I've heard that with the rims on cars, to get them looking new again is that you can actually just sand them to clean them up and make them look really nice. Is this true? I've heard no and yes. One of my rims is showing a bit of discoloring. Just from the weathering.

 

Yep, you can sand them. Use some fine grit paper tho (like 200+). But remember, you are sanding off the protective coating too, so you'll need to replace it w/ something like clearcoat or some kind of sealer.... otherwise the metal will continue to oxidize.

 

sandpapering ? well i can let u know right off the bat what i did my wheelz on my 1982 280zx turbo... well i left the wheelz on got out like 3 rags i started with 600 wet grit sand paper used some water to the get paper wet and did my thang to it u know i went from 600 to 800 to 1000,1200,1500,2000 wet grit now i bet u can short cut it.. but the finnal finish i got was what i was lookingfor , but i was told to hit it with some type of polish to bring out the shine i used mothers mag polish , but i didnt think about useing a clear coat to coat over it ? i edidnt think it would stick to the polish ? hmmm....

 

Dont start at 200 unless you've either got some decent grooves or you like torturing yourself. Unless you've got scratches just try starting with a polish. That will expose any minor scratches you didnt see before. From there you can decide whether its worth it to try to sand them out or not.

Also, clear coat is cheesy and it can discolor and flake. There are waxes designed specifically for metals. I cant recall the names of any off hand but I'm sure you can google it for more answers. It'll keep the wheels from oxidizing and make them that much easier to clean.

Also, my wheels were in pretty poor shape and all's I had to do was spend a little time with some polish to get them looking really good. Unless you put your face right up to them you couldn't tell they weren't brand new (these are stock 6 spoke 280zx wheels).

 

a good way to keep polished aluminum looking new and polished is to just keep them clean. Get some quality wheel cleaner and wash them now and then. Don't let your car set outside for a year without cleaning the wheels. That is what will allow oxidation to set in. Well, especially in a damp climate where you get heavy dew at night (not Mountain Dew) and rain.

Of course, if my car was parked overnight near Mt Rainier I suppose it would be mountian dew...

 

All I read was "Mountain Dew." ummm... I'm thirsty

 

I'll bring some Dew to the Nationals, ok?

 

Well will quality wheel cleaner help to get rid of light oxidation?

 

Polish will get rid of oxidation. If the wheels are oxidizing then the clear coat is already gone. I use wheel cleaner to get the brake dust and what not off of the wheel. Then I use a polish to shine them up real good. As long as you keep up with it like bleach said then it wont be an issue. I dont wax my bare wheels and I dont have a problem with oxidation unless I go a while without cleaning and polishing them.

 

I have used "Brillo" pads on mine (SOS Pads), and it works well. They are basically light metal pads, with soap built in, so they work very well. My wheels look new after using them...