Quick and dirty aluminum wheel restore

[@bmfilmnut]

Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish is great stuff. I use it for all kinds of things. For example, I have a Ruger GP100 .357 magnum revolver that had a mat finish and I wanted to polish it to a shine. Using just a rag and some Mothers M&A Polish, it had almost a mirror finish within about 30 minutes. I just polished it while watching the news on TV. The point is that it not only works on aluminum but also steel. Of course, it's just a polish and other polishes, such as regular polishing compound, are good too, but I've had such good results with Mother's that it's my go-to general purpose polish. In fact, if it warms up today (it's March 21 as I write this), I'm going to go out and polish the aluminum wheels on my Triumph Rocket III Touring today. Good video! Thanks for posting it.

[@blkstang83]

You did a great job of showing the before, midpoint, and what they could look like with more effort. Outstanding video.

[@debbiefisher2960]

You did a really good job on you're rims, that's most likely around 2 to 2 and a half hours to do each rim. Very time consuming. Now if you spray them down with WD 40, that helps keep the luster of your time. Road tar won't stick. I do this to my motorcycle mag rims and the engines, and clutch and hand levers at my motorcyce shop of 40 odd years. Yeah I would haft to say you had done a superb job friend. Thumbs up for you.

[@mhrepoman]

You can actually use a electric grinder with a cotton buffing wheel and different color rouge polishing compound. If you have some scratches or whatever to get out, you can use the green or red, which is more aggressive of a compound and it will smooth it out, then follow up with the white which will really make it shine. Then use a softer cotton polishing wheel and the mother's mag polish, followed up with the mother polish that's in a bottle with some micro fiber towels. It make it shine like you have no idea! Great info. You did a great job with the prep on the wheels. I actually just bought a used pro tech truck box that I am going to polish up tomorrow gonna take a while because of how big it is. I'll probably use a car buffer with some mother's and just go to town on it.

[@richardjeun]

I think what you did is fantastic! One thing I like to mention that is very useful: make sure you do what you did around the area where the tire bead meets the rim. Making that area smooth allows a good air-tight seal for your tire.

[@Pork-Chopper]

Lighter fluid, or naptha is good for removing the adhesive. When I did my wheels, after cleaning, scrubbing, sanding n polishing, I taped up the slots, (mine were round holes, similar to the Peterbilt wheels, going on my 72 Chevy C10) And all the openings on the front of the wheel, then I painted the backside using high gloss black engine paint, resistant to oil, water n gas. This treatment gives the front side more contrast against the black backside and the holes or slots just pop, giving it a more highly detailed look, n the imperfections are hardly noticeable. I've gotten many compliments on the way they look. Good job sir. It is a labor of love. The more time you spend with them the more shine you get out of them. Almost chrome looking...

[@rightsidelanechoice7702]

Hey brother I don't know if you know this trick or not but after your final polish if you use a cloth and take talcum powder or even flour and coat the cloth with the powder and wipe the wheels off. It takes all the black out and you will be impressed even if you try it on a rough area. It shines like chrome. Give it a try

[@salvadorhurtado3704]

Thanks great tip , I'm trying that too !

[@markJones38133]

Billy Mehaffey i

[@scooterevolution44]

wiping it with flour?

[@GeneralWiskers]

Does this work??

[@thomasmaniece3386]

good tip,i used to use baby powder,likely same result,but mine smell better lol

[@tazaxx21]

I've restored several sets of aluminum rims. I'm just finishing a set for my 03 Super Duty. They are huge 16x12 Mickey Thompson Classic Locks. They were absolutely blitzed when I got them. It was like the guy put them on his truck, and never cleaned or washed them at all, and just beat them up for about 6 years. I've spent at least 25 hours per wheel- mostly wet sanding to get the surface nearly 100% immaculate. I started with 400, then 600, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, then polishing by hand with the Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish... It's been a ton of work but they are far better than new, and will be stunning with the new Mickey Thompson 36x15.50 MTZ radials!!

[@georgeserrano9048]

That was incredible. Inspires me to do it myself. As opposed to buying new rims, I'll try and find some used ones and try some good old elbow grease. Thank you for the confidence boost.

[@x-man5056]

Mistake to use "Steel Wool" on aluminum. Sure, they look good now but there's a little thing called "Galvanic Corrosion" that you unintentionally invited to the party. Also, ONLY use aluminum oxide sanding abrasives, No Emory Cloth or any black sanding paper, discs or otherwise. It DOES make a difference. You know what I'm talking about in a year or two. If you keep them very clean and polished you may get lucky but it's a lot of work to rely on lucky.

[@johnweisinger7390]

There has to beimmersion in a conductive liquid and electricity involved for galvanic corrosion.

[@-DEATHSTROKE]

60+ years of it being used on aluminium says otherwise, but yeah what are facts.

[@johnweisinger7390]

@@-DEATHSTROKE shhhh......don't confuse him with facts. Lol

[@TheRoadhammer379]

0000 steel wool is so fine it doesn't damage aluminum 😂. Guys are sanding aluminum with 80 grit and as with any aluminum polishing... you work up to get out scratches and swirls. Some of the best professional polishers in the trucking industry use 0000 steel wool but what would they know 😂.

[@x-man5056]

@@TheRoadhammer379 If they are using "Steel" wool on aluminum, they DON'T know what they are doing. Or any sand paper that isn't aluminum oxide or scotch brite. The grit level is irrelevant. The material of the abrasive matters on aluminum. Using steel wool instead of aluminum wool on aluminum is an uneducated, BIG mistake. Google "Galvanic Corrosion".

[@0lddragracer426]

I've got 4 on my old truck, 67' f-100. I had them polished back in the 70's, and I'm going to have to start all over again, just like you did. I'm also looking for another wheel for a spare. Thanks for the video. Your wheels are starting to look great again...nice work.

[@mike8041]

Am very impressed how good of job you did on these wheels. They looked like new or better then new. Thanks for sharing.

[@Hellbent7069]

Great job man! They look brand new. You obviouslydon't give yourself enough credit. I didn't think they would look no where close to the final product. Amazing!

[@rickmiller8197]

I know this is an older video, but was impressed with your HONEST assessment of the their surface. Your marketing department is to be commended!!!

[@terrywilliams6820]

Dude, those look freakin awesome. this video is exactly what I was looking for to do the exact same rims.. great job guy..

[@DRIFTD21]

Same here. I got some 16.5x8 that I need to get polished and thrown on my nissan hardbody

[@kenworth159]

You did a beautiful job mate, they came out great. I’ve done a few sets in my time & I use aluminium spray on cleaner first to pull all the dirt out of the aluminium, it makes the whole process a bit shorter but still a labour of love. Cheers from the land down under. 😊🇦🇺😎

[@johnd.1849]

Those look amazing. Have always preferred highly polished aluminum even over chrome (personal preference). Those look like the American Slot Mags from the ‘70’s (think Starsky and Hutch Torino).

[@bruceturek3412]

say man thanks I have a set of Corvette rally wheels this is just needed to see. curb rash or not they look awesome thanks for sharing. now it's time for me to get to work

[@224chingon]

Wow i used to have those wheels and i cleaned them and polished them by hand over and over and never got them to look that nice and shiny. Good job

[@bradnavratil5502]

All i can say is wow!! Looks awesome i didn't know you could get them that clean.. Good job Bud....👍👍

[@williamleadingham6276]

I got an old work truck recently and of course I wanna polish it up and make it look sharper LOL so thanks for the video exactly what I expected to polish them out but now I know I'm not gonna ruin them LOL

[@msumpter4347]

Knows how to turn a simple story into something you don't want to even finish listening to!!

[@wadeanwyl6912]

U clearly didn't need the tips and information then cause people who do they watch it to learn

[@tonygreen3528]

Ok turnip

[@darrenroebuck5005]

I had a set of these mags and I use too use autosol mixed with a little kero on them instead didn't need a buffer as the kero use to make the autosol glide over the rim too give it a brilliant shine and only took 5-10 mins to complete a rim...

[@joeoliver9223]

Good job, I will be dropping off my wheels latter on today.

[@gonzalodavid6473]

Thank you for your time and effort to show the rest of us how to make such a difference in polishing aluminum rims into a chrome look all over again..

[@claudiofagundes9502]

Great finished product I would still love to see that 15-minute video thanks for posting they look awesome

[@johnnygride2118]

Dude ive polished ever single peace of aluminum on rice rockets that i use to run when i was a kid . You were pretty dam close to making them things cherry . But there were a few things you missed and i know you said that at the start of the video . Im a body and paint guy so i always have the correct stuff to do the hob laying around but anyway the key to straight mirror finish is that it needs to be sanded with 1,000 or finer gt sand paper and you just go over it with a finer paper on each step you can get single sheets of the stuff from any paint stores for like 3or 4 bucks per sheet. If you do 1,2,3 thousand you will be able to use them things as a mirror when your shaving in the morning !!!! But you did a pretty nice job especially if it was your first time !!!👍👍👍

[@markman63]

Johnny G Ride how do you prevent them from oxidizing after polishing?

[@paulcarpenter7429]

Great job. Just a suggestion that I use in my shop to clean dirty aluminum . I use wheel acid pure and a tooth brush or similar. It will clean all that stuff off very easily. After that sand and polish.

[@drivingaroundjapan5948]

Thanks from Australia. Very useful and excellent tutorial.

[@steveashworth6707]

I might just try this on one of our trucks we are redoing because replacement wheels are over a thousand dollars!. Great job!.

[@CruisingTheLand]

Here is a fast way ✅ to Polish Aluminum wheels 👀: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5bQkJiMra5llZo

[@sacul7694]

We had 4 of these on our 1974 nova. We cleaned them up with steel wool and just shot them gloss white. Looked real good too. I don't think they even had buffing balls like that back then.

[@YouLikeThat14]

I work at a wheel repair shop and for the tools you had to use that's pretty good. It works alot better though if you use finer sandpaper like 1000 grit or 1200 grit wet sand and then use regular block of brown polish with an air hose hand buffer. Then get a black block of polish and go back over it. Then use lacquer thinner or 900 grease remover to get the black off, you can use your hand. Then blow off the water and wipe it down with a micro fiber rag.

[@jayallen408]

that wheel still looks pretty damn good buddy good job thanks for the tips

[@MattNichols-q3m]

Best how to do video ever. Striaght to the point. Didnt tell me a story I didnt want to hear and got straight to the point.

[@Ron-im6mj]

I love old school mags. I always had them on my cars. Yes im old..haha

[@jakeblue6047]

Hell try polishing wooden wagon wheels LMAO that's old then have to polish that mule shoes to.

[@olenaerhardt7725]

Thank you for the informative film. May I ask you how did you polish the inner part of the wheel, that one which goes inside of the tire (for better sealing of the tire and the rim). I do my first tire and not sure about it. I removed the dirt line above the bead w/a triangular sand paper 120-150-220, and plan to go w/320-400-600, but do I need to apply Mothers paste. I'm afraid it will interact somehow w/tire grease I obviously plan to apply before the new tire is installed. I would appreciate your opinion on this method.

[@MarshRat]

Two thumbs up on the Mothers. I did the aluminum wheels on my 79 Vette a few years back and found out thru trial & error about the Mothers. Now I only touch up my wheels 'bout once a year with the Mothers.

[@XXDEADGOATXX]

that was actually the most realistic and straight method....just good hard work on old rims...

[@tomytable1753]

Thanks for sharing how to.

[@dcteddybearteddy9385]

Patrick Sanchez x

[@bigdiesil75]

take acid wet wheel spray the acid on it.don't leave it on to long spray it off with hose wear mask and gloves like new

[@pablogrenade4240]

Patrick Sanchez those are good wheels to

[@michaelcrabtree2939]

Next video...show the process ok the rims and how you clean them.

[@nateknapp556]

Wow! I had no idea Aluminium wheels could look like that! That's awesome. I am definitely doing this to my Aluminum wheels. Thanks for the info man.

[@chrismartinez7198]

they look really good. I love polished aluminum.

[@AO-sz5ci]

This is exactly what I needed to see 😊

[@MagaRickn]

Got some wheels just like that. Used to be on my 56 Chevy. Gonna clean them up and this should help them sell better. Thanks.

[@bocabec6744]

Thanks for this great video. You did a great job filming and presenting your project. They came out really great and I'm sure they look great on your car trailer.

[@leon0247]

I'm going to say that they came out a hundred times better don't let they started good job nice tips

[@fuzzy19111]

They look darn good for a wheel that has seen actual service.

[@catdieselpower193]

shit bud I think you did a great job man!

[@jimblack120]

so suck shit Kat

[@jimmywilson1388]

Man I can’t wait to do the slot mags on my old 72 Ranger XLT…😍 I was wondering if they would shine up real nice. I did the weld draglites on my mustang and then I would clean them and polish them maybe twice a year and it didn’t take nearly as long after the first time. Thanks for the video, I was wondering if I could use steel wool to remove the heavy corrosion and you answered that! Thank you!

[@urjb]

It seems steel wool is not the preferred method, but honestly, they’ve held up pretty good. They need polishing again, but still look good and have not had any care since 2016. I’d like to get around to making an update video. Thanks for watching!

[@jimmywilson1388]

@@urjb thank you

[@coffeegirland52]

Turned out amazing, great job! Hopefully the tire shop doesn’t pound on wheel weights on the finished side 😁💯

[@rickyhildebrand114]

Been there ,and done that. I took down a painted set of f ive star 5.0 mustang wheels at About 15 hrs each. I think the factorys use a vibrating system with a bed of abrasive medium in course medium and fine. Instead of eagle one I use the "Bricks" of abrasive that are held together by a wax,and apply it with a cloth buffing wheel. It's very dirty work. I cover myself with coveralls ,hat ,shield and nitrile gloves

[@samgarofalo2461]

I bought my 8 lug16.5 westerns slots new in 1977, they are a machine finish, and I have to clean them in one direction, yes they take lots of time to polish, but the end result is awesome. I find that magic mix cleans the best and that simichrone polish gives the best shine. Luckily I have no curb rash at all

[@sportsmansparadice42]

Prep I use steel wool, and WD-40. After that wash with a mild dish soap, and finally use a buffer wheel for the face of the wheel, the use a wand for the lip of the wheel. Mother's is a good polish, but I prefer Fliz metal polish. You can get it at Bass pro shops.

[@NaKombi89]

You should show the process not only explain and show the final result.

[@PurpleSwan]

Exactly!

[@davidhovik7176]

Bingo!

[@muliechaser1618]

Pretty self explanitory

[@Lllllllllllllllll1lllll]

boomers

[@chipbarron9966]

@@PurpleSwan oo9999999⁹99999999999999i

[@HeadphoneHarvey]

I liked the way you produced this video.The results of the different steps were the important part. My Silverado wheels are badly corroded and it's a project I'll tackle in the spring. Thanks.

[@jcb355]

urjb @ 5:42, "They're not perfect." Well... I'll take 'not perfect'. It looks great! Good job. Good video.

[@breakerbroke23]

Good video, Iam getting my old mag sprinter IIs out, clean them up and get some BFGs ASAP. THANKS!

[@fernglez60]

How do you protect that finish? Clear coat or wax or jsut keep polishing every now and tnen. Good video, thanks.

[@jlexon]

Very nice finish after the buffing with the Mother Ball. I recently refinished a set of aluminum Honda Enkei wheels that I clear coated after the fine sanding and 0000 steel wool. They looked clean and sharp but I believe they would have looked awesome like your finished wheel if they had received the buff treatment. Nice job.

[@upsidedowndog1256]

That looks great. 3M adhesive remover gets the tape remains off in seconds and won't hurt painted surfaces

[@6rubios]

After all the steel wool and sanding, how much time did you put into actual polishing?

[@joed1244]

Do you spray with clear afterwards? If so does it stick because you polished it or do you wipe it down with a degreaser? But then does that turn the aluminum white? Thanks

[@evo9467]

Excellent, and thank you for posting your experience with restoring these aluminum wheels, as this is actually applicable to refinishing anything aluminum. I am looking to bring back some shine to my RV's aluminum framed windows and door frame. I was considering etch priming them and painting them. But now, seeing that polishing is actually the easy part, I think I will forgo the paint, and simply polish them, because other than being greyish, they are in perfect condition. Thanks for the useful info.

[@HomeownerRepair]

Those rims looked great on the old 78 Chevy Malibu

[@TraceRussell-m7h]

Came out great nice work

[@urjb]

Thank you and thanks for watching.. I hope you got some useful information out of it.

[@williamcharles9480]

MEK methel ethel ketone is more aggressive in getting the wheel weight adhesive off. In my opinion those wheels look great after you polished them up to the extent that you had done. It's not a perfect world and in my opinion, if someone doesn't like how my wheels look, they're more than welcome to buy me another set or to sit down and correct the flaws that they don't like.

[@JimVincitore]

Great video! Heading to the store for aluminum polish and Mothers ball! Thank you!

[@jamesengle1193]

Jim Vincitore don't waste your time on mother's polish. The problem is that it's a single stage polish. Any truck stop has BETTER stuff than mother's polish.

[@JimVincitore]

What brand do you recommend?

[@jamesengle1193]

Jim Vincitor, Bush polish sold at truck stops is almost as good as ours. I would say thats the best I know of off the shelf. Most polish is too hard to use or leave a haze or is just plain made to sell as cheap as possible for more profit. We are currently not manufacturing due to moving to new location. mirrorshineusa.com is ours.

[@joeclarke9782]

Good job with just steel wool and wheel cleaner?

[@cgrenesh]

If you give a clearcot on it, will it shine for a longer period?

[@FJ80Coop]

Those wheels appear to be either early to mid 70s Jeep Wagoneer wheels,or same era Chevvy 4wd truck wheels which both used the bolt on center caps which are why the holes are in them between the lug nut holes... Looks good when finished...

[@gatto190]

They're Airstream wheels! I have them on my 1974 Excella.

[@vernfrier1771]

I have a '96 Firebird with stock aluminum rims. I want my wheels to shine like this video. Currently they are very clean and nice looking. I washed them real good then I used the same Mother's polish that you've got on your bench. After polishing with the Mother's using a buffer on my drill, they look nice and clean but no noticeable difference like your video. Suggestions?

[@edstimator1]

I like the cadence of your video. Good info too

[@garyr7027]

Looks dang good, I wouldn't be ashamed of it on my truck. It takes some elbow grease to get those wheels nice and sparkly like that. Don't sweat the tiny nick spots, it's shiny enough they don't stand out.

[@heatmizer1212]

can u show how to repair the newer alum.rims that have the clearcoat finish that is peeling away that lets the dust and dirt get under the finish and looks like junk?

[@martinneps9387]

Is it easier to Polish a wheel is to Polish a wheel when it is just dirty or is dirty or after you have it is it sandblasted Please comment back thank you very much Hope to hear from you soon

[@jmecillakennedy7102]

Great job looks awesome!!

[@MrBikedrummer]

I just finished 4, 18" mag wheels. The TRICK to wet sanding the wheels, is to use WD-40! It makes a mess, but the sanding discs glide over it and lasts longer. It's also easier to polish sand and remove markings.

[@matttipton456]

Trying to take old wheels from dilapidated to pristine thanks for the info!

[@charlesgreer7245]

I had these wheels on my mustang in high-school in the late 80s. I prefered the shiny machine finish so every time they got dirty when i washed car next i would scrub them with brillow soap pad and make them shine like new again.

[@jodymiller5265]

Looks really good. Thanks for the tip. I got deep dish slots on my corvette an this video really helped me out. Thanks again.

[@mindsfortin589]

I need 2 6 lug slotted mags...you have any for sale??? Thanks great video

[@johnaverick7468]

We called those rims " Slots " . And they are extremely hard to find around my neck of the woods. I have a set for 5 lug Chevy rear wheel drive that need reconditioned like this.

[@peanut71968]

They look pretty good! Thanks for posting. I’m doing my Alcoa aluminum wheels now on my F 450. The rears are in terrible shape. Pitted, but after some initial wire wheel work I’m optimistic I can get them to shine again. Dually BTW.

[@patmccafferty8614]

When you finish with the first wipe and get the heavy off use a clean rag I prefer cloth diapers put some cornstarch on the rag it will take all the polish read and give the wheels a great luster

[@Wheel-1]

Finished product is awesome !

[@cfmechanic]

Very nice video to sand out pitting and gouges what grit would u recommend starting at.

[@budakota]

Great Video !!..but What's Your Solution if your aluminum wheels were Factory Clear Coated , and the clear coat has peeled in some spots ?....How Would you remove the factory clear coat to get the Amazing End Result you achieved on these Aluminum wheels in this video

[@JAG312]

I may be crazy, but I use an electric toothbrush with polishing compound to polish the aluminum rims of the wire wheels on my Triumph motorcycle. Polished aluminum has a depth that chrome plating does not have.

[@APApoolplayer]

What speed drill are you using? Your work is superb!

[@rustypipes6339]

I knew a guy who used to put a coat of varnish or shellac on his wheels and run them all winter, don't know if it worked or not.

[@fido3561]

Any truck stop most likely have a person that will do this. I use to get my truck rims and fuel tanks done. They would look like chrome. These guys don't have shops, they just kind of hang around.

[@Tomcat71]

air powered eraser wheel is the absolute best thing for that Wheel weight tape.

[@CosminVitan]

Can you apply clear gloss coat over the polished alloy wheel? To last shine for one year or to?

[@ryan421sbc]

I have American Racing mags and they have a factory plastic.coating on them n look like hell.any idea"s other than sand blasting them to get to where I can do something with them.....thanks much for any ideas

[@rhello9961]

Great job I’m going to try this on my little SLK wheels 👍🇬🇧

[@21gioni]

Talcum powder is a good trick, scotch brite wheels can give you a smother finish. But to remove old build up use a chemical aluminium cleaning solvent then wash off with water. There are a number of chemical products on the market. Don't bother with the products you buy in a car care shop. If you are going to use steel wool to clean it needs to be wet and use a soap then rub lightly. The final polish use a cloth wheel with polishing cream. Don't let the material heat up as you will get black marks that will not remove without chemicals. If you are going to use sand paper always use wax on the sandpaper this stops clogging up of the sandpaper and cleaning up is faster.

[@hairycat6095]

been using wet or dry sand paper and mothers on my old honda for years, works good

[@grahamowen1570]

hairycat I’ve used mothers in the past too for different reasons but then some say I’m a bit of a motherfucker😉

[@locotrucker46]

Dude, you did an awesome job on those wheels

[@ateamofone]

I hope you put some clear coat on them. Its much easier to clean in the future. Nice work

[@shadvan9494]

I love old aluminum slot wheels. I had a set on my Camaro back in the 80s. good to see some one restore a set.