Aluminum wheel deoxidizer spray

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78C10BigTen

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Most may know i just picked up these vintage slots cheap, im looking for suggestions on a spay to put on them to remove the oxidation before i go to town on them with mothers. Also any thoughts on glass bead blasting them first then hitting them with mothers.

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Frankenchevy

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I’ve run baking soda through my sand blaster on aluminum with decent results before.
 

bucket

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Put the polish to them first and they probably will turn out nice. You'll want to use a Powerball or something. It will take lots of elbow grease without it.
 

78C10BigTen

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Put the polish to them first and they probably will turn out nice. You'll want to use a Powerball or something. It will take lots of elbow grease without it.
I plan on buying a cheap walmart drill and the powerball
 

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I plan on buying a cheap walmart drill and the powerball

Just don't get the more runny type of polish that they sell in a squeeze bottle, the regular stuff in a can works much better for the heavy work. Years ago I found some stuff that is awesome to finish up with. I just don't remember the name of it, lol. I'll have to go out to the garage to see what it is.
 

78C10BigTen

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Just don't get the more runny type of polish that they sell in a squeeze bottle, the regular stuff in a can works much better for the heavy work. Years ago I found some stuff that is awesome to finish up with. I just don't remember the name of it, lol. I'll have to go out to the garage to see what it is.
This is the mothers id use. Dad swore by it and i know it works

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bucket

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Yeah, that's the stuff.

Then I'll often finish up with this stuff, a little bit goes a long way.
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Somewhere I've got a tube of stuff that works just as well, but I don't recall where I had it last. I think it's called Autosol.
 

legopnuematic

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Yeah, that's the stuff.

Then I'll often finish up with this stuff, a little bit goes a long way.
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Somewhere I've got a tube of stuff that works just as well, but I don't recall where I had it last. I think it's called Autosol.

This stuff?
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400 grit wet might be a good way to start to remove the initial layer of crud, then take to the polishes. I've had good luck with buffing wheels and rouge polishes on hard sticks, then use a finer polish like mothers to do the final work.
 

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This stuff?
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400 grit wet might be a good way to start to remove the initial layer of crud, then take to the polishes. I've had good luck with buffing wheels and rouge polishes on hard sticks, then use a finer polish like mothers to do the final work.

Yep, that stuff. It's the same as the Simichrome, a little bit goes a long way. Either one will really bring out the shine once the Mother's has done all it can do.
 

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I had a set that looked like those and here's what I recommend:

1) Scrub with a stiff plastic bristle brush along with soap and water, remove as much dirt and grit as possible;

2) Napa Aluminum Brightener spray, to remove surface oxidation;

3) Use 0000# steel wool to smooth surface without deep scratching;

THEN...use Mother's Mag & Aluminum polish with polishing ball (power ball) to polish.

That way your not polishing dirt, grit and corrosive particles into the wheel with the Mother's and your polishing ball doesn't get contaminated which will lead to scratches also.

YMMV.
 

78C10BigTen

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I had a set that looked like those and here's what I recommend:

1) Scrub with a stiff plastic bristle brush along with soap and water, remove as much dirt and grit as possible;

2) Napa Aluminum Brightener spray, to remove surface oxidation;

3) Use 0000# steel wool to smooth surface without deep scratching;

THEN...use Mother's Mag & Aluminum polish with polishing ball (power ball) to polish.

That way your not polishing dirt, grit and corrosive particles into the wheel with the Mother's and your polishing ball doesn't get contaminated which will lead to scratches also.

YMMV.
Someone had told me to use a drill with brass bristle cup brush first but i dont want them to get deep scratched. Btw whats ymmv?
 

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YMMV=Your Mileage May Vary. Meaning you might have different opinions on this, or you might choose some other method.

The cleaning part makes sense because you don't want to incorporate dirt into your polishing compound or your polishing clothes. The spray worked really well, for me, to remove the remaining surface corrosion. Then polishing compound didn't have all that grit in it which made final polishing even easier and with less chance of additional scratches.

This is just what I tried and the results were really good on badly corroded wheels as long as there's no clear coat on them which I'm pretty sure yours does not have. I tried the spray on wheels with clear coat and it did absolutely nothing to take that off but works well on bare aluminum. Again, you'll have to determine what you ultimately want to do.

I, personally, would stay away from wire brushes of any kind, brass or steel.

Good luck with your project.

ETA: If your rims are heavily pitted the steel wool might "catch and shred" on the rough surface. If that happens just skip that and go directly to the Mother's and any other polishing creams to achieve the result you want. And I wouldn't use any steel wool courser than 0000# since it might cause scratches. (I'm no expert on the use of steel wool.)
 
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78C10BigTen

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YMMV=Your Mileage May Vary. Meaning you might have different opinions on this, or you might choose some other method.

The cleaning part makes sense because you don't want to incorporate dirt into your polishing compound or your polishing clothes. The spray worked really well, for me, to remove the remaining surface corrosion. Then polishing compound didn't have all that grit in it which made final polishing even easier and with less chance of additional scratches.

This is just what I tried and the results were really good on badly corroded wheels as long as there's no clear coat on them which I'm pretty sure yours does not have. I tried the spray on wheels with clear coat and it did absolutely nothing to take that off but works well on bare aluminum. Again, you'll have to determine what you ultimately want to do.

I, personally, would stay away from wire brushes of any kind, brass or steel.

Good luck with your project.
These are not cleared, plain aluminum. I thought a good spay on/wash off cleaner would work good on the heavy stuff then id mothers the piss outta them after
 

82sbshortbed

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Not coated perfect. Then this is what i did at my detail shop.

1. Get some aluminum trailer cleaner acid spray you mix with water. Mix in spray bottle.

2. Wash the rims with a srub brush(plastic not metal) or pressure washer. Rinse

3. Spray on the trailer cleaner(acid water mix) and wait for it to turn white and foamy. Then rinse with water and repeat if necessary. They will turn kinda white looking when really cleaned with the acid mix.

4. Now get on it with the mother's aluminum polish. Those bastards will come out really nice.

Used to charge $100 for that service and did a lot of them.
 

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