Hey guys, I searched the forums and didn't find an answer, searched on mothers website and didn't get an answer there either, thought someone could help me out....I want to clean/polish up my 2007 OEM 20's that I'm running in the winter. I bought the Mother's "Power Ball" and Mother's aluminum polish and tested the polish to see if it "turns black" on the rim and it doesn't. I went to the mothers.com and this is the answer I got:

"If you're not sure whether your wheels are uncoated aluminum or not, rub a small amount in a low-visibility area with Mothers® Mag & Aluminum Polish, Billet Metal Polish or PowerMetal®. If it doesn't turn black, then stop immediately. Your wheel is likely coated, visit the Painted, Anodized & Clear-Coated Aluminum section of this Detail Guide."

The problem is I can't find that section on their website!! Any product I can use that you know of? Thanks for the help!

Here is a pic of the rims and the products I bought:

 

first section in this link has your product info

 

Any good durable synthetic wax.
I use in order of the cheapest price;
NXT 2.0
Flitz Speed Wax
Optimum Spray Wax

No real need for special wheel waxes for the purposes you describe unless you just want to spend the extra cheese.

As for polishes...any good automotive paint polish will work with the Power Ball depending on how much correction you want to do.
I prefer Mothers Power Cone.

Good luck!

 

Those wheels are clear coated, using that metal polish on them will do them no good. It can even harm the clear coat.

Wash with mild soap and wax as you would your truck.

I'ld love to have them as is .... save you all that work.

 

So I can just use like a turtle wax on them? And with polishing, I'd like to get rid of the scratches on the center "spokes", you can see what I'm talking about in the close up picture, what to use? I wish I knew Mother's had a power "cone" I would have got that instead but all Fleet Farm had was the ball so I thought that's all they made....thanks for the help!

 

Be careful. Those scratches are in the clear coat. As others have correctly stated, you need to treat those wheels just as you would a body panel on your truck. Here's on issue you won't find on a body panel though. Paint is thinnest at sharp external corners. Your truck's body panels have almost none of those bad boys, but your wheels are chock full of them. If you go to crazy with that Powerball and any product with any amount of abrasives in it, you could breach the clear coat at those areas. Then you'll have some real issues to deal with. You'd be surprised what NXT 2.0 will hide. Apply a good coat of that and be happy.

Oh yes, and throw anything that comes in a Turtle Wax container in the trash!

 

My absolute favorite product for wheels is Mothers Cleaner Carnuba Wax. Great stuff and really cleans them up nice. But yes, as already mentioned here, treat those wheels like a painted surface and not a piece of metal.

 

Synthetic wax is a lot more heat-resistant than carnauba. You might want to finish them off with some.

 

Easy to find over the counter polishes like Meguiars ScratchX and SwrilX are good choices. Mail order Meguiars M205. Any polish will work but I would never recommend using Turtle Wax compound. It's more like "sand in a can" than a good polishing compound and you will be sorry if you use it with a power tool.

The rule of thumb on scratches is that if you can feel them when you run your fingernail across them in clearcoat, you are never going to make them go completely away because they are too deep. You can hide them pretty well with NXT 2.0 or any other synthetic wax that makes claims of hiding swirls and scratches...

Another thing not discussed is your center caps. Be even more careful with them because they are usually painted or coated plastic and often have little to no clearcoat on them. Just clean them with mild soap and wax. Don't try correcting any defects or making them shine by polishing.

You will eventually tear that power ball up (wear out) on your wheels. Then when you replace it get the Power Cone and give it a try.
I have 2 cones, 1 for polishes and 1 just for wax.

 

thanks old dogg, i'll give NXT a try.....