whats the best way to polish mag wheels?

[chev-obsession]

i bought a set of mag wheels yesterday an the are in dire need of polishing.

i used the mothers wheel cleaner and a mini powerball that the guy gave me at the parts store, it got the black pits out but now i need to really polish it. so what is the best polish?

[big_al_71]

I use a mothers power ball with eagle one aluminum polish and have had great results. I did a set of old torquethrust that I had and they came out almost perfect...

[ap2002]

i got some stuff that works miracles! its like chalk, you take a chunk of that chalk and mix it with gasoline, the chalk will disolve in it, then just put it on the wheel and start scrubbing,,, best polishing stuff i've ever seen! i gave some to my neighbor last week and he polished his with that stuff and using that powerball to srub it with, the wheels look brand new, NO JOKE! i'll have to get the name of it but they sale it at a truck parts & accesories store (big rig trucks, not pick-ups)... i guess thats what all them 18'wheelers use to keep there stuff shiny!

[70c10]

Right here
http://www.californiacustom.com/purp...al_polish.html

[cdowns]

best way i've found is drop off at the polishers and wait for the call to pick them up

[piecesparts]

EVERYONE has a way that seems to work for them. I have tried many of the products discussed above and found that the best way for me to get that "MIRROR" finish on my wheels, engine parts, door sills, and steering wheels was to use the Mothers "Aluminum" polish to start the process and then finish up with Mothers "Billet" polish as a finishing cream. The aluminum polish takes out the larger scratches and the billet polish makes the final luster like a mirror. I also use the "Micro-fiber" towels as polishing rags to get a good finsih without scratches from the towel showing up in the metal. They are relatively cheap when purchased at the Sam's club outlets.

I started using the billet stuff back when it was $50.00 for a 5 ounce jar and now it is around $11.95 for the stuff. Mothers finally released it on the open market.

I also use a metal conditioner after I polish the wheels to keep water and dirt from setting into the pores and making my work look bad. The stuff that I use now is marketed by the Wizards company and is called "Power Seal". A coating of this and let dry overnight and then wiped off like you would a wax coating will keep water from spotting the aluminum for a fair amount of time.

If I have some really bad scratches, I will sand with wet-n-dry paper starting with a 600 grit and working down to a 2500 grit paper---using WD-40 as a lubricant on the paper. Then I polish with a small powered buffing wheel, and a polishing compound that I got from Eastwood products. The finsih work is done with the Mother's stuff.

The mothers power ball and the liquid polish has it's limits on a fine finish, but does a good job of getting started. I have tried it more than once and finally went back to the hand work.

[dirty trucker]

The best stuff I've ever used, I found at the 4x4 Jamboree in Indianapolis. It's made by Master Formula "Metal Gloss"... 10x better than Mothers with 1/4 of the effort. Awesome polish... It's kinda expensive, you can find it on E-bay.

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by dirty trucker

The best stuff I've ever used, I found at the 4x4 Jamboree in Indianapolis. It's made by Master Formula "Metal Gloss"... 10x better than Mothers with 1/4 of the effort. Awesome polish... It's kinda expensive, you can find it on E-bay.

Yup...x 2. This stuff is great. I bought some at Pomona a while back. I actually like it better than Flitz.

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by ap2002

i got some stuff that works miracles! its like chalk, you take a chunk of that chalk and mix it with gasoline, the chalk will disolve in it, then just put it on the wheel and start scrubbing,,, best polishing stuff i've ever seen! i gave some to my neighbor last week and he polished his with that stuff and using that powerball to srub it with, the wheels look brand new, NO JOKE! i'll have to get the name of it but they sale it at a truck parts & accesories store (big rig trucks, not pick-ups)... i guess thats what all them 18'wheelers use to keep there stuff shiny!

Gasoline?.........Seriously? Sounds dangerous on several levels

[c10crazy]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

Gasoline?.........Seriously? Sounds dangerous on several levels

I was thinking the same thing. My luck I would hit the trigger on the drill for the powerball and a spark from the motor brushes would ignite the fumes

[chev-obsession]

Originally Posted by ap2002

i got some stuff that works miracles! its like chalk, you take a chunk of that chalk and mix it with gasoline, the chalk will disolve in it, then just put it on the wheel and start scrubbing,,, best polishing stuff i've ever seen! i gave some to my neighbor last week and he polished his with that stuff and using that powerball to srub it with, the wheels look brand new, NO JOKE! i'll have to get the name of it but they sale it at a truck parts & accesories store (big rig trucks, not pick-ups)... i guess thats what all them 18'wheelers use to keep there stuff shiny!

i bet that works good but i would of thought that the gasoline would mess up the wheels finish. that would be greta if you could get that name

[ap2002]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

Gasoline?.........Seriously? Sounds dangerous on several levels

yes i know doesnt sound right, but once that chalk dissolves it gets thick, so once the stuff is out of the bottle and you are scrubbing it the gasoline evaporates very quick and the chalk kind of dry's up..... i really wish yall can try it.... i have used all other mentioned ones on here and this is a whole lot better, my neighbor freaks out on how good this stuff works... he brags about it all the time, he's always telling me "where in the hell you find all this stuff"?! i'll try to get the name so yall can try it out...

[justcuz]

The guys to ask about polishing aluminum would be the folks who polish the old Airstream trailers and the aluminum tanker trucks. If you can find them, you'll get a good answer. Sealing the finished product is very important it seems as water and washing products will dull it up pretty quick.

[chev-obsession]

well i bought some aluminum mothers polish last night and it cleaned those wheels up just like new!

[PT'S 70 CST]

I 2nd. 70c10 on Californiacustom.com. I have bought the purple polish and the deoxidizer and I have never seen anything that works like it does. I have turned on all of my buddies to this polish. I will never use anything else.

PT

[Mudder]

California Customs. My ten year old Welds look better than the day I bought them, and it's very easy to take care of them.

[72BlckButy]

Originally Posted by dirty trucker

The best stuff I've ever used, I found at the 4x4 Jamboree in Indianapolis. It's made by Master Formula "Metal Gloss"... 10x better than Mothers with 1/4 of the effort. Awesome polish... It's kinda expensive, you can find it on E-bay.

I have some of this stuff and it is amazing... I picked mine up from the local Goodguy's event.

[D.PASSMORE]

What is the best way to apply it to a metal surface; power ball, elbow grease with rag or some type of aftermarket applicator?

[PT'S 70 CST]

I use a foam wax applicator.

PT

[meansting04]

I use a bottle of turtle wax chrome polish that my dad gave me. He has had it for about 15 years. You can still get it at the parts stores. I do it by hand with the wheels off and it works great for me. You might also try zoops seal. i hear it works great and you don't have to polish a lot.

[72BlckButy]

Which Mothers product did you use as they offer several different products including:

Mothers Mag & Aluminmum
Mothers Billet
Mothers Metal

According to their website if you use the powerball and Mothers Metal it is supposed to bring out the luster in your wheel, just wipe it off with a terry towl and you are set.

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by 72BlckButy

Which Mothers product did you use as they offer several different products including:

Mothers Mag & Aluminmum
Mothers Billet
Mothers Metal

According to their website if you use the powerball and Mothers Metal it is supposed to bring out the luster in your wheel, just wipe it off with a terry towl and you are set.

That is exactly what a powerball does for you "brings out the luster". That is a good thing to accomplish without a lot of elbow grease. However, if you want that mirror finish, you can take it a step further with the Mother's Billet polish and a use a microfiber rag to do the polishing with. Take your time and work the small amounts of plish to the point of nearly gone. Then use a detail spray, like Mother's sells and lightly wet the whell and wipe away the black residue. when you are done, and you can see your "Mug" clearly in the aluminum; then you have got the look. To finish, seal the metal so that water and dirt does not get into the pores.

The quality of the shine wil depend on the materials in the wheel. True billet rims will be bright and shiney, a mixed material base, such as American Racing wheels sometimes have, the shine will be there, but it will have a slight tint to it.

[shakedown96]

thats funny I tryed the california customs stuff tonight on the tank of my peterbilt and didnt like it. it didnt seem to cut as good had some scratches from my boots took some 1200 and nocked them down and to bring it back the cali stuff wasnt as fast. my last polish was "what a shine" it worked good but over the winter I dropped the bottle and cracked the plastic over time it dryed up to a gel like paste i spooned it out into a 2 liter pop bottle and cut it with mineral spirts. it came right back works good a little extra spirits made it come off easyer. after I get the "winter" off my wheels I will mantain the shinewith the cali stuff. im always looking for a better polish. any one have a good solution for alum dimond plate? my power ball gets ate up on the stuff.
some one put dimond plate all over the tool boxes on my work truck and there dulling out.

remeber nothing takes polish off as good as flour on a tube sock turned inside out. let it dry and then wipe it right off with the flour.

[shakedown96]

btw I was in the 82nd airborne for 4 years, ride my harly in a-shirt at high speeds and do other vairious crazy dangerous stuff no one wants to read about. but I only use gasoline for one thing. if you play with gas for cleaning and other stuff you will scare small children someday with the burn scars somday. dont do it. if you do then stop. just ask charlie

YouTube - Charlie Morecraft - Remember Charlie

[crawdadfox]

Hey guys anyone that use's regular Mothers polish, you can save yourself half of the work in polishing your wheels. Work the polish on with a micro fiber wax pad, but instead of buffing all the polish off by hand just simply wash it off with soap and water and dry the wheel! Dont try this with other brands or you will have a mess!