What to use to remove Oxidized/ Haziness from wheels??

[RedInsight]

My wheels have a dull hazy oxidized look to them.

Tried Mothers Mag & Alluminum polish, didnt do a thing.

Also just tried Eagle One Never Dull, still wont remove the hazy look.

Anyone else have this problem? And whats the solution?


Thanks

[CycleDoc]

Originally Posted by RedInsight

My wheels have a dull hazy oxidized look to them.

Tried Mothers Mag & Alluminum polish, didnt do a thing.

Also just tried Eagle One Never Dull, still wont remove the hazy look.

Anyone else have this problem? And whats the solution?

Looks like crap against the shiny center caps.

Thanks

They were polished at the factory, then clear coated. Over time the
clear coat gives up; turns hazy or starts to come off. Many places
polish wheels. You can take them off, have them polished, then clear
coated again.... If you clean/polish, don't clear coat, they will oxidize
in a few days.

[RedInsight]

Thanks for the reply. Might try buffing them doing a couple steps see how that works.

[Kenpo]

How bad are the rims? Is it just oxidized? How are you polishing it, hand or machine (DA)? Is its heavily oxidized, you need a good polish megs 105 with PC. Make sure you prep the rims really well before polishing to get the best results. FOllow these steps.

1. Give it a good wash
2. Clay the rims (aggressive clay if severely dirty)
3. Polish rims depending how bad. (Megs 105 then 205)
4. Wash them again.
5. Seal it. (collinite 845)

[met-head]

If you want to go crazy, you can buy 3M brown scuff pads for $6.99 at Wal Mart. They attach to an electric drill and will remove the clear coat from the rims. Then you can go with the full polish route, with various pads and compounds to get a mirror like finish. Polish kits can be purchased at Harbor Freight Tools. However, now the rims will need to be polished occasionally with Mother's to keep the gleam.

[02insight]

i've read online that you can strip the clear coat using paint stripper, then polish the bare rims, then re-clearcoat. This wont do anything for bigger curb rashes or deeper dents/scratches in the metal, but it can make the overall wheel look pretty nice.

probably going to be alot of work though.. about 1-2 hours per wheel

[Bowski]

Originally Posted by RedInsight

My wheels have a dull hazy oxidized look to them.

Tried Mothers Mag & Alluminum polish, didnt do a thing.

Also just tried Eagle One Never Dull, still wont remove the hazy look.

Anyone else have this problem? And whats the solution?

Looks like crap against the shiny center caps.

Thanks

I'll bet a clay bar would shine them right up with no abrasion.
You wpuld be amazed at what clay can pull out of clear coat on your paint too. Get a clay kit with clay lubricant and a bar. Anytime you have a problem like this, or bird droppings etc. that won't come out of your paint grab the clay.

[chris22104]

Last winter I jacked up the front end in my garage, supported the front end on two jack stands on the frame, set the e-brake, and ran the car in 5th gear at idle. Both front wheels spin at a decent speed. I basically used the cars drive train as a lathe for filing, cutting, sanding and polishing. As they spun, I cleaned up the rims including removing the curb rash with a couple different flat files, removing the white peeling chipped clear coat with a couple cheap flat screwdrivers (using the edge of the tip,) then went to 600 grit, 1000 grit, 1500 grit and 2000 grit wet sandpaper, then one type of polish, all progressively.
Starting at the edge with the flat files (about 2 " wide and 14" or 16" long,) I placed the file flat across the outermost edge so it spanned the 6pm and 3pm positions flatly, until I basically lightly filed the edge down enough to remove ALL the deep curb rash. There is tons of "meat" on the rim's edge, and you'll be able to get it all out this way with no worries of harm at all. I then used the front tip of the file to radius the edge back into a near rounded profile (no sharp edges on the edge of the rim,) holding the file at a 45 degree angle to the lip's inner and outer edges, then following through in a progressive slow rounding fashion with the file on the edge. The clear coat was messed up from the edge of the rim to about 1" in. Using a couple cheap flat blade screwdrivers, I used the edge to slowly cut though the clear coat and ever so slightly into the aluminum, slowly moving inward as the wheel spun. It's easy to see when you break through all the clear coat and get into the aluminum, as the color looks nice and bright and concentric, as it turns. Some of the rims I had to go two full inches inward to clean them up. Have you ever seen how a brake rotor is cut on a lathe? Same technique, but cutting by hand. I followed with a less course file on the rim's edge, then the wet sandpapers in descending order (600, 1000, 1500, 2000.) Then the polish on a cotton rag. I should have made a tutorial video of the whole process, but I took a total of about 8 hours for all four rims (switched the rears to the fronts and did them the same way,) over the course of a few nights, and didn't have anyone to "film" bits of the process. They look perfect and like new. I wish I had some "before" pics, as they were pretty beat. I can take some "after" pics and will post them later! Note: I did get an estimate from a rim repair shop locally before getting into it, and they wanted a ridiculous amount (around $375) to do the same thing......
Redinsight: I know you were just asking about the clear coat, but I figured I'd tell my whole story; you'd just pick up half way through the process, considering you don't mention having any curb rash.
PS: I think I'm the only guy on here that can say he's put 50 miles on his car, IN THE GARAGE!

[02insight]

chris22104, did you reapply clear coat? What kind did you get?

thanks

[chris22104]