Polishing Chrome

[fastSdime]

Well my truck has sat for a long lil while. And the rims look like :censored: so I'm now in the process to slowly bring the S10 back to life the whole having a kid thing doesn't make that two easy tho. So I was outside polishing the crap out of my chrome 16X8 EMO 515s & my 18X8 Eagle Alloy 077s well they look better then they did but not as good as they use to! I been using mothers chrome polish doing it by hand. I'm thinking about going out to buy a power ball or something to make it look a lil better. So what do all you guys use on your wheels? Do you recommend the powerball or not? If not then what? The lips of the wheels look great but the spokes don't look as good. I'm going nuts! Help me out here are some pics of the 515s. Sorry for how crappy the pics are they are from my phone. I'm doing them on the truck right now. But I plan to take them off this weekend and really get at them good.


before
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b33/fastsdime/dirty-1.jpg
after
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b33/fastsdime/clean.jpg
How I want them to look again!
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b33/fastsdime/DSC00116_1.jpg

[spideyjected]

Looks good polished!!. Has anyone ever polished factory aluminum rims? How hard is the clear to get off, and how well will the finish hold up once the protective coat i removed?

[j894]

Don't use the regular chrome polish.

First use the Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish.
Works 10x better at removing the tarnish than any of the chrome polishes I've used. It comes in a small stubby can. Any auto part store will have it.

I used the reg. **** on some chrome stuff I have & there was still a lot of tarnish on the metal. I had though it wore off or something. I used the mag stuff & it was like a whole different part. Took all the crap off.

[87wildside]

No chrome polish!!!!!!!

It has harsh abrasives. Use wax, well glaze.

[fastSdime]

Well I was just going to use the final cut rubbing compound that I use when I buff cars but didn't know how well that would work. I guess I should just take the rim off and take my freaking time with it. It just getting on my nerves I guess. THANKS for the kind words guys. Probably just need to do it a couple times I don't think the rims have "REALLY" been cleaned for 2 years.

[CowardlyDawg]

"Never Dull" works extremely well, I used it on my exhaust tips, belive it or not it removes rust (not that you have any on your wheels), prolly use that on ur wheels, would take a good while, then powerball it, got a friend who did it, looked really good

[fastSdime]

Never Dull is what I use when they are not in to bad of shape. But these pics don't show how bad the wheels really where.

[oldS10dude]

Mothers power ball works great ..just use a cordless drill ... pay attention to the directions

[Mikz86TA]

Not going to read every response but I saw multiple questions.

First off anytime you clean or polish a surface, you need to determine what it is.

OEM wheels that are aluminum (LS, ZQ8, ZR2, Xtreme) have a clear cote on them. So treat them as a painted surface.
Clean - regular cor soap and water. NO spray on chemical cleaners!
Polish - wax as on the painted surface.
Unfortunately the clear is usually very thin, suseptable to chips, wear through, older ones that dull/yellow are from poor maintenance and the thin/cheap clear used.
Removal of the clear is easy. Use a light paint stripper in the can. You need to polish them after clear removal. I have sucessfully kept my old GTA wheel lips in shiny condition by using Mothers Billet or Alum polish 3xs a year. Keep in mind I also dont let brake dust accumilate either.
If you want a mirror finish on natural aluminum after you remove the clear, use Tripoli 1st. Its a harder rogue than billet or jewelers polish and will cut more surface, making it smoother and shinier. Then use the regular billet polish regularly.....3xs a year if you keep em clean. Clean with soap/water.

Even wheels that are natural aluminum, I HATE those chemical wheel cleaners.

Chromed Aluminum you can use chrome polish.

Chromed Steel you can also use chrome polish.

Painted wheels are the same as the 1st I discussed. Like my ZQ8 wheels, the inset is painted and the edge is natural. Its all covered in clear. Treat as a pained surface.

[Mikz86TA]

One day I want to repaint my ZQ8 inset areas in 1-2 shades darker and then tripoli the edges to a mirror shine. Only re-clearing the painted surface probably.

[Bone Crusher]

whats tripoli......I have always liked the polished edge/lip

[Mikz86TA]

Tripoli is a compound for polishing hard metals.
Sold in alot of places, but easiest is to find it at Lowes or Home depot. Near the polish/buffing wheels. Its a hard compound sold in tunes or a bullion brick.
Trick is to have the surface hot or else the compound will stick.
Use a buffer wheel on a bench grinder or on the end of a drill. I use a buffer wheel, a collet that will attach to the drill and my cordless drill or air die grinder.
Spin the wheel up and apply the compound to the wheel, then apply the spinning wheel to the surface. Takes some time but it works great.
Here is some insight on the topic I found useful.
http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/aluminum1.html

I wouldnt sand much if the wheels are in good shape already. Only if they are severely tarnished.

Here are some compounds and their uses.

http://www.hobbytool.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=16

White Rogue is whats used in Billet polishes. Its liquid dilouted to make application and general polishing easier.
Tripoli is for copper brass and aluminum. Its basically a 'cutting' compound which reveals the shine.
Wh. Rouge is lighter compound and meant for final polish or maintenance. Will lightly 'cut' when used enough and in conjunction with a med to hard buffer wheel.
Red or Jewlers Rogue is the lightest generally and for soft metals. Not usefull in this application as out topic is concerned.
Emery Comp. can be used if you had to sand some and still had those 'fine to med-fine' scratches. Followed by Tripoli.
Ive bought the stuff at Lowers and HDepot.
I think most HDepos have the buffing wheels, collets and compounds on the aisle near the cutoff wheels / tools.
Lowes here keeps them near the airtools.

I can get a pic of what I have and what I use.
Ive used it on the old TAs GTA wheels, some other small alum stuff, once on the billet bowtie and I used it on the aluminum rods in which I made my subwoofer grille out of.
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t43/Mikz86TA/Truck/Audio/S10-HE24.jpg

[Cameo_S10]

^^^I got some from Lowes^^^ be sure to use high speed when polishing. I always follow up with a good quality wax after polishing. The power ball works well.

[Mikz86TA]

Yup..X2

[Bone Crusher]

Thats awesome.....just added a new wrinkle to the brain. I just need to get some motivation to attempt something like that now

[fastSdime]

Well I know that my 515s are Chrome but I have no clue if its a chrome over steel or aluminum??? How do I figure that out? I know my 077s are aluminum and when I actually took care of the truck I could get them to shine better then chrome anyday! Mike post up some pics of the stuff you use like tools and all. I have a garage thats full of all my tools from being a body man and in auto tech and then my dad was a mechanic for over 20 so plenty of tools in his garage. (and motors and S10 parts and stereo equipment.) and are those drawer pulls from home depot? And does your seat go all the way pack with that box?

[Mikz86TA]

Look at them from the back.
Aluminum is cast and should have a grainy texture, be thick and probably have raised ID numbers/letteres cast in.
Steel is stamped and would be thin, painted and smooth as steel is.
Chroming can be done on either surface.
They look polished aluminum with no clear to me. But its hard to tell from a picture on that.

[fastSdime]

They are chrome I know that for a fact. They only come in chrome and my 077s are polished and these are a lot easier to clean and polish then those ever were.

[Mikz86TA]

True.
Aluminum is porous by nature even when machined and polished to a fine surface. If left uncoated for protection, it develops ash from moisture and/or darkens from dirt trapped in it.
Chroming the surface protects it. But like any plating process, it has to be done right. Ive seen 1 year old wheels flaking. Cant remember the brand right now, but they were famous for it.

[fastSdime]

Well EMOs are also know as Alba's which use to be some bad ass wheels back in the day. Plus I bought them from a friend for $200 when he bought his 18s.

[fastSdime]

Is there any way to bring polished rims back to their orignal glory?