What's the best way to clean up a set of used aluminum wheels?

[THE STIG]

What's the best way to clean up a set of used aluminum wheels?

[mikepmcs]

"Mothers" mag and aluminum polish/cleaner and a power ball. What brand of wheels are we talking about here? Slots or old school centerlines?

Can you post a picture of one of the wheels to determine what else would be needed prior to the polish/cleaner.  (ie: what grit of paper needed to get rid of surface imperfections like 400/600/800/1000/1500/2000.) You'll be going through a few stages to get that polish in the end but it also depends on if you want them highly polish or still aluminum looking.  How bad is the oxidation?

We need pictures!

[stripedelete]

I got a hold of a set of aluminum "turbine" rims for nothing back in high school.  The porous surfaces between the fins were black with dirt.
I used Muriatic or Oxailic acid and they cleaned up like new.  It's been almost 30 years.  I can't remember the type of acid.  I remember the guy at the hardware store telling me what I needed.  I used an off-the-shelf aluminum polish rag/cloth on the smooth surfaces.   Everything cleaned up great.  

[chargerman67]

You would have used muriatic acid. but as he said above, good sand paper will really clean it up as well depending on how bad they were. But it seems you may have gotten it under control ?

[stripedelete]

You would have used muriatic acid. but as he said above, good sand paper will really clean it up as well depending on how bad they were. But it seems you may have gotten it under control ?

You are correct for the smooth type wheels.  However, the type I cleaned were porous by design (between the fins like a GL without paint), sand paper would have only cleaned the high spots.  Kinda like a deep stain in you concrete, just a brush isn't going to get it.

[THE STIG]

Tried to post pics but it won't let me somthing about 200kb. 

[Ghoste]

Yep, you'll have to use a resizer of some sort and make them a little smaller. 

[terrible one]

You would have used muriatic acid. but as he said above, good sand paper will really clean it up as well depending on how bad they were. But it seems you may have gotten it under control ?

You are correct for the smooth type wheels.  However, the type I cleaned were porous by design (between the fins like a GL without paint), sand paper would have only cleaned the high spots.  Kinda like a deep stain in you concrete, just a brush isn't going to get it.

I know exactly what you are talking about. With my slots, the surface where the slots were cut out was rough and not the same machined surface as the rest of the wheel. I cleaned mine up with suds, a wire brush for those rough spots, and 400-800-1200-2000 sandpaper wet followed by a hand polish with a rag and mag polish that took just as long as the sanding process did. I spent lots of time on those rough spots but even with the wire brush they held dirt and still have some dirt in them to this day.

The muriatic acid is a great idea. I used it to strip small parts but never got the idea to put my slots in there. It will eat way the aluminum of course but a quick dip and then a neutralizing solution will probably be the only way to get the porous metal really clean, and then you've got a lot of the corrosion off before you sand too.

Here's an old thread from when I did a couple of mine: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,22768.0.html

[THE STIG]

Yep, you'll have to use a resizer of some sort and make them a little smaller.  

What is a resistor, you gotta realize these things are like big calculators to me.

[Ghoste]

Not a resistor, a resizer.  But the best tutorials on them are in the site suggestions forum.  There are a couple of threads there on changing file sizes and so forth.