Polishing wheels and fuel tanks
 

:D What is the best stuff for polishing aluminum wheels and fuel tanks? Can a person use just regular car polish/wax or is it best to use a special aluminum polish? 8)

That blue magic stuff works good, but not so good on porous aluminum. If your wheels are really pitted, I'd suggest something else. The stuff will leave black crap in the pits, and it's impossible to get out.

I use Mother's Aluminum Polish. It works pretty well except on really deep pitting.

The best invention ever for polishing is the Mothers polishing powerball,cuts time by hours,I have done 6 wheels and 2 tanks in under 2 hrs

http://www.amazon.com/Mothers-Power-.../dp/B0009P5GPU

the best I've found is mothers aluminum polish.. maybe a buck or two more expensive but its worth it. For the black that comes out spray on brake cleaner after done polishing and it whipes off.

Thanks for the tip dano I'll try that out.

I used to use the Mothers Aluminum polish. It worked great. But being a paste, I wore my arms of polishing.

Then I found a product called Wicked Products, more of a liquid. Worked real good. But now my supplier in Canada says they can't get it anymore here. Does any one know, is it still made? Can you still get it in the States? Made by a company in California.

I bought one of those Mothers polishing balls. Haven't tried it yet, but it looks like a real arm saver.

It will amaze you how easy it is,I could do my wheels every week and be done in under an hour,if you use liquid make sure you have a varible speed drill with the power ball,you will want to start real slow to avoid splatter.

Hey thanks all for the information!

I stopped at a truck stop and found they sell the Wicked products. So I don't know what is up with the other supplier telling me that they can't get it? Some misinformation there! And the supplier is an International dealer! Go figure. Next time I'm there, I'll have to quiz them on that one again.

But the price of the Wicked Polish sure has took a jump in price! I used to get it for $10 a bottle, the truck stop wants almost $18 a bottle now!!!! Unreal, what a rip-off! (Canadian prices)

This week I'll be polishing. Spring clean up!

Annie

Ditto on the Mothers

Me three. Here's a Powerball, some of their aluminum polish, and just a couple of minutes of work. I pried off the hubcap to get in between the lugs better. It would go easier next time with their new mini power ball between the lugs.

http://home.comcast.net/~documentarian/dirty.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~documentarian/clean.jpg

(Sorry the bottom pic is a little out of focus.)

Power ball is a new one to me.
Throw in some other stuff into your Hub Cap and you can have a Jammer

I am going to try the power ball thingy, but here is what I use, get the polishing compound bars some people call them rouge bars but they come in different colors each color is for a specific metal, I get a 5lb. white and 5lb. green for aluminum and a couple of old bottles anything with a lid will work,water,shampoo,gatorade ect. Bust up the bar with a hammer and try to get it into powder form,a few chunks are ok,mix it in the bottle with odorless mineral spirits about the same consistancy as paint and use a rag. It makes alot of the black stuff but it sure takes a ton of elbow grease out of the job. Start with the green and just wipe on wipe off after a while and the aluminum is looking good use the white mixture for upkeep. I have been polishing with this for years with very few refills.

Do those power balls work well on diamond plate?

yes

Wipe the rouge slurry on and let it dry, then go at it with the powerball thing, you'll be pleasantly surprised how well it works. Word of caution: If you use both green and white rouge, have a separate powerball for each, keep them in a sealed bag when not being used, and never mix them up.

The most common colors of rouge are white, green, and brown or black. They are not for different types of metal, but are of different aggressiveness (grit, like sand paper). The black is the most aggressive, the white is the least. If you have pits (shallow ones), start with black until the pits are gone, change to green until all the scratches from the black are gone and the surface is uniform, then move to white to give it a high polish. BE CAREFUL if you use black rouge, it WILL remove metal in a hurry!!! The green will give it polish, but if you look closely there will be swirl marks. After using the white, the surface will be like a mirror and will stay polished longer than if you had only used the green.

Dan

I use 5 star polish with rouge by Zep. Comes in a court can and cost almost $50 bucks. My last can I bought lasted over 10 years.
The can has a blue label on it with gold stars going around it. It's like a pinkish-white color. Very good $hit. I always hand polish. I will definitely buy a power ball because my arms feel like they are gona fall off when I finish polishing. :x I have used buffing wheels in the past but I would always burn the polish in. I think I just don't know how to use the wheels corectly. :roll: The power ball sounds easier.

I have used Mothers and Mequires and some 3M polishes and the fastest stuff I have used to date is Busch Super Shine Aluminum polish with a powerball and it gives a much higher shine then the other products I have used.

http://www.1010tires.com/accessories.asp?pid=B44008

The Mothers worked great on my tanks and wheels, but need something for Chrome. I read on the mothers instructions that said not to use it on chrome.

I need something for my bumper, grill, Breathers, and stacks, anyone have any suggestions on something as easy as mothers for chrome?

I use "Coopers chrome & glass cleaner", but I've only seen it in the SoCal area. Kinda looks like "pepto bismal", but works great with no scratching. If you're old enough you might remember some stuff called
"glass wax", that came in a qt. can that I swear is the same stuff. I've used Zepher 40 alum. polish on my chrome bumper and could see swirls from the abrasive.

Thanks, I found the Mothers to be abrasive also on Chrome. Will try to find some and see what it does.[/quote]

Mothers also makes a chrome polish. It works quite well.

When I was in dump trucks, the company provided a barrel of sulfuric acid solution that we mixed with water and applied with a regular long-handled nylon brush. Did great on the aluminum, minimum effort. Just be sure to wear protective gear and don't get it on the glass. We generally used Mother's for everything else.

There is nothing quite like having a shiny truck smiling at you in the morning. :)