79 limited rims, cast aluminum, are off the car and have been cleaned and awaiting new tires. Is there something I should put on them to help keep them looking good?

 

Carnauba wax.

 

Yup.. If they are painted, you could use pretty much any wax. If they are polished you would want to stick with a pure carnuba wax.

 

Not painted or polished. Same treatment?

Thanks,
Ilesha

 

Yep.

 

Will do!
Thx

 

OK, tried it on one. Due to the pourous nature of the cast aluminium we are getting quite a bit of white spotting. There is no finish on these rims at all. More larger pictures are on my web page, www.geocities.com/raceyrx7 of before and efter the cleaning.
Any thoughts?

 

If there isnt a finish on the wheels at all you might want to try meguirs aluminum polidh prior to applying the pure carnuba wax.

 

Great, Thanks

 

Hopefully the polish will smooth out the surface a little.. The wheels are probably pitted pretty badly so the wax will stay in the pock marks. The only way to avoid this is to have them refinished or not wax them and wash them often.

 

Refinished how? I don't think they were ever polished rims. Anyone know for sure. My goal is to keep them original, not looking for flashy, just clean and shiny.

 

You can have them refinished to your liking.... polished, chromed, painted etc. There are endless options. I would suggest cleaning them with some "Simple Green" cleaner, polishing with Meguirs Aluminum polish and then, waxing them with a nice pure carnuba wax.. you'll be happy with the results.

 

Those are raw, cast aluminum wheels. No polish or sealer of any kind is going to do anything for the porous unfinished areas of the aluminum as you're finding out.

There are wheel cleaners for raw metal wheels that are more powerful than those safe for painted or clearcoated wheels. Those are what I always used and they worked well.

 

I've used Eagle brand Mag wheel cleaner. Comes in a black bottle with yellow sticker I believe. 3 kinds of acid in it..... wear gloves and goggles. Works like a charm. Agitate bad areas with a toothbrush and wash off thoroughly with water.

For storage.... rough cast aluminum will need constant upkeep. Maybe put them in large trash bags and make sure you put them away dry. Tie a knot in the bag to keep moisture out.

-GNX7

 

That's it; works wonderfully. Make certain it says "mag wheels" on the bottle.

Always clean the wheels first when on the car and rinse liberally with water. That way you are sure to not allow any of the wheel cleaner to stay on your paint.

 

Since the rubber was bad anyway we thought we'd try to get them cleaned up before putting the new tires on. Hydrocloric acid, for treating toilets and drains, worked great and they look pretty good. I was hoping to find a way to keep them that way as the grim gets stuck in the pours very easily. I guess scrubbing wheels is a cross I will have to bear, and gladly will to keep her original.

Thanks,
Ilesha