wjhgolf

I have the standard 2006 polished aluminum wheels - wish I had the chrome ones, but they weren't available that year. I don't want to damage the finish, but I want to protect them and make them shine as much as possible. I am cautious about using any of the waxes that talk about rubbing until the "black residue" appears and then wipe that off because I don't want to damage any coating that might be on the wheels. I don't think you should use "chrome polish" on them. Any suggestions? No, I don't want to spend the $$$$ for chrome wheels! Thanks.
Bill Hill
wjhgolf4@comcast.net

AORoads

To my knowledge, no good, modern car polish has that phrase of black residue in/on it. That's one option. Another is Wheel Wax. And a final one is Rejex. Look them up and see if it meets your requirements.

Quick Silver Z

I clean with glass cleaner and a soft clean towel, apply RejeX then buff.

truckplay

don't forget wait until the wheels are cool. after countless track days, the brake dust has taken a toll on mine. some use simple green or purple power and a brush to clean the barrels also.

wjhgolf

Mothers' Mag and Aluminum polish states that you should rub until you get black residue on your microfiber towel. To me, that's like what happens when cleaning silver or brass items.....scary. I use Meguiars Ultimate on the car - love it. Should I just put that on the wheels after cleaning them?

AORoads

Can't hurt to use good qual. polish. The reason for the "wait until the black comes off.." is for non-coated wheels. Long ago, I had coated polished wheels that eventually lost their coating. Just about anything would produce the black oxidation on a cloth with any kind of polish on it.

If the Meguiar's or any other brand is safe for body paint/clearcoat, it'll be safe for the coated polished wheels. Maybe not the best stuff, but no damage. I would slightly disagree on using relatively caustic cleaners like Simple Green, etc. They can have an effect on metals esp. aluminum (such as in the engine bay where some use it and it can permanently discolors or dull parts). Once again, less is sometimes more.

Just an FYI, notice the answer to the FAQ re "is WheelWax safe for clearcoat wheels?": https://www.wheelwax.com/faqMain.aspx#q1

wjhgolf

I think I'll get some Wheel Wax - have you ever bought it - where?

edcologne

- all oem vehicle wheels that are "polished" are actually clear coated, aka painted, cleaning etc like any other painted surface,
no (reasonable) way to get more polish out of the aluminum underneath the paint,

- do NOT use the mentioned mothers mag/aluminum polish or alike, that stuff s for parts that are bare aluminum, some aftermarked wheels might be bare polished aluminum, but no car manufacturer uses that oem,
I remember having some weld wheels (auto drag?, forgot) a long time ago like that, looked great, too much upkeep,

- wheel wax = from autogeek.com , used it on my polished gumbys and then on my chrome gumbys,

- if you want chrome wheels you'll find them, 05 - 13 base all fit the same, parts section here, ebay, craigslist, etc,
or get yours chromed, many times that comes out better than the oem's,

j_digi454

AORoads

I own one Wheel Wax but haven't used it yet. Other stuff seems to work so far for me. As to some aftermarket wheels being bare aluminum, if I recall correctly all of the unpainted, polished wheels from CCW are non-coated polished wheels. Great wheels from owners on here but does require some effort to keep up the looks. I'm sure they aren't the only ones.

Zoxxo

As stated, the stock "aluminum" wheels are actually clear-coated and, as such, are not "polishable" at all. Doing anything abrasive (which is what polishing is) will actually damage the surface.

This is one of the wheels on my Z06. It is a true, bare metal aluminum wheel that you can polish. You should have no trouble seeing the difference - the stock wheels don't provide reflections like that.

I use Mother's metal polish then Wheel Wax on the outers. I use soap and water then Rejex on the inners. Contrary to a lot of tales, the upkeep on these isn't that big of a deal. But then, being n California, they aren't subjected to a lot of the things that much of the country provides.

Z//

wjhgolf

I just got some advice from a guy at Discount Tire who has a Vette with polished aluminum wheels that have the clear coat like mine. He uses Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish - carefully - with a microfiber towel to apply and wipe off (before it dries as instructed). I just used it and my wheels weren't dirty at all (they never really are), but they look and feel shinier and I'm pleased! I did not rub hard and didn't use very much.

Bill Dearborn

Stay away from the stuff made for uncoated wheels unless you remove the coating. Then you can be like the guys 50 years ago and spend a lot of your time polishing wheels.

Bill