roomylumy Posted July 1, 2005 Report Share Posted July 1, 2005 I have oxidization on my aluminum rims on my 1990 Lumina. I want to clean them but the clearcoat is almost impossible to get all off, especially in the tight spots. The car is mint, except for the rims, so I want to get it looking good. It only has 125 000 km(78 000 miles) I am in Canada. They are the stock 16" Lumina rims. If it is impossible, I am looking to change the rims, maybe to a Monte Carlo, or Grand Prix rim. Any help would be appreciated. [/b] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohc v6 Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 so why do you want to clean them. if you do here is what you have to do 1. if the clear coat is about off then the best theing is to get them sandblasted and powdercoated clear or to just clean them up use a 1500 or 2000 sandpaper and get some compound on a buffing wheel and go to town. that will be very time consuming though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Just buy new wheels, it'll be cheaper and look better. I had my friend remove the clearcoat and polish the outter rim/center caps on my crosslace wheels (for free). He polished aluminum for a living and is damn good at it. He's got all the professional grinding/buffing wheels and buffing compounds and such. It still took him a really long time to get them looking good, and I appreciate it but I now know that its something I could never do myself with regular stuff from hardware store. If I would have had to pay to have it done it would have probably cost over $100 per wheel. Now I gotta use polish on them to keep them looking good or else the aluminum will oxidize and need to be buffed again. Don't even bother trying to sand it with sandpaper it will just look like scratched up aluminum... My wheels: BEFORE: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v142/canadianbadass2k/crosslace/S2400024.jpg AFTER: http://photobucket.com/albums/v142/canadianbadass2k/crosslace/? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roomylumy Posted July 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Thanks, as I thought, I am in the market for some new rims. I appreciate the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 Incase you dont get your new rims for a while, you might want to check out mothers polishes and waxes to clean the rims. It works pretty good, I know, I use this stuff on almost everything. http://www.mothers.com/products/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe_DeTAiL3R Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 I use Mother's billet aluminum polish ($6/can) on my polished rims, and yes it works good. But as far as old corroded/oxidized clearcoat on the aluminum, there isn't much you can do except make it look as clean as possible. Putting any kind of polish on it will just be a waste of money. You would be better off buying some Duplicolor wheel paint and painting overtop of them (did it to my 88' GP sawblade wheels and they looked okay). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montemadness04 Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 i use armorall's all purpose cleaner for my rims.. but i duno how theyd work on the oxidation...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted July 5, 2005 Report Share Posted July 5, 2005 I know how you feel man. That car has been through several winters with salt on the wheels probably. The salt has taken it's toll. My wheels don't look so great either, forever the cheap "No-Touch" stuff works pretty decent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted July 6, 2005 Report Share Posted July 6, 2005 My wheels are in ok shape, but I would like to polish them anyone recommend anything? I have AZ wheel cleaner but that is it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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