEP. It contains jewelers rouge and wow does it work!
A good place to look for buffing accesories is at a big truck dealer like Kenworth or Western Star dealers. They have a lot of polished aluminum to look after so chances are you can find what you need there.
Good luck with that project.
                                                                John.

[Rayvyn]

Go down to your local welding supply store and pick up a quart of "Arcaid".
It's an aluminum cleaner for welding. It'll remove a lot of that old crap. Just apply it with a paint brush, swish it around a bit, and hose it off. I had Centerline magnesium wheels on my track-T, and it cleaned them right up.

[Dusty]

Thanks for the tips on cleaning the Alloy wheels.  They don't have a clear coat on them, and I think that the product you mentioned Rayvyn, is just what I'm looking for.  The Roadster is a '27 Pro-Street, Harwood body, and if I could figure how to resize the Pics, I'd post them on here.  But so far I haven't had much luck.  I'm going to the Welding supply store tomorrow and try some of the Arcaid you mentioned...Thanks John and Rayvyn for the tips...

Dusty
Orange, Texas