Aluminum Wheels

[Gary.Jones]

Here is advice I got from a professional wheel buffer and polisher with my Dynasty and I follow it as frequently as I can. His advice was that once the wheels are polished, they should last about a year before needing to be done again. He used a motorized polisher (90 degree angle buffer) and used "Jewelers Rouge" to do the polishing. It is found at truck stops, if you are interested. Once polished, he said that you can restore the shine if you simply use mild soap and water after a drive or hard day on the road, however, the trick he said is never do this while the wheels are hot. He recommended waiting for 24 hours after you are parked as the wheels are almost always hot after driving due to use of the brakes or simply road heat. Wait 24 hours and then rinse them off with soapy water and the shine should come back. If you do them hot, then you will get bad results, and he was right. Do them the next day.

I don't think most owners understand that their coaches come to them often with the wheels not shined. The factory doesnt do it. Maybe some dealers do a good polishing job before they deliver it, but mine did not. I see a lot of coaches out on the road that look like they have never been professionally or personally polished which have splotchy, nasty looking aluminum wheels..... they just look splotchy. The owners keep their coaches immaculately clean, but have those splotchy aluminum wheels, and it is because they have never polished them. Another thing, most professional coach washing services are able, and happy, to shine them for you. I first paid $25 a wheel ($150 total) to get them done with acid and jeweler's rouge and with this Anthem, my coach washing service out in Las Vegas "acid-washed" them and then polished them for I think it was $15 a wheel. Both fees were well worth the cost of me not having to do it. It is not an easy job at my age so I am more than happy to have someone else do it for me.

Gary

[MoHoGo]

Mark, would you consider the use of the brightener that Blue Beacon uses safe for the Accuride wheels?


Personally, I would pay for a wheel polisher to do this work, but have yet to find one in my travels.


Jim

[Cruzer]

While not familiar with what Blue Beacon uses I would assume it's the same basic Nitric and Phosphoric acid that is generally used on aluminum. The acid won't harm the aluminum but it does eat away the small layer of aluminum that is tarnished, which is basically what any polish will do. It will leave you with bright wheels but not very glossy. You then should follow up with a good polish, of which there are twenty different answers by twenty different people as to which is best . Which means that there most likely are multiple choices that seem to work when it comes to choosing polish. Once the tarnish is removed by the acid the final polish goes much easier. It is a two step process to achieve bright shiny wheels.