Cleaning Aluminum Wheels

crashtech

crashtech

Combo Man & Mod
I have an old set of fake Centerlines. They had a satin or machined finish when new, and are bare aluminum. Since they are 25 years old now, they're looking a bit scabby, but the rivets look like they will be a mess to clean around. Other than a truck wash kind of acid cleaner that will turn them permanently whitish, is there any way to clean these so they have something like the machined finish they came with, without leaving a lot of telltale marks around the "rivets"?

1216161229.jpg


1216161230.jpg
 
Most aluminum cleaners are based from some form of Trisodium Phosphate, sold in the paint aisles as TSP in home centers. Thats probably the least that you can hurt them. I would probably just use an aluminum polish like mothers and then scotchbrite if it off to make it look machined again. If you actually take them to have them etched, you go thru the machining lines and end up seeing material grain anyway, but it would clean up better around the rivets.
 
I use evaporust on Aluminum and it does a real nice job, but it would take 5 gal to do the wheels one side at a time, and probably a day or two soak for each side. No scrubbing, doesn't have acid, and doesn't harm anything, just removes all the crud. The solution would last longer though if you cleaned them a little before soaking. Probably not a good idea for your purpose.
https://www.theruststore.com/Evapo-Rust-C21.aspx

Zep industrial degreaser works good, but not for alum.
 
They were a PITA when New.
1 of those Red Mothers 'ball things work's well especially the small 1 around the ribbit's,croak....
Mag cleaner is Acidic,wheel cleaner is 'phosphate,Alkaline. About the PH of.Both do the same 'thing as in 'eat at the alum',just different Color at the End of depending on the Magnesium content,which is why you use Mag cleaner on 'Mag's and Wheel cleaner on Alum .
I know, we use Both in the hvac biz.Thing is,Acid will not remove anything but Alum where Alky removes about everything.Dirt,grease,paint in some cases. Depends on the intensity of the Mix.
I use the Alky's to clean Greasy,Dirty,stuff but on straight Alum,use Acid which will etch It out requiring repolishing which brings me to a question of the 'rust' in the pic's?
I have a set of AR wheels which I 'let go' and wet sanded and repolished with Mothers and the 2 Red balls to 'respectable' and you might want to just start with a simple Dawn wash and Mothers really. Mine were schidt and not CC so I had nothing to lose.Yours are Decent and may need a little TLC First.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Crash had some on a 70 Chevelle I bought looked ugly so had them blasted and I cleared them. Don't know what they used but looked ok but may not be the look your after. Did see car 4 years later and held up great and new owner loved them
 
El Toro said:
Crash had some on a 70 Chevelle I bought looked ugly so had them blasted and I cleared them. Don't know what they used but looked ok but may not be the look your after. Did see car 4 years later and held up great and new owner loved them
Click to expand...
Do you remember what media was used?
 
I'd use Trinco #13 beads or walnut shells on them. Both would work fine. It think the trinco # matches other manufacturers. Stuff looks and feels like flour.

I use #8 either Trinco or generic on fasteners and that would be a bit aggressive on aluminum.
 
I really appreciate all the responses given here. Looking at the surface finish and the obstructions posed by the rivets, I really think some kind of "no touch" process is in order to produce a uniform finish. So in my mind that is either a spray on chemical or a media blast. I wish I had an extra wheel to play around with! I'm gonna keep thinking about this and reading your replies, thanks again.
 
I will say that probably any blasting operation will disturb the fine machined finish from the factory but then again so would an aggressive polish. When I clean aluminum manifolds in the blast cabinet with #13 glass beads I run the pressure around 30psi and hold back as far a possible. It's been years since I've used it but walnut shells were less agressive than the glass. Not sure how plastic beads would work.

I bought a 72' Chevelle years ago that came with a set of those and I fixed the wheels by replacing with a set of rally's. :)
 
it is eagle brand wheel cleaner . i use it for intakes or any other aluminum not polished or clear coated. i have a bottle in the shop. i will check on the number.
 
Brad J. said:
I will say that probably any blasting operation will disturb the fine machined finish from the factory but then again so would an aggressive polish. When I clean aluminum manifolds in the blast cabinet with #13 glass beads I run the pressure around 30psi and hold back as far a possible. It's been years since I've used it but walnut shells were less agressive than the glass. Not sure how plastic beads would work.

I bought a 72' Chevelle years ago that came with a set of those and I fixed the wheels by replacing with a set of rally's. :)
Click to expand...
Yeah, I would ideally just replace these, but I've blown my budget this year and already have a full set of new BF Goodriches for 15". If I was to replace these wheels I would probably go for a different diameter, though I must say I've gotten a lot of negative feedback on that plan!
 
Some people like to use steel wool for a cleaner, with or without a metal polish. Probably the coarser #0 for you. You may first want to do a little careful scraping with a razor blade at the rivets to get the crusty stuff off.

If you could spin the wheel while holding steel wool against it (or other abrasive) , it may help to replicate the machine pattern, even over the rivets. Maybe even synthetic scuffing pads.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top