Hey there....I have a set of eagle aollys series 058.....polished aluminum rims...
over this winter the have gotten black sport all over them at first I thought that it was just some bearing grease on them, but when I went to clean them I have found out that it wouldn't all come off!!!! not sure if they have a clear coat or not or what is on them. Tried a few diffferant cleaners on them but it wont all come off!!! Any ideas? Thanks!

 

probably brake dust or salt (assuming you get snow/ ice where you are) mine suffer the same in the UK (MT Classic IIs). I suggest you get them shot blasted and painted/ powdercoated/ laquered etc.

 

If your polishing rag turns black when you polish your wheels they're not clear coated. I use simichrome to clean spots off my polished aluminum wheels. You can buy it at the auto parts.

 

Yeah Simichrome or Blitz are about the best for that, Mother's and Meguiar's make decent ones too. But if you have aluminum rims that are in dire need of polishing, it is VERY hard work, even with an electric buffer. And then, you still won't get them super shiny where they gleam like chrome.

If they are very nice rims and you would like to keep them, it is well worth the money to let the pros do it. Sure it costs money, but they have all of the sizes and grades of wheels, and different types and speeds of tools to do it properly. They also have a variety of compounds to use - changing grades of buffing wheels and changing the compounds is like changing sandpaper grits to get the most out of wood. The pros have all of the right stuff, while we at home might just have one buffer and one tub of Simichrome. That is fine for small jobs, but not for four tarnished rims.

If you have ever seen the before and after of a professional wheel polishing job, you would be astounded. I knew some guys who used to do it for semi trucks and trailers, some of them have several large aluminum wheels and it is a huge job. They can make several hundred dollars to do a typical cab that has six aluminum wheels on it. Also, some of the trailers have aluminum wheels too. There are also whole trailers that are made of aluminum, like some of those liquid carriers - and once in a while those folks will pay to get the whole trailer done and that is a major project.

So it's worth paying for this if you want super-shiny rims; I suppose that they could seal them afterwards too. But you also have to be careful with sealed rims - the sealer can crack or go yellow.

 

muckypaws,

Your MT Classic II's are not coated. I use a product called Truckers Blend. Its made by (and you might appreciate this) English Custom Polish Co. Not only cleans and polishes but leaves a coating behind that you can actually SEE working in water and grime. I use it on my M/T Challengers and every spot of chrome on the truck. I don't do anything between applications (twice a year) but wash and rinse. No tarnish to the uncoated M/T's yet.

http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/index.html

Coated wheels won't benefit from these products at all but there are some really cool polishing products listed. The "HOT CHROME" product is incredible for restoring shine and removing heat tarnish from chrome and stainless.

 

mmm looks good stuff, and I ca buy it in the UK without having to pay a stupidly high markup! Wooohoo....

Thanks, I'll try it.

 

Hmmmm... Maybe I should have you ship me some!

 

Thanks every one....the rag does turn black when I polish them so I guess they are not coated and I will have to really buff away!!! going to be fun but thanks again.....

 

Better you than me - buffing out aluminum rims is one of my least favorite things to have to do. The results are worth it if you do a good job, but that is an awful lot of elbow grease. And you still won't get it as good as the pros. I usually buy steel/chrome plated rims because I hate dealing with the aluminum ones. Of course the chrome ones can pit and rust, it depends where you live. In the humid, salty air of Miami, FL it was better to have aluminum rims.