Cleaning mag wheels

brti · June 26, 2007, 06:18:37 AM

Does anyone know of a good way to really get old mags clean? I scored a set of used wheels that just won't come back to that clean aluminum look.

Crosley.In.AZ · June 26, 2007, 08:31:58 AM

Flitz brand ....

what did you use so far??

C9 · June 26, 2007, 09:05:08 AM

Have them polished.

I know, we're pretty much a DIY gang here, but a pro polisher can really bring back an old mag.

Many times a chrome shop will have a wheel polisher and they'll take on mags for not too much money.

That said, my pal bought one of those pink foam things that you spin up in a drill.
They look a little like a ball type honing tool.
I saw one at Walmart a short while back, price was around $20. for an admittedly cheap looking gizmo, but it looks like it's going to do the job.

He's been polishing an old pair of 8" x 15" slot mags on the rear of his 29 A roadster and they're starting to look good.
He's on the third go-around - and I haven't a clue how much time he spends each time . . . not much I suspect, he rushes through a lot of stuff.
Looks like one or two more times will get the wheels to a very high polish.

Some years back I cleaned up a set of slot mags with a buffing wheel attached to a 9" body grinder.
Used the regular polishing mediums - a stick of red rouge if I remember right, you can get a box of four different styles from Sears and they last a long time.

The mags were on an old piece of carpet on the floor and after a while the grinder got heavy.
Cured that by putting a couple pulleys in the rafters, tied a small diameter rope to the body grinders balance point and had a coffee can full of lead weights that balanced the grinders weight.
Made for an easy way to do it and the wheels came out very nice.

You can do a lot of things with the old slot mags.
Here's one example, a 32 Ford re-pro cap adapted to the wheel.
Most folks have to look twice to see just what wheel it is....

EMSjunkie · June 26, 2007, 11:40:45 AM

try Wenol in the pink tube.

it works great on my S/S firewall

Vance

Rayvyn · June 26, 2007, 04:18:56 PM

Quote from: "brti"Does anyone know of a good way to really get old mags clean? I scored a set of used wheels that just won't come back to that clean aluminum look.

Those old mags might be magnesium.
Go to the local welding supply store and pick up a quart of Arc-aid. It's an aluminum cleaner for welding. It'll work on magnesium because I've tried it.
Put some in a bowl, and brush it on with a paint brush. Swirl the brush around while applying. Coat it good, and rinse off with water. It'll take a lot of the tarnish off so the polishing is easier.

Harry · June 26, 2007, 05:31:34 PM

If your wheels are corroded, use fine sandpaper or even emery cloth.
Go with the grain. Then Autosol polish.
It's a dirty job......

UGLY OLDS · June 26, 2007, 06:55:21 PM

Sounds crazy...But.. Stop by a BIG truck stop in your area..You can buy alum polish called "Alumachrome" in 1/2 qt. cans that does a great job...
It's used in the trucking industry for polishing BIG alum wheels & alum fuel tanks...The stuff is like a "thick" mothers polish...Works great....

Dave · June 26, 2007, 10:03:11 PM

Quote from: "UGLY OLDS"Sounds crazy...But.. Stop by a BIG truck stop in your area..You can buy alum polish called "Alumachrome" in 1/2 qt. cans that does a great job...
It's used in the trucking industry for polishing BIG alum wheels & alum fuel tanks...The stuff is like a "thick" mothers polish...Works great....

Or the bike shop and get Bomb i think its called.
Dave

bucketmouth · June 28, 2007, 08:18:34 AM

If the rims have really gone off you are better off getting a polishing shop to bring the lustre back. The rims have probably oxidized on the surface and no matter how you try and do it at home you'll be forever trying to keep the shine on them.
Get them proffesionally polished and it will be easier to keep on top of it with an occasional polish by hand or as I've started to use one of those foam polishing balls. (don't know if I can mention the brand)
Don't repeatedly use the same rag over and over again because it will contain grit and other crap that will only continually scratch the rim.
If you want to do it yourself stay away from any sort of abrasive polish. It will only scratch the surface and invite more time consuming maintenance.
Definitely don't use any of those acidic cleaners to clean any alloy rim.

Hope that helps some.

brti · June 29, 2007, 02:53:41 AM

Thanks for all the feed back. I got some of the trucker aluminum cleaner and they came up quite nice. I also got some other highly corrosive comercial cleaner and it even got them cleaner. (can't remember the name, I used it all and then threw the bottle out) I spent about $50 on cleaners and they did come up nicely,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, then I painted them. :oops: I printed up everyones solutions and passed them out to my buds