How to care for Aluminum Rims

[Dtwallace]

Originally Posted by dusty56

I tried a lot of products and they all require a lot of effort and time. I never get them to look as good as a professional doing them. I found that having my wheels done once a year by a professional like Dazzling detail etc... I just have to touch up a couple of times on my own during the year.

It cost about $75 dollars to machine buff all the wheels at once. The results I think speak for themselves. The biggest thing you can do to keep the wheels looking good is to get the dirt and brake dust off the wheels as soon as possible. The right passenger side front wheel is always the most difficult because our rain gutters constantly drip water on them .

I just did one of my six while home. Burned out a buffer. Like stated above, to do it right, its alot of work and you have to know how to use an electric buffer, buy the right pads and wheels, the right paste ect.

I'd prefer having it done by a professional polisher, like you'd find at or close to a truck stop, or truck chrome shop.

Coated wheels will eventually have to be striped and polished. The coating (polyurethane) will fade and turn yellow, fact of life.

The professional polisher will use a heavy grit compound to cut through that coating (deep cutting) and grind out most pitting.

Then he will use a less abrasive compounds to polish your wheel to a mirror type luster that looks better than new.

All you have to do is keep it clean with soap and water for the rest of the year, and maybe have it redone the next year, without the deep cutting.

DTW

[oceanmoho]

Originally Posted by Cruzer

I've use Mothers to polish the rims on our last coach with great results. However, the first thing to do is determine whether or not you have coated rims. Coated rims cannot be polished like uncoated rims.

Aluminum rims are made by two manufacturers -Alcoa and Accuride.

If they are Alcoa they could be the Dura-Bright coated rims. If they are you'll see a decal on the rim stating this. Check out http://www.alcoa.com/alcoawheels/nor...aningGuide.pdf for details on how to care for Dura-Bright wheels, as well as where to find the decal.

If the rims are made by Accuride they may or may not be coated. the coated Accu-Shield wheels will be identified by Accu-Shield decals on the rims. Check out http://www.accuridewheelendsolutions...-Procedure.pdf for details on these wheels.

Thanks Mark
I just checked the rims on My CS. The decal says Alcoa.....no mention of Dura Bright. Do you think that means they are not coated? There seems to be confusion as to whether they are or not.

[Cruzer]

Your rims are not coated.

Accuride wheels are available as Standard Polish (SP), Extra Polish (XP) and Extra Polish with Accu-Shield Coating (XPC).

[Cruzer]

Originally Posted by oceanmoho

Thanks Mark
I just checked the rims on My CS. The decal says Alcoa.....no mention of Dura Bright. Do you think that means they are not coated? There seems to be confusion as to whether they are or not.

If the Dura-Bright decal isn't on there I would expect they are not coated. Looking at the Spartan chassis spec sheet for the 2015 CS, it states polished and doesn't say anything about coated.

Polished always looks better than coated when they are new or recently polished. The problem is they are more work to keep them that way. Coated wheels never achieve the best luster like uncoated, polished rims but the stay that way for a fairly long time. My 1972 Javelin American Racing 200S mags look great after many years but I stripped them down and polished, then sprayed them with clear Dupont Imron 500S polyurethane paint. A bit of work but lasts forever.

[757driver]

Originally Posted by Cruzer

Your rims are not coated.

Accuride wheels are available as Standard Polish (SP), Extra Polish (XP) and Extra Polish with Accu-Shield Coating (XPC).

Mark,

Thank you for the information. Now I know I can polish the heck out of them.

[hawgguy]

Originally Posted by Cruzer

If they are Alcoa they could be the Dura-Bright coated rims. If they are you'll see a decal on the rim stating this. Check out http://www.alcoa.com/alcoawheels/nor...aningGuide.pdf for details on how to care for Dura-Bright wheels, as well as where to find the decal.

Thanks for the good info!

Mine are Alcoa non-Dura-Bright.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by hawgguy

They are coated. Be careful.
I made the mistake of using some rim cleaner for my truck on two of the rims on the motorhome. I then read the very tiny print stating it was not safe for coated rims - and rinsed it off. Too late. Faint damage done.

The older I get, the harder it is to read to fine print. (RTFP)

I would stick with soap and water if I were you.

I did the same thing on our Magna on both front rims.

At one FMCA rally we were at there was an outfit selling chrome plated Alcoa's. Boy were they good looking. Only $500 each plus your core. But that's not much more than new Alcoa or Accurides.

When I changed tires on the Dutch Star I went to a truck wrecking yard and bought four Alcoa rims and two steel inners. Found a place about 20 miles away that polished wheels and for $35 each they came out pretty good. But there was some pitting they couldn't get out.

[DoggieDaddy]

Originally Posted by Cruzer

Your rims are not coated.

Accuride wheels are available as Standard Polish (SP), Extra Polish (XP) and Extra Polish with Accu-Shield Coating (XPC).

Two of mine still have the XP sticker on them.

[hawgguy]

Originally Posted by brobox

I just bought some to try.

Ditto.

[Cruzer]

I just looked at the rims on a 2016 Cornerstone chassis and they were Alcoa but not the coated DuraBrights so I guess I'll be needing the polish.

[powerboatr]

mine are accuride and they were either coated and it failed or never coated.
either way the first week we owned the coach they got buffed and polished then waxed with paste wax, it lasts a year between touchups.
used mothers paste wheel polish and mothers paste carnuba wax when all done.

[hawgguy]

Originally Posted by brobox

This was recommend to me by a good friend that has been a trucker for 25 years and enters truck shows as a hobby. He swears by it. http://www.amazon.com/California-Cus.../dp/B004MNKM9A

I just bought some to try.

Received mine yesterday and had a chance to try it out.

Underwhelmed with the results. YMMV. Gets great reviews on Amazon. I'm interested in your experience.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by hawgguy

Received mine yesterday and had a chance to try it out.

Underwhelmed with the results. YMMV. Gets great reviews on Amazon. I'm interested in your experience.

I don't like to hear that. I haven't tried mine yet. I may give that friend a call and see if there are any secrets to the way he uses it.

[Cruzer]

I've always had good success with Mothers. Here's a link to my article on polishing rims.

Polishing Aluminum Wheel Rims