polishing alu-rims

marp68

marp68

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My alu-rims are very attacked and also have small dishes (holes). See images, with and without flash.

I've tried metal polish, but not much happens. And it doesn't work within the holes. Maybe I need a better rag and harder working polishing material.

What do yo think about steel wool/wire wool as a first thing to use? Any other tip to use for this purpose?

M
 

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The clear coat had sort of discolored on mine. Turn sort of milky in places.Aluminum oxidation in places. I went to the hardware store and bought 0000 grade steel wool. It worked but I ended up switching to 00 I think as I needed to be a bit more aggressive if I wanted to get done in my lifetime. Try a little of each and see how it goes. Even if it goes well, it's going to take some time. If you look at this picture, the front has been done but the rear had not at that time.
IMG_0001-5.jpg
 
There are three issues, failed clear paint, corroded aluminum and dull finish.
First you need to remove the clear coat as it gums up any type of abrasive you will use to remove the corroded aluminum. I have found that spray carb cleaner or acetone will make what remains of the clear coat very brittle, spray or wipe it on let it dry and the clear coat will nearly fall off the rim. It is a lot less messy than thick paint stripper. Next especially for the hard to get at deep grooves and spoke bases I use rotary abrasive brushes, I have been using the Weiler 4" Abrasive Nylon Wheel Brushes, they come in 2 grades orange and blue the orange is more aggressive but makes deeper scratches. These wheels last nearly forever, I have polished several wheels, a bunch of engine cases and an entire chro-moly frame and they are still going strong with no loss of abrasiveness. After the corrosion is gone then you can polish down to what ever level of shine you can force your self to spend the time to achieve. Factor in a few things before you say I want a see myself polish. If you have some pitting that won't polish out, and this is typical, a less shiny surface will help conceal those rough areas. If you tend to ride the bike more than clean it a lower gloss is easier to maintain.
 
Nice looking standard bike there, pumps. Very smart with the small bag et the rear. And thanks for the tip, gggGary and pumps.

Okej, so off with old clear coat seems the first thing to do. Didn't know there were different kinds of steel wool, though. I just thought of using my kitchen steel wool. I will try the brush thing. gggGary, did you use some polishing material when using the brushes?

My goal is not to make the alu look like chrome, though. I like the nice half brillant alu look.

Btw, are the holes created by oxidation from water during the years?
 
I use the wheels then switch to polish on a cotton buffing wheel. I like blue magic for a final bright shine and some protection from corrosion.
 
hi guys ,,, i,ve got the al... morini rims from italy,, which came on earlier xs650 ,, i use autosol and for about 6-8 bucks a tube ,, i think it really works,, you do need too use decent hand pressure and keep rubbing until you are getting that blackish stuff on your soft cotton rag.. then a clean reg too polish it ,,,,, if you are near an auto spare parts store where they sell primer /paint etc... grab a small tin buffing cream ,, you use it when you have sprayed something it puts a nice flatish finish on the rims ,, hope this helps you regards oldbiker
 
We always used white flour to remove the polish residue when we polished our aluminum props and it works great! After polishing, just dip your towel into a small tub of flour..no more black residue...FYI
 
Autosol is really great. Very common over here too. I always use it. This time, though, the alu is extremely attacked, so I need to prework it with something harder.

The flour tip was clever. Will try that if I don't get the black off from the holes.

Will post an image of the results.
 
Btw, why all these small holes in the surface? Is it normal? See images in the first post in the thread.

When I had chromed steel rims, there were none. Just because of the steel or has something else happened to my alu rims?
 
That pitting is simular to rust on steel. The clear cost gets porous, water gets beneath it and the aluminum starts to turn to aluminum oxide. Salt can really speed up the proccess. Simular to how a rock chip will start a rust bubble on a car body.
 
So, these rims are really bad then? Is it possible to remove completely or is the material to thin to work to deep on?
 
Maybe a stupid question, but how do I know if there is rim paint on or not? As it is now, I can't tell just by looking at them.
 
scrape a small area with a razor blade you should see clear flakes. They look repairable to me they are rather thick there is some room to sand away to remove or greatly reduce the pitting. I cleaned up a set that looked worse than yours.
 
First I tried using a hard wool threaded wheel and then a cotton buffing wheel. I used a brown compound that I had at home. Nothing happened, only went black spots on the rim. Then I tried the blue compound, which I also had at home, but with the same results.

I also tried with steel wool, which makes it more brillant, but still with old paint and dishes.

Then I tried carb cleaner. I sprayed it on, so it did came some on the rubber as well. Is it okej? And what about running down through the hole beside the spokes? ANyway. first I wiped it off immediately, but no paint came off. Then I let it stay for a minute or so and then wiped, but nothing came off. Would it make a difference to leave it over the night? Is there something stronger I could use to get the old paint off? Without damaging the rubber and other things.

There were a few oxidated spots on the rim sides, which I managed to remove using first the steel wool and then autosol. Nice half brillant surface. Just the way I want it.

But what a job working around all spokes... Puuhhh
 
I remove all the rubber (tire, tube, rim strip) then use paint stripper. Then I sand with 320 dry and then 400 wet. Then I buff with a buffing wheel and plain old rubbing compound. Finally, I hand polish with Mothers. Yes, it's a lot of work. I just ordered some of the Weiler nylon 4" wheels Gary mentioned. I'll try anything that might make this job easier.
 
Seems like a good idea to remove tire etc. I think I'll do that next winter, when I also thought about maybe changing spokes. Easier to work on the rims then.

But the rims do look terrible, so if there is a paint remover that will not destroy the rubber parts, I would like to at least remove the old cracked and leftovers of clear coat and then just polish it a bit. Can you mix the carb cleaner with something, so it doesn't dry out immediately when applying on the surface? I have also heard that brake fluid is a good paint remover. Anyone tried that?

My intention this winter is to just check/fix the most necessary and also bring up the finish to at least okej. Get familiar with the model and technique.
 
Has anyone tried CRC Gasket Remover, also used as paint remover frequently?

I talked to CRC in Sweden, and they said it was okej that it came some on the tyre, as long as it was wiped off or not used frequently.
 
Happy new year! :cheers:

Here is the results of my polish work...

I first used CRC Gasket Remover/Paint Stripper, then used steel wool (1 and 00) and finished with some metal polish (like Autosol), that also leaves a protection surface. The many small holes were to deep to remove by hand, so I leave them for another time. The are not that visible now though. If I change the spokes some day, I will probably blast and polish the rims before mounting new spokes.

/Martin
 

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