The EX has Eagle Alloy polished alum wheels. The are dirty and look trashed. Anyone have any luck of bringing polished aluminum wheels back to life or should I just plan on buying a replacement set?

Thanks!

 

Buy a powerball, some good rags, a 12 pack of adult beverages and have fun, I just did the Mickey Thompsons on my Ex a week or 2 ago, scrub them up first, then power ball it, and then I finished it with Mothers.... came out looking great in a few hours,,, one at a time,,, but the pay0off is worth it.
Joe

 

You can definitely bring them back to life...as stated, it's all about the time invested. Spend time on each one and they'll look new again.

 

I've done this on a few sets. The results depend on their current condition and the products you plan to use. The Powerball is a great product but there are better products to use with it than just the Mothers polish. You have any closeup pictures you can post?
Are they anodized wheels or bare aluminum?

I'll assume bare:

Extremely poor shape: I start with steel wool (#0000) and a soap and water solution. Go with the grain of the metal and get as much corrosion and dirt/brake dust/grime out as possible. Wash the wheel really good and repeat in spots as necessary. Then use an mild abrasive type product like Eagle One's Billet wheel polish - you can do this by hand or with the power ball. Depending on the surface of the wheel you can also use a wool pad on a buffer (at lower speed - not a grinder!). After this step you can then move to an actual polish with the Powerball and you'll be amazed at the results. A good coat of wheel wax will bring out the rest of the shine and help protect it.

If they are just neglected but are dull then skip the steel wool. Wash really well and use NevrDull to get a good cleaning on the wheel. Then use the Billet polish and then polish/wax.

Eagle One: Nano Wheel Polish™
NevrDull: Home Page

The last set I did I tried something new - what I actually thought would be 'snake oil' but ended up being great. I bought the set of Metal Cleaner and the Metal Wax. The cleaner is applied to the wheel and they provided some carpet squares to use as applicators. This really cleaned the wheel up and left a uniform finish and fairly smooth as well. This was followed up by the Metal Wax using the Powerball even though they say it can be done by hand. Wheels look great and the Metal Wax is also a sealer which has lasted about 6 months so far. Water beads up and the wheels haven't lost their luster. Might be worth a shot: metal wax.com

Good luck. Hope this helps.

 

It's a lot easier if you take the wheels off. I recently did my brakes and while the wheels were off I gave them a good cleaning, front and back. Mine were in good shape to begin with so then just needed a cleaning.

 

I guess I forgot to state the obvious!! Yes TAKE THEM OFF, put them on a workbench, SOOO much easier to clean!

 

I too agree, the POWERBALL rocks! Just make sure you use a high powered drill! Faster is way better.