Tips for rim clean up???

[dennis roy]

I just had to clean 20something years of crap from my rims. I used simple green full strength and an aluminum bristle and brass bristle brushes. Took about an hour to do a rim. then I used some stuff I got at Bond. I don't remember the name of it, but it was in a metal tin. It's like a cloth thats soaked in soke kind of cleaner or oil. Tear a little bit off and scrub. It leaves a residue that you need to wipe off with a cloth but works great if the grime isn't to caked on. I hope it helps.

 

[planebuilder]

Steel wool and aluminum should not be brought together. The steel wool will imbed pieces of steel in the aluminum and will rust. Dissimilar metals cause galvanic reaction and thus corrosion.


Planebuilder

 

[Billy Ricks]

I don't remember the name of it, but it was in a metal tin. It's like a cloth thats soaked in soke kind of cleaner or oil. Tear a little bit off and scrub. It leaves a residue that you need to wipe off with a cloth but works great if the grime isn't to caked on. I hope it helps.

Nevr-Dull, it's pretty good stuff.

 

[txironhead]

Blue Magic and some cotton balls work better than Never Dull for me. Paste, not the crap that comes in the squeeze bottle, that seperates too easily.

Neat trick I've found for bare metal that won't polish up with regular polishes is hit it with rubbing compound first. If you have any swirls or scratches afterward, hit it with polishing compound then regular metal polish. A tub of each will cost you about $4 at Wally World.

Still want to try that Flitz Ball I've been seeing on Spike....anyone else tried it? Want to know if the magic is in the ball or the polish.....

 

[Guest]

Black Magic Engine Cleaner worked great...left a nice shine too.

 

[mortation]

I have a brass bristle brush that goes on the end of my drill. I used it to clean up some bolts. Will that work or scratch to much?

 

[tconroy]

Scratch!!!!!

 

[mortation]

Scratch!!!!!

Yup, it did. But I can live with it

 

[J_C]

Little late to this one, but I had a very similar looking rim (But I did have some minor oxidation). I used an industrial degreaser someone on here recommended to me (Keith). It was only sold locally, but the general premise is that its a degreaser / descaler (Read: its a degreaser with a certain concentration of phosphoric acid.) I went at it with a scotch brite pad and it came right off. I then sanded using steel wool I believe. I then polished using a drill mounted buffing wheel and mothers aluminum polish.

I had a similar painting technique to bruce. I used engine enamel, but in hindsite would have used caliper paint just in case of brake fluid leaks. Here's mine:

Before:

After: