Aluminum wheels

[wkenhall]

We own an Alegro 42 foot bus. I finished polishing three of the wheels in about 1 1/2 hrs and decided some of you have a better method than by a rag

Thanks
Gramps

[doc]

actually you made pretty good time if they are shiny. That said, you are a better man than me!! Sore arms and knuckles from all that rubbing. I have used a fabric wheel, a drill and some Mothers. Lot of work, no matter what you use.

[vtwinwilly]

Originally Posted by wkenhall

We own an Alegro 42 foot bus. I finished polishing three of the wheels in about 1 1/2 hrs and decided some of you have a better method than by a rag

Thanks
Gramps

I use a Mother's PowerCone along with Mother's Aluminum Polish.

Put the PowerCone on a variable speed dril and get after it.

Here's a tip...

When polishing with the PowerCone and polish, the loose tarnish will build up on the rim. This is normal. Instead of wiping off with a plain dry rag, dump some Arm & Hammer Baking Soda on the surface of the rag then wipe the rim. The baking soda helps to collect the loose gooey tarnish and keeps it from smearing. Makes the cleanup go much better.

I'm not sure it will go any faster, but I think you'll like the results. It usually takes me 2 to 3 hours to do 4 wheels, depending how long I've gone between polishing.

Oh... I just remembered, seems like I used Flitz metal polish the last time (with the PowerCone). Somewhere I read that using Flitz would help the rim stay shiny longer. This seems to be true as the rims still look pretty good.

[wkenhall]

Thanks
Wasn't sure I was just old or it takes that long

[Bigd9]

30 minutes per wheel is smoking! Maybe I let mine go too far before polishing, but it takes me longer than that just to gather all of my supplies!

You could also find a shop that has one of these machines.
Automated Cleaning Aluminum Wheels, Rims Polishing Machine

[1doodadd]

Have u ever used a 7 - 9" Milwaukee grinder or alike? If so you can attach a Buffing wheel to it, spiral stiched and use buffing rouge, comes in 1 pound bars. First I always coat my wheel with aluminum acid, turns them white, then buff to mirror finish.
Provided pics of my 22.5s on my Beaver Marquis

[NW Explorers]

Seems to me that in the long run you'd be better off to have your wheels clear coated.

[Mr_D]

I use a polish/coating that Alcoa used to sell. Works well and lasted more than a year till I got into some kind of de-icer in December. No idea why Alcoa quit selling the polish as it really is a good product. Luckily I still have part of a bottle left. I use a power drill and polishing ball.

[Boyd R]

Flour does the same thing as baking soda for wiping wheels after polish.

A grinder is not variable speed, and does not work nearly as well as a polisher. I have the large Milwaukee polisher, also have the large grinder, and could not imagine polishing with that, as the speed is to high.

The polishing cones for drills are a time save for sure. I use both the Milwaukee polisher (buffer) and the cone where the buffer won't reach. Still usually have minimum hand work as well.

Lots of good products out there, all require work though. Zephyr pro 40 is one I like.

I also switched to the foam pads for the Milwaukee and much prefer them.

[Dutch Star Don]

Years ago when we bought our Diplomat new, the rims looked pretty decent, but didn't have that luster that I saw on some. Like Tim the Tool Man Taylor, more is better and I used a ton of polish and my rims still didn't look that nice.

Finally, I figured it out.....too much polish. I was originally using the Mother's polishing ball, but found they didn't last long. I started using one of these instead https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H6MNRU..._t1_B0002V9LAW. I also use Flitz polish https://www.walmart.com/ip/Flitz-BP0...&wl14=&veh=sem

Your choice of polish is really just a personal choice, I just prefer Flitz. As I said, I was using too much polish. When I finally got it figured out, you should only be using about a thimble full of polish, once your wheels are in good shape.

If your polishing your wheels for the first time, you may have to work at them for a while, again, using small amounts, clean up the wheel and start again.

Here's the good news, once you get them shiny, like above, it only takes a few minutes per wheel, every couple of months, to keep them nice.

I use wheel covers when parked at home, not only to protect the tires, but it helps t keep the rims nice between trips.

My new coach has a tag axle, which means it has six aluminum wheels. Mine are coated and initially I thought this was a good thing, but the coated rims NEVER shine as nicely as the polished ones. I now wish mine were not coated.

[Boyd R]

Don, a friend of mine has a Ventanna. The coated rims started to peel near the lug nuts, and Newmar agreed to replace them (still under warranty).
He tried to get them to replace with non coated for the same reason you stated, but they would not. He did get all new rims, but the same coated style he had.

I agree, non coated are a no maintenance wheel, but never have the deep luster of a polish wheel.

[dieselclacker]

Not wheel related,but the Flitz polish, mentioned by Don above, works really well to clean and polish the yellow from headlight housings.

[wkenhall]

I really appreciate the suggestion
Gramps

[barclay7568]

I'm a little late to this party but just now into polishing my wheels after 13 years, Accuride Polished Alum. They're dirty because of the labor involved and not knowing what to use for polish. I started with four different polishes and applying by hand. I got 1/4 of one front wheel done and not happy with results after a couple of hours. Still has spots. Then, I remembered that I had a 3" orbital polisher (Griot's Garage) in my car cleaning kit and went to that. I used a 3" foam pad and had one wheel done in 30 minutes. Had to clean up by hand around the lugs. This wheel now shines like a mirror and I cannot believe the results in the short time involved. Now onto the other three.

If you want some good material to read about different polishes, etc., go to: highwayshine.com . Get a bowl of popcorn and plenty of time. They cover a lot of territory on their site. :-)