Trans-Am Terrorist

My buddy has a pair of these Polished Aluminum American Racing TT2 Rims on his car that he is selling. I told him I would like those rims to put on my Trans-Am I asked how much he wanted and he said "Just take them, they havent been taken car of and look like ****"

I snapped a picture for you all to see. They have never been taken care of, (cleaned, polished etc) and they need a bit of work but I think they can be brought back to a nice polished shine. There are no scratched or anything, just these heavy brownish/black brake dust residue that is caked on there pretty good.

I did a bit of searching on here but I admit I know jack about wheels and upkeep and polishing. So if someone could help walk me through a great process to get rid of the grime and bring these things to a sparkling shine. Thanks in advance.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

i have this stuff that's like an acidic type spray for polished wheels. use a brush and scrub after you soak them. If they were mine i'd wetsand them to get rid of any pitting or heavy oxidation.

ramairetransam

iTrader: (18)

those can be saved.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

^^^ Agreed. Easily it takes a lot for bare aluminum wheels to not be saved

Trans-Am Terrorist

Yeah I see some spots that are pretty oxidized. I took a simple pressure washer to them and it took off some of it, but there is other **** that just wont budge. So youre saying wet sand is the way to go?

Well that is a relief, now, how do I do that? haha

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

wetsand with 1500-2000 grit and then just get a good polish. i use a power ball to take out the sanding on the main parts and then use a nice polish to seal them.

Trans-Am Terrorist

Any recommendations on which brand of polish to go with? I heard Mother's is pretty abrasive compared to other polishes but a good one nonetheless

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

i use mothers but there is stuff that can be bought at advanced auto called White Diamond that everyone swears by

ramairetransam

iTrader: (18)

i agree with this , i was trying to think of the name , you will have to spend some time on each one , but it will be worth it .

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

Also Flitz is a good cleaner for them

TXZ28LS1

iTrader: (5)

I have TT2s as well. I heard white diamond is good stuff. Im looking at picking some up.

LilJayV10

iTrader: (39)

You need to use some sort of cleaner to remove the brake dust before you start sanding on them. Something like Iron X or Adams Deep Wheel cleaner.

I would also use Flitz Aluminum pre cleaner, I think that's what it's called.

Get them as clean as you can before you start sanding/polishing on them. You will get much better results if you do.

Rise of the Phoenix

iTrader: (27)

Flitz is some good stuff and it will remove brake dust, oxidation, rust, etc.

rudytirerack

I too have had good luck with Flitz polish. Those are going to take a lot of elbow grease and time. Would love to see the "After" Pictures.

98CayenneT/A

Mothers billet polish is also a nice finishing polish, after wet sanding use mothers mag polish with power ball and finish with mothers billet by hand

98CayenneT/A

Also I would wet sand with 3000 grit

Rise of the Phoenix

iTrader: (27)

I think the point me and several others are trying to make is that you FIRST need to get rid of the oxidation, rust, brake dust, etc. before you start wet sanding it. You do that buy using a product like Flitz. Once all that **** has been removed from the wheels and you have a clean surface to work with, you then can proceed with wet sanding, followed by using a good polish like Adams 1 and 2, or whatever you'd like to use. Not following those steps would be like waxing your car before you wiped all the dust off it; hence, you need a clean surface to work with.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

I've got a big tube of Flitz. It's not real cheap but it's great stuff. I apologize if i came off as saying to wetsand right away, that's not what i meant.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

Mine were pretty bad when i got the car. They've come a long way since what they were when i got the car. They weren't as bad as O/P's but still they were very oxidized and pitted.

Top cap is how most of the wheel looked when i bought it. The bottom was the look after the first time ever touching bare aluminum wheels

Trans-Am Terrorist

Awesome guys! I really appreciate all the info about the products to look for and what to do. It was a big help. I will be tackling this project this week and I will get some "after" pics for you all. Thanks again!