What aluminum wheel cleaner?

[1tuffram]

What are you guys using on your OEM aluminum wheels to keep them looking new?

 

[redneckdr]

alum wheels

wontuff, i haven't used it on the goat, yet, but Eagle One makes a wheel cleaner that i use on my motorhome wheels that works great. has jeweller's rouge in it. comes in a liquid or paste. i generally buy it at the big rig parts place, or a Pete or Freightliner dealer. i think Mother's and Meguiar's may make a similar product. with a little work, you can make the wheels look like chrome.

 

[1tuffram]

I thought I read somewhere the OEM aluminum wheels on the RAMS come with some sort of protective coating on them to help prevent oxidation, corrosion, etc. Will using something with jewlers rouge remove the protective coating??



I've never owned a vehicle with aluminum wheels, so I don't know how to care for them properly.

 

[redneckdr]

cated??

i honestly don't know the anser to that. they don't appear to be coated , or "laquered". i haven't tried the stuff on the ram wheels. i was under the impression, however, that they weren't coated. if they are, the rouge would take the coating off. if they are coated, just some mild soap should suffice.

BTW, if you have a 01. 5 or newer, consider "Kleen Wheels" on all four corners. i put them on ASAP when new, and the wheels get no brake dust, and stay clean, even on my dusty road.

 

[RKohn]

I forget the brand, but...

the cheap stuff in the bright green bottle at Wal-Mart cuts the brake dust real well. Oo.

 

[Bigstick]

When it comes to polishing out metal, I know my sh$t. I have polished out a many things on my trucks. The wheels we have are coated, DO NOT USE ANY TYPE OF METAL POLISH ON THEM it WILL scratch them leaving you in pain and agony for making such a DA mistake. I just wash mine at least once a week with the truck with car wash soap and a sponge. I believe Eagle One makes a wheel cleaner for clear coated wheels. I do not trust as I used some on an old set of clear coated wheels once and it stained. Just use soap and water and keep them clean and you should be allright or save money and buy a set of Weld wheels then you can use cool polish like Blue Magic or Heavy Metals and make them really shine.

 

[1tuffram]

Thanks Bigstick,



I thought I had heard the wheels where coated so care needed to be taken on what to use for cleaning. I almost purchased some Aluminum/mag wheel cleaner at Auto Zone today but was undecided on the Blue Magic or the Eagle One stuff. Glad I did not, since it sounds like I would screw-up my wheels if I would have used either. I did see some Eagle One stuff called "Never Dull" and it said Wadding cloth on the can. I opened it and it looked like strips of rags with some kind of kerosene or chemical smell to them. The container claims it was for polishing and protecting all types of metal and aluminum. Would this stuff also be harmful on the OEM aluminum wheels?

 

[Okie-Go]

The never dull is in my opinion safe to use. I have used it on mine before with no apparent problems. It is like a rag of some type, then just buff with a clean cloth.