I have a 2000 with the polished aluminum wheels and these things suffered badly for the last four years as I could never get them clean enough so I gave up and just let them stay dirty (except for the two days after the car wash). Now, courtesy of this site I have begun taking extreme pride in my vehicle and actually taking care of it. Today I used some Mother's aluminum wheel cleaner and polish and it looks fantastic. I have not had a shine like this since I bought it. Now for the problem...it has a few pit marks (not too noticeable, but I know they are there) and I wonder if anyone has any ideas on how to knock that out at all (they are very small). Also, I've gathered that I should wax my wheels with NTX (or NXT, forgive my forgetfulness) but wanted to know if the process of waxing wheels is the same as my paint.

Oh wise gurus of the beautification processes, teach me.

Thanks

 

Hey TF,

Are these FACTORY wheels that we're talking about? Further, are these wheels clear coated?

RP

 

If they are factory wheels, you have (or maybe had) a clear coat layer on top of the aluminum. If you really did neglect them for a while, you probably compromised the clear coat and got either oxidation of the clear coat and / or the aluminum wheel itself. My personal guess is that the product you used worked so well because you polished right through the clear coat and into the wheel. If that's the case, the wheel probably looks better, but you have very little to protect it and keep it looking that way.

You might be able to tell what you've got with a good old Digital Volt Meter (DVM). Clear coat will not conduct electricity. Aluminum will. We really need to know what you've got right now to help you with next steps.

 

No juice running through my wheels (god, that just sounds strange). The marks that I'm too stupid to realize until an hour ago are not on the wheels, they came out great and I would love the advice to keep them that way. The pitting is on the chrome lug caps and it is bad (might be oxidation but I am uncertain, it likes like pinhole mold spots) so I'll probably just pony up the money on new ones if they can't be salvaged.

They are factory wheels and I wanted to know if ceramic pads really do give off so much less brake dust as I have heard. I need to do the rears so I'll do the front ones as well.
No pitting on the aluminum, thank god.

Appreciate the help guys

 

If they are oxidized, there's probably not much you can do about it. Lug caps are cheap verus buying new wheels...

In order to keep your wheels in top notch shape, I'd recommend going with a quality synthetic like NXT or Zaino.

 

Hopefully these will be my last idiot questions.

The NXT is made by Meguire's correct? I believe I saw a few variations and wanted to also know should I wax these with a liquid version of these waxes or a paste. The Mother's aluminum polish that I used will that actually strip the clear coat off and if so can I actually have a paint shop put a new layer on.

I ask because my uncle does fantastic paint and body and thought if anyone could coat these things than that would be a nice extra level of protection.

Thanks

 

NXT is from Meguiar's. It's available in Paste or Liquid. Pick your weapon.

As for adding clear to rims, I'm not the guy to ask. Hopefully someone here can shed some light on that one... My hunch is that it could be done though... You have to keep in mind though that wheels are balanced and such. I don't know if the weight from another coat of clear would tweak that balance or not... Probably not?

I, personally, don't think that it's a good idea to utilize a metal polish on anything that is clearcoated (like your rims). It'd be like taking the chrome polish and rubbing it on your hood to get it to shine up... obviously, you wouldn't do that.

Stick with a quality polish and a synthetic wax made for use on CLEAR COATED PAINT FINISHES.

RP

 

Rockpick,

I have found Klasse All In One (An acrylic polish) and then NXT or Zanio to be an awesome combination.

The Klasse AIO is tremendous at removing oxidation.

.02

Mike

 

I've heard that it's EXCELLENT stuff... you're certainly not the only one that likes it...

Yet another product that is on my 'to try' list.

RP

 

Don't overcomplicate matters. Just use the same wax on your rims as you use on the rest of the truck. I'd recommend doing the rims last though, since you can easily pick up black crud on your applicator pad and you don't want to rub that into your paint.

I have had great results from all the NXT products I've tried so far. They are pricey, twice as much as most average brands.

 

ExCELLENT piece of advice RJS! Overcomplication leads to problems in the detailing world.

Also, like RJS mentioned, pay special attention to your application and applicators. If they are, seemingly, dirty, discard them and use a new one.

Like anything else, when you're utilizing dirty 'stuff' on your paint, you're lining yourself up for disaster from swirls and scratches. Applying a product like wax or polish is absolutely no different.

In my opinion, you should start on the roof and work downward. This will, in turn, bring you from, what should be, the cleanest area of the vehicle down towards the dirtiest. Under no circumstances should you wax near a wheel well and then go back up to your doors or hood (or elsewhere).

Wheels and flares are ABSOLUTE LAST when I'm applying...

RP

 

Thanks, RP. I'm learning a lot from you and others here.