Oxidized Rims, interior door handles...

Tin Lizzy · 04-04-2006, 06:42 PM

A couple of questions for you gurus....

First of all we have some oxidized rims on our 89' Excella that have quite a bit of oxidation on them. We have tried cleaning them with everything. Short of sending them away to get professionally redone, is there any technique that can be undertaken 'at home' to get rid of this??? We have 6 of them, so it will be pretty pricey to fix....Also, we have some "Airstream" door handles on the interior (many of them), we have a glass beader in our garage that has removed some of the finish, and has brought it back to the bare metal, but it is somewhat 'mottled' in texture, and we want to finish them so that they aren't 'bronze'. Any ideas or techniques for this as well? I guess we shoudl take some pics and post them to show what we are talking about....ANy advice would be appreciated!

dwightdi · 04-04-2006, 06:53 PM

They sell Mag wheel cleaner at most auto supply shops. You can also clean them with oven cleaner but you have to be very carefull and not leave it on very long. You then have to nuetralize them and polish them or they will just oxidize again. The wheels are made of an alloy that does not keep its polish like the trailer panels do.

Tin Lizzy · 04-05-2006, 08:03 PM

Actually I guess I should have been more specific....We have a bit of a problem with the rims being pitted as well....I think it will take something more abrasive than just polishing. I think we are gonna have to remove the rims and find a system that can allow us to buff them rather, much like what some people use to polish the exterior skins of their trailers...Does this sound too far fetched??? From there, I don't know where to go, or what to try....

bake315 · 04-05-2006, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tin Lizzy

Actually I guess I should have been more specific....We have a bit of a problem with the rims being pitted as well....I think it will take something more abrasive than just polishing. I think we are gonna have to remove the rims and find a system that can allow us to buff them rather, much like what some people use to polish the exterior skins of their trailers...Does this sound too far fetched??? From there, I don't know where to go, or what to try....

Go to the Classifieds section of this forum and see the wheels that I have listed for sale - three of the six were polished with Heavy Metal.

http://www.airforums.com/class...00/ppuser/4188

There is a supersize of one unpolished, and one that I had polished about two months ago with the Heavy Metal, a 6" buffing wheel/mandrel, and a drill. Should give you some notion of a before/after on your particular wheel. Of course, the more you do, the better it will look. I think it took me something like 20 minutes to get a wheel to this point, while off the trailer. In short it's easy to make them look good - after which you can use something like Glisten PC to clearcoat them again.

Good luck.