Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing 1989-2024
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How to clean Eagle Alloy aluminum rims
! A lot of you fellows seem like you put cleaners on hot rims. BIG NO NO!! Never ever put any type of cleaner on hot rims even if it says safe to do so. You need to find out if your rims are clear coated first. Try some rim polishing compound if it raises black residue they are not clear coated and can be easily brought back to life. If they are you have to remove the damaged clear coat first then recondition the rims.
Glenn Stanbery- Louisville Kentucky
October 28, 2022
⇩ Related postings, oldest first ⇩
Q. I have Eagle Alloy polished aluminum rims on my truck. When I cleaned my tires with Blechewite ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , some of the cleaner got on the rims. The Bleche-Wite left milky white spots on the rims. How can I restore them to the original shine.
Jacob W [surname deleted for privacy by Editor]- Schertz, Texas
2002
Q. If the individual gets an answer to his Westley's Bleach-White problem on his Eagle Alloys, I need to know how to remove the white spots on my Eagles too. I have never had any problems with Westley's before. The Eagles I have had for five months and they can go three to four weeks without washing and people ask me how I keep them so clean. They have the best finish I have ever owned . . . that was until today.
Danny M [surname deleted for privacy by Editor]- Chesapeake, Virginia
A. ACRYSOL
Detailers and body-shops use it all the time; hard to find, but check around town; this stuff is incredible. Cleans oxidation from bleach and even clearcoat overspray. You may want to use a metal polish afterward, like Meguiars wax or Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish
⇦ this on
eBay or
Amazon [affil links] , but this stuff gets up everything. Be sure to check on an inconspicuous place, first. Also, don't breathe it! I use it on my '89 Jeep wrangler with aftermarket pacer rims and it works every time!
- Petal, Mississippi
A. The cheapest way to remove any stains, water spots, etc., from polished aluminum rims is an Eagle One product called Nevr-Dull ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . . . runs about 6 bucks a can. I have a set of Center-Line Satin finished aluminum rims that had the worst milky water spots you have ever seen ... the oxidation build up was unbelievable. In seconds, doing nothing more than rubbing Nevr Dull on and wiping with a clean cloth, they look like high polished chrome now. Hope this helps with those unwanted spots!
Wolf Wilder- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
2004
A. If you have high polished aluminum wheels DO NOT EVER USE ANY TYPE OF SPRAY ON WHEEL CLEANER as this has acid in it and it will damage the metal.
TERRY HAAS- TOLEDO, OHIO
2005
A. I have polished aluminum wheels and have been rubbing and scrubbing the past 3 days for several hours per day.
I started with Eagle One Nevr-Dull
⇦ this on
eBay or
Amazon [affil links]
...it just doesn't get the hard water spots that the sprinkler deposited. I have an older can and I noticed that the old directions indicated that it could be used on glass. It took the water spots off my windows when glass cleaner and vinegar
⇦in bulk on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links] would not clean it. I noticed on a new can at the auto parts store that the new can no longer indicates use on glass.
I was at the parts store because I couldn't stand rubbing any more. I saw several products from Mothers (Power Aluminum, Mag & Aluminum, and Billet) Billet was no help and expensive. The Mag and Aluminum worked better but I'm so tired of rubbing...now I think I'm gonna try Mothers' Powerball ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] you attach to your drill.
Paul Schneider- Spring, Texas
2006
Q. Wish I had read this forum earlier. Just bought my Eagle Rims, high gloss shine. Three days after, used a spray-on wheel cleaner and went thru a car wash immediately. Oh oh, too late, came out the other end with milky stains on the wheels just like that. I'm so mad. Now I am researching how to care for alloy rims. I will try Mother's Polish
⇦ this on
eBay or
Amazon [affil links] and the Mothers' Powerball
⇦ this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links]
that fits in your power drill. Will see what happens.
Cheers.
- Pickering Ontario, Canada
2006
Q. Billet rims in rural NYS after the winter. After trying several Mothers products and several spray on wheel cleaners I still cannot restore my rims to as new condition. Along with the brake dust the roads are treated with a mixture of salt, sand and cinders. I made the mistake of keeping them on during the winter any advice is greatly appreciated.
Cina Lagerwallconsumer - Hancock, New York
2006
Q. I wish I had read this first. I have cleaned several car rims with the spray cleaners and most worked. I have eagle aluminum rims on '78 CJ7 and used a spray cleaner and got the dulled milked finish the others have posted. Darn.... Look cheap and awful.
I cleaned the rims with hot soapy water, then used Nufinish Car Type Polymer hoping it would clean and protect. Did not touch the dulled finish.
I then tried rubbing compound
⇦ this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links] with the Mothers Power Ball and some hand rubbing in the tight spots/corners. The rubbing compound seemed to work pretty well. 5-10 min per rim and was done after another hot soapy bath and rinse. Worked Very Well and Nice and Shiny again. I then applied a coat of NuFinish to hopefully keeping the aluminum from oxidizing.
The Eagle Aluminum Rims really have a nice shine to them.
QUESTION ALSO. What is the best way to protect the bare aluminum rims from oxidation and the elements. I saw one post that said auto paste wax and would like to hear what others say.
Fred
- Mpls, Minnesota
May 19, 2008
A. I'm having the same problem on my Eagle Alloys with the pitting. I have used never dull and Mothers with the power ball they sell for your drill motor. It seems to work pretty good but some minor pits still remain. I am willing to bet you could remove the remainder of the problem with a clay bar and the spray required for use with the clay bar. Remember there are more than one grade texture on the clay. Some can be used to wet sand your paint job so don't use the heavy grade clay on your wheels. As far as the tire bleach try getting your wheels wet first before applying the whitening chemical.The milky white color is called chemical etching and sometimes never goes away. When all else fails good old elbow grease will do the job.
Scott Mooredetailing for a hobby - San Diego, California
Q. HELP ! I destroyed our aluminum wheels with degreaser! Is there something I can use to get them to shine again?
Sincerely - a wife in trouble
car owner-idiot - Norco, California
March 30, 2009
Q. I have a Ford F150 came with alloy rims, my sprinklers have been hitting the wheels. Now I have serious water spots I have tried Mothers Mag and aluminum wheel polish (for all metals) didn't do a thing. Anyone have any ideas, its a nice looking truck, except for rims.
Jon Fauxtruck owner - Cathedral City, California
April 5, 2009
Q. My problem is pretty much the same as all of yours. I have a nice 72 Chevy stepside 4x4.It has SEC alloy wheels on it. they were like mirrors before I moved into my mother in laws.sprinklers. the water spots didn't come off with nevr-dull, in fact I couldn't find anything it did clean well. Rummaging through my mother in laws garage I came across a tube of Blue Magic metal polish cream ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . Now this stuff is amazing; my bumpers ,wheels, all chrome and aluminum look like mirrors again. I'm just having a hard time finding more.
Barry Fell- Los Olivos, California
June 11, 2009
A. A solution for alloy wheels, spotted or streaked, from using Wesley's Bleach White tire cleaner. This worked for me. A small can of rubbing compound paste (fine grit), like rubbing compound
⇦ this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links] or Mother's. A box of baking soda [in bulk on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links]
& a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.
Combine a small amount of the rubbing compound (3 tablespoons), with an even smaller amount of baking soda (1 teaspoon), & a several drops of hydrogen peroxide. Use a clean cotton cloth & vigorously rub this formula onto the milky stains on the wheels. The wheels should be spotlessly clean & DRY before starting the procedure. Depending on how bad the stains are on your wheels - it may take a while for the wheels to look clean. About 20 to 30 minutes per wheel, scrubbing with force. The cloth should turn black as you scrub the wheel surface.
Look at it like this...for years, we have used baking soda & peroxide to clean & whiten our teeth - this combo is one of the best cleaners to be found. The abrasive nature of the rubbing compound only speeds up the job & helps cut through the etching process that occurred from the acid in the Bleach White product contacting the aluminum wheel. I have personally tried this method & it worked well for me. It is time consuming, but it can save an expensive set of polished aluminum rims. RF
- Lufkin, Texas
January 25, 2010
Q. Hey Guys!
I'm in Wheel Hell myself.
Had Beautiful 2 piece polished wheels made by "BOZE" Alloys in Huntington Beach Calif.
First mistake was spraying a wheel cleaner on them which totally destroyed them. Took them to a wheel refurbishing business here in Portland Oregon and paid 700 more bucks to have them fixed. They came out not as good as new but acceptable.. My car has never been on a wet street and last week on a clear day I decided to take it for a cruise. After getting home pulled it into garage and went about my business.. That was a week ago. Today went out to take it for a spin and noticed that the wheels seemed to have grime all over them so I wash them with soap and water and what's left is little pin head spots or "pits" that I have figured out must have came from left over salt on the road. I have no idea what to do to get these off and just spent 30 minutes polishing an area of one of the wheels with Mothers but it did not take the specks out.. Next step I guess is to try the powerball.
Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks, Tom
- Troutdale Oregon USA
February 21, 2010
A. Hey everyone,
I've been dealing with polished aluminum wheels for a very long time. I have tried everything from blue magic to Mothers, just about anything you can buy. But I made the same mistake by using Westleys bleach wite on my white letter tires and ruin my 15x8's series 203 eagles. I live in Lawrenceburg, TN the wide wheel capital of America! I run 15x12's and 15x14's.
What I used to polish mine is my secret a can of white Mothers aluminum polish found at Autozone or any other supplies store about 5 bucks a can and take California Purple polish which you can order it from them about 15 bucks a bottle buts its worth it, and mix the two together, take the purple and squirt enough to be mixed into the Mothers can and mix them together
Then what I do is take a polish bonnet found at O'reillys or any other store is basically a terry cloth, and then dip the polish bonnet into the Mothers/purple polish which equals sex! and rub, rub, rub the harder and longer you rub the more a shine you can get. My wheels were gold and grimy when I got them and I polish and polished mine about 15 times to get them to shine like chrome anyways. The purple aluminum polish website should be like californiapurple.com just do a google search if you have any questions just ask me, I know how to make aluminum look like chrome with my polish secret.
- Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, USA
Q. I have new Eagle Alloy 079's on 2010 F150. Made mistake leaving on for winter salt hell. Heavy salt has oxidized my super finish black rims. Any suggestions how to further prevent damage and clean them back to new for spring?
Marc Justice- Beaver, Pennsylvania USA
January 19, 2011
A. The way I found to remove heavy oxidation and stains on the wheels (I have Eagles 058's btw) is to get 000 grit ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and use a compound or aluminum polish. The polish will turn black as you are doing it. I had to do a set of 8 rims. The 1st 4 I did with the Powerball and it took me a week. The 2nd set of 4 only took me about an hour or so. Use heavy amounts of the compound or polish when using the steel wool. Remember "000" grit. This is the same grit for wheels. If you get "0000" it won't work as it's too fine. "00" will be too rough. After you've done the whole wheel, make sure to remove all excess polish from the wheel with a microfiber towel. THEN, use your choice of polish with a buffer ball of your choice on your drill. Most cordless drills don't have the speed and don't last long enough so use a corded drill with multiple speeds. You won't believe how intense they shine after doing this. Good luck to everyone!
Lyon Prinston- Toms River New Jersey USA
I didn't rinse the wheels off good enough and ended up with milky white stains on rims. Scared to tell my boyfriend so I searched and ended up here. rubbing compound (@ 3 tbspns) baking soda (@ 1 tsp) and a few drops of peroxide seem to work really well with a little elbow. Thanks for saving my life to the guy who posted that.
motorcycle shop - tucson Arizona usa
A. I also used the wrong cleaner on brushed aluminum wheels (Toyota Tacoma). After wasting lots of money on the wrong products I found 000 steel wool ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and about 2 hours got my wheels back to looking presentable.
Bob Buetick- Milwaukee Wisconsin
September 5, 2016
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