I need some detailing experts help. I tried cleaning my rims just to get the brake dust off, but they look terrible now. I used Meguiars Hot Rims product and and soft sponge (don't think it is the cause). They look ok in the shade, but in the sun it is very noticeable. Will some kind of polish work? Sorry for the large pics.

Pics:

 

It would appear from your pictures that something has damaged the clear coat on your aluminum wheels. Any number of things could have caused the damage. Some wheel cleaners are acidic in nature and leaving them on for too long (particularly on a hot wheel) can cause damage. Even the brake dust itself - left on for long enough - can cause damage.

So what can you do now? Well, you need to treat the clear coat just like the clear coat on your truck's body - gently. I'd try a light polish (Poor Boy's SSR or maybe SSR 2.5) on a microfiber applicator to start with. That might get some of the marring out. You might also find that some synthetic sealants (such as Meguiar's NXT 2.0) will actually hide the damage for short periods of time. Unfortunately, without actually being able to see, touch and work on your wheel, it's tough to say exactly what to do.

 

Are/were those painted wheels?

 

Actually yours look great compared to mine. Brake dust and ignorance ruined mine. I left brake dust on the wheels too long and then used a high acidic cleaner. Now the rims are terribly stained an pitted. I will be buying new chrome wheels this summer. Good luck!!!!

 

No they were not painted. I think what might have damaged them was using "simple green automotive" cleaner on them a while back. Today I picked up a powerball and some meguiars aluminum and mag polish, and it definitely made them look better. Far from perfect, but better than they were. Is this only a temp. fix?

 

If those are uncoated aluminum wheels, all you can do is keep polishing them.

 

Gentlemen, those are factory (OEM) Ford wheels. That means they are clear coated aluminum. As I said in my first response, that means you treat them like a painted surface. That also means "aluminum & mag polish" - which is for uncoated wheels - is not the best choice of products because it is more aggressive. At some point going down this path though, the wheels will appraoch "uncoated" status and you can feel free to keep polishing them. I was trying to help the OP avoid that fate.

Back to the OP, yes, it sounds like you've kind of messed up the wheels here. As I stated above, the more clear you remove, the better your wheels will look - right up until you go through the clear. Once the clear is gone or compromised, you'll get oxidation. Oxidation prevention is why the clear coat was applied in the first place. It is possible to get wheels re-clear coated if you really want to solve the problem though.

Hope that helps.

 

When I said painted I should have said coated instead which would have included clear coat. The reason I thought they were painted is because the inner surfaces (around the valve stem) of silver still look like they have the protective coating and dont look like the outer spokes that appear to have been stripped.

If those are OEM wheels they are/were coated.
Anything you do other than polishing and re-coating them will be temporary.

 

What about if I want to powdercoat or rattlecan them black? How is the process different than steel powdercoating?

 

Which one of these did you use?

 

The blue one for aluminum. Should I have used the all wheel cleaner?

 

There's your problem. While your wheels ARE aluminum, they are infact coated as 2Stroked stated. Many aluminum specific cleaners are acidic by nature. The cleaner has stained the clear coating on the wheels. To what extent, I don't know. You may or may not be able to polish them out. Regardless you can certainly improve how they look. However, do not use anymore metal polishes on them. You're not polishing metal. You're polishing the coating that's applied to the metal. I don't know exactly what they use to coat them but treat it as paint. 2stroked was spot on with his diagnosis. What polishes you use are up to you. If you already have some then list them here and we can point you in the right direction. If you don't have any and are willing to purchase some to fix the problem then we can also recommend some. Whatever you do, don't use that cleaner anymore. The All Wheel Cleaner would be a safer bet.

 

Painting and powder coating are two very different processes. Painting - whether rattle can or professional spray booth type can be done with the tires still on the wheels - although I wouldn't recommend it. Prep includes roughing up the surface, then a careful cleaning and dust removal, then spraying. Most paints will air dry, some are two component (think epoxy) and most will accelerate the cure with some heat.

Powder coating is very different. The prep is pretty much the same, but the tires have to be removed from the wheels. A fine powder is then "dusted" on the wheels with the wheels charged one way and the powder the opposite charge to attract it. At this point, the powder can literally be wiped off though. The next step - curing in an over - melts and cross links the polymers. Once cool, you have a hard, durable surface.

Paint is relatively inexpensive, but not as durable as powder coating. Powder coating is more expensive and generally somewhat more limited in color availability. Your choice.

 

I read on another forum somewhere that powdercoating aluminum wheels could be bad. Like the rims could actually crack. I have rattlecanned other wheels with decent results though. And I am willing to purchase some polishes to FIX the problem. I only used the mag and aluminum cleaner on one side, I will see if that holds up or not and use the other side as comparison.

 

It's my understanding that wheel failure is possible after powdercoating. There are a few factors at play but I really don't know enough about the different processes of powdercoating and forming and heat treating the metal.

As for polishes, I'm assuming since oyu didn't mention any that you don't have any. 2stroked already named a couple you could try. Another two popular polishes are Meguiars 105 and 205. Since you'll probably be doing this my hand and not machine, use a new Terry Cloth towel. They provide just a bit more bite for polishing than microfiber does. This isn't going to be fun or quick so prepare yourself. You're going to have to work the polish in to the wheel. You do not just spread it around like a wax. That won't accomplish anything. What polishes you really need are going to depend on how bad the wheels are. The catch is, you really won't know until you try one of them first. This is why it's a good idea to have a fairly aggressive and a fairly light polish on hand. Start with the light polish, work it in small areas (don't do the entire wheel at once, maybe each spoke individually). If the lighter polish isn't getting the job done then step it up to the more aggressive polish. Repeat the same process. The down side to more aggressive polishes is that sometimes they leave behind a haze and need to be followed up with the lighter polish.

As far as the polishes mentioned, Poorboy's SSR 2.5 (aggressive) and SSR1 (light). Meg's 105 (aggressive) and 205 (light). There are plenty more to choose from if you're interested but those will more than likely get the job done. Old Dogg has pictures somewhere. He may be able to add to this with his experience of polishing coated wheels. I've only done raw aluminum. Different beast.