Ive got a new set of American Torque-Thrust wheels that sat on a car I'm building for the street for 5yrs....They have got VERY grungy/pitted looking.....Does anybody have experience with sanding/acid etching/polishing wheels like this? I can get the wide outer "ring" sanded/scotch brited/and polished in the lathe. ...not perfect but look pretty good ...the 5 spokes in the center are the bytch....I was thinking a low pressure blast with new glass bead maybe? Then polish with compound ?

When you get ready for polish use the Lucas metal polish sooo much easier to use than the Mothers polish.

I have never tried it on really pitted and corroded wheels but I have found that Purple Polish and a Mothers Power Cone seem to get the best results with the least amount of elbow grease on wheels & headers. Maybe buy 2 Power Cones and use one with a really aggressive compound or polish and use the other to finish with the finer stuff? I used an acid based cleaner that is made for cleaning aluminum pontoon boats on my ATP trailer floor that worked really well at removing stains and light corrosion and left a clean, dull finish almost like a fine glass beading but that might be too aggressive for wheels so tread carefully....

I have seen some pretty remarkable how too's on YouTube regarding motorcycle front fork rejuvenation. That might be appropriate for the spokes of your wheels.

A lot of OEM and aftermarket alloy wheels are painted with a clear coat, which doesn't really respond to aluminum polish or similar.

I would not suggest blasting them.

California Purple Polish along with their deoxidizer will do wonders without use of a machine. It is the only aluminum polish that I use on wheels.

If they are pitted or scratched, they will need to be sanded, then machine polished.


Clark