What's the best process for polished aluminum wheels?

[letsrunem]

I'm using Mother's alum wheel polish right now, but is there a better way?

[jon_we4]

Without a clear coat? Mothers Billet Polish works wonders without a ton of effort.

[letsrunem]

Yes without a clearcoat. I'll look into that thanks

[badass88gt]

Is the Mother's Billet really any different than the original Mother's polish? Ive always wondered, never looked at the labels to compare.

[letsrunem]

From their site:

Mag & Aluminum Polish

This is our legendary metal polish. The Mothers® secret formula balances a brilliant shine with easy use for aluminum wheels and parts, brass, alloys and accessories. Application is just a matter of a clean cloth and a little elbow grease. Mothers® Mag & Aluminum polish is strong enough to put a shine to the most neglected metals and gentle enough to use on a regular basis.


Billet Metal Polish

Mothers® Billet Metal Polish takes our world famous metal polish technology to a whole new level. State of the art cleaners and cutting edge formulation give your billet, forged and finely cast aluminum, brass and other polishable metals the absolute finest finish available—guaranteed. If you’ve spent big bucks on quality metal accessories, step up to a polish worthy of your investment.

[wrath]

The original Mothers, clean it off with Windex and a garden hose, then use Mothers Billet.

[Yooformula]

best process for alum. wash with mild soap and water, dry, then from personal experience use a latex glove and using your finger rub the mothers billet polish in small circles until it turns black. then use a cotton terry cloth or microfiber and buff out. I have had polished wheels for MANY years and have restored a ton of them.

Here is a pic of one wheel with a spray on cleaner(highly do NOT recommend using any of them on uncoated alum) vs the method I described. when done properly and maintained the wheels take me about 20 minutes each vs 2 hours.

[0TransAm0]

damn yoo. looks like polished/chrome side by side.. i know they are the same just differant ways of cleaning/polishing but damn the one on the right looks damn good.

thats just by polishing it with a glove on and your finger tip? how often do you do this?

[Yooformula]

I did the exact method I described and used the mothers power cone for inner hub to save a bit of time. I usually do this whenever they lose the luster. Avoid getting them wet when hot if possible and you shouldnt have any issues. as long as they are dry, brake dust just wipes right off and if you throw on a coat of sealant, polish or wax after the billet polish it will repel the brake dust for a decent amount of driving. I probably do a full detail on them once a month and just some touch up(spray detailer and dry buff) in between.

[jon_we4]

how often do you do this?

I used a very similar method on my GTO, it had 3 piece wheels with a polished lip. Because only the lip was polished - it wasn't a ton of work to clean up. I would do it every time I washed the car and before every car show. Even if they looked perfect, going over quickly with the Mothers Billet made it look even better.

I tried so many other products on those wheels, but the Mothers Billet not only worked better - but worked better without requiring more effort. It's a very simple application for great results.

If you have a hard time finding any, I have a few jars in stock.

[Yooformula]

Jon sells a polishing cloth that I think was for rims or glass but either way that thing works AWESOME for a final buff on the rim.

here is a great step by step on cleaning the wheels if they havent been polished properly for some time or for a first time deep clean.

http://www.s10forum.com/how_to_polish_aluminum_wheels