Looking for tips for aluminum rims.

[cruderanger]

I finally had time to clean and polish the rims on my tri-glide. They look great. I'm wondering now, do they make a special product to protect the shine or I'm I ok to just use a regular wax?

[sprinkman]

Best thing I have found is chrome. If you don't want to chrome just stay after it before they get so bad. I used mineral wool and alum. cleaner to clean with and then just good polish. I did them 2 to 3 times a year.

[cruderanger]

Thanks Sprinkman. I have plenty of good polish. Before we got the bike, I was a "clean car freak". Now that we have the bike I'm 10 times as OCD as I ever was with any car I ever had. I was so mad at myself for letting the rims get so bad in such a small amount of time. But now that I got them shined back up again, I'll keep them that way.

[Bikerbozo]

A warning from one who knows. My rims went downhill fast. Completely pitted. I will be getting new rims soon. Before they go on i will be deciding what to spray them with to protect them. Leaning towards some clear coat. Then when old rims are off I will clean them best I can and spray them black.

[GARYD]

I'm in the same boat as Bozo. My untreated wheels (shame on H-D for not coating them) got spots all over them even thought I applied a coating of H-D aluminum protectant on them. I was so mad I concidered plating them, but when I could'nt find a plater that would guanantee them against salt (I ride all winter in the Chicago area) I just decided to buy another set of wheels( H-D Anarchy Wheels) and use my old wheels for the winter and the nice chrome ones for the summer. I would recommend getting the wheels clear coated like automobile wheels. My Vette had the wheels clear coated. After about 10 years the coating started to peel of and I had to completelt strip them - I NEVER want to do that again. I also don't want to spend hours polising the aluminum wheels every week. I love the Anarchy wheels - it takes me about 2minutes per wheel to clean them with amonia free window cleaner.

[rap47]

I am a clean freak too and always used Never-Dull cleaner on my wheels. Although it worked pretty good, it just got to be too much to keep up with the none coated wheels and I said screw it. Bought exchange chromed rims from Willy Shiny, best thing I could have done.

[slick rick]

The best way I found ,,, ( doing big truck wheels ) was to buy a gallon aluminum brighter , mix it half and half with water , spray on rinse off it's takes all the road grime off . The good thing about it is you can leave it or use Mothers or Jewelers Rouge with a high speed buffer to get a great shine . Almost all my trucks had aluminum wheels and it's a pain to keep clean but we all know chrome will rust if not polished ....

[87Trike1200]

Slick - I know next to zero about this. Where do I get "aluminum brightener"? Is there a particular "Brand Name" to look for? After you spray it on, how long before you rinse it off? Do you "rub & scrub" before rinsing? etc., etc. Thanks.

[slick rick]

Slick - I know next to zero about this. Where do I get "aluminum brightener"? Is there a particular "Brand Name" to look for? After you spray it on, how long before you rinse it off? Do you "rub & scrub" before rinsing? etc., etc. Thanks.

Almost in part stores that sell filters or any big truck parts ,and any big truck dealer ,, it's really not hard to find anywhere . Just ask for aluminum brighter they'll know, as to use mix 50/50 with water , put in sprayer , spray on give it a minute and rinse . It's designed to remove all road grime ,, then just use whatever product you choose to polish with (I LIKE MOTHERS ) or just leave it , it's up to you .

Make sure you get ( aluminum brighter ) I think you will be impressed .

...mix in sprayer you will not need it all , put the rest up for later .

[ZanyCrazyGuy]

How do you spell FLITZ!

Flitz - Mag Wheel Restoration Kit

[GARYD]

Flitz is good stuff, but it wouldn't even take the spots out of my wheels. I finally had to buy new wheels since NOTHING would remove the spots - short of removing aluminum material.

[slick rick]

If you guys still have your old wheels do as I said ( just for the heck of it ) to see what you come up with . My trucks were tractor trailer dump trucks 18 aluminum wheels per unit I know what I'm talking about . These trucks run in sand and gravel pits can't much harder on aluminum . What's it going to hurt , just a little effort ?Another trick for pits is to gently use SOS soap pads then polish , it dosen't hurt to take off the the top of aluminum .

[mikestrike]

I found Aluminum Brightener at Napa Auto Parts and have found that this stuff is designated as acid. What is this going to do if the over spray gets on the painted surfaces or other parts like chrome, brake pads, etc. Spraying on tractor trailer wheels is a little different than spraying on 35K TG. All it says on the bottle is to spray it on and rinse. Need my info on this stuff.

If you guys still have your old wheels do as I said ( just for the heck of it ) to see what you come up with . My trucks were tractor trailer dump trucks 18 aluminum wheels per unit I know what I'm talking about . These trucks run in sand and gravel pits can't much harder on aluminum . What's it going to hurt , just a little effort ?Another trick for pits is to gently use SOS soap pads then polish , it dosen't hurt to take off the the top of aluminum .

[slick rick]

That's all you do and as far as getting it on the bike putting it in a sprayer you should be able to spray your wheels without getting it all over the bike . If you do get over spray on it just rinse , it's not the acid you have in mind ( not going to rot your hands or skin off ) and dilute 50 50 with water . I wouldn't tell you to use something that would hurt your 35 k scooter without having used it on these 125 k trucks , aluminum is aluminum and paint is paint .
I'm telling you what will work , it's totally up to you to use it or not and besides if your going to do it right remove a wheel clean and polish with Mothers enjoy it for the summer .

[Mooner]

I'll give it a try . Spots are driving me nuts.i will go to chrome sooner or later but for now the spots gotta go