For clear coated rims you can treat them the same as most painted surfaces...I use Poorboys Pro-polish to clean and polish the clear then seal after to protect and help keep the brake dust buildup....Your going to need some elbow grease to cut the clear as its pretty hard but that will get the surface clean and smooth
If you have non-clear coated rim and you can tell if you rub them and the cloth turns black then there is no clear coat...Threw the PAC sponsor on this site you can get Zephyr Pro-40 metal polish...Its the one that I use and it works like the bomb on polish aluminum.......Its going to take some elbow grease but you will get decent results....the power ball talked about here is a good elbow saver and will produce better results those are available at allot of auto parts stores, or online do a search for them.
These are rims off my old Jeep they where really dull and hazing looking....I used the Zephyr Pro-4o and a cotton polish bob on a rotary to achieve these results.....polish aluminum is about heat and that's what will get you results