Dire help needed! Messed up the lip on a set of rims!

I'm waiting for a product to come in the mail courtesy of Mother's. However, I did go back to do some more work on the wheels the other night using the same Mother's Chrome Polish (even though I've concluded that they're a polished aluminum) and I had some more success. I was able to remove almost all of the scum that was etched onto the wheels. But, no matter how hard I tried to polish with the Mother's CP, the wheels didn't get shiny. They maintained a matte, almost brushed look. Very big improvement though. Below, I took a picture of the wheels. On the left is the BEFORE, the right shows the AFTER. I'll go back to work on the rims when the package arrives in the mail, but for the time being, the rims are not an eyesore anymore.



beforeAFTER.jpg
 
Man. If I didn't know any better, I'd say those things look like they'e anodized.



I looked at the link Forrest proved, and the Cavalier shows a set that looks just like the wheels, and they too, look anodized.



I wonder if they are offered in chrome, and polished, and anodized (possibly referred to as "Super Finish Gray"?)



If they are indeed anodized... they probably never did look like uncoated aluminum.

Can your friend clue us in on the original "patina"?
 
vassman said:
I'm waiting for a product to come in the mail courtesy of Mother's. However, I did go back to do some more work on the wheels the other night using the same Mother's Chrome Polish (even though I've concluded that they're a polished aluminum) and I had some more success. I was able to remove almost all of the scum that was etched onto the wheels. But, no matter how hard I tried to polish with the Mother's CP, the wheels didn't get shiny. They maintained a matte, almost brushed look. Very big improvement though. Below, I took a picture of the wheels. On the left is the BEFORE, the right shows the AFTER. I'll go back to work on the rims when the package arrives in the mail, but for the time being, the rims are not an eyesore anymore.



beforeAFTER.jpg
Click to expand...



That looks MUCH better. I've been polishing aluminum for a long time and i've thought some aluminum was chrome and used CP and just got sooooooo frustrated with it.



Remember that with aluminum it's just like polishing paint, you polish and your rag will turn black, which is just aluminum itself sort of like how a car when you polish it you remove a very small amount of clear coat to get it down even with the rest of it.



Anyway, it looks like it's done great work.. if I knew for sure it was aluminum, I would have recommended an actual buffing wheel you use with a drill and it does the job soooooo much quicker and then you use the mother's at the very end for the extreme shine. You might think about adding some sort of wheel wax or something that is safe for aluminum... but be careful, some of them will dull aluminum. It's nice because you can fix a lot of issues with polished aluminum. Chrome is much easier to care for but once it's scratched, cracked or whatever, it's gone forever.
 
I haven't used wheel cleaners in years. Usually a good car wash soap and some metal polish is enough to clean even really bad wheels.
 
vassman said:
I'm waiting for a product to come in the mail courtesy of Mother's. However, I did go back to do some more work on the wheels the other night using the same Mother's Chrome Polish (even though I've concluded that they're a polished aluminum)
Click to expand...



Using a chrome polish is NOT recommended on polished aluminum. Chrome is a hard, thin plating. Aluminum is a soft alloy. I'd really suggest you not use the Chrome Polish and just wait for the proper repair products to show up.



Keep in mind the damage was caused by using an improper cleaner. Using an improper polish is not going to help. A polish made for use on a hard plating is going to scratch a soft alloy when used.
 
UPDATE!



Finally, I finished the rims that were haunting me for so long. I used several products to get the job done. Thanks to everyone for the feedback and advice; you really helped me fix the dilemma. Anyway! Onto the good stuff! I used several products from Mother's, which included Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish, Mother's Billet Polish, Mother's PowerCone, and Mother's Powerball Mini. The stuff was amazing, and was exactly what I needed to fix the rims. I was able to get the job done in about two hours. The pictures don't do the rims justice, and they look much better in person, but the pictures do give you an idea of how severely damaged the rims were in the first place.



Went to my friends house to test the rims at night time. Even after the rim was cleaned, there was absolutely no shine at all!

rims-BnA.jpg




Went back in the daytime to see just how dirty the rims were.

rims-BnA3.jpg




Finally, after weeks of hardship, by using the right products, I was able to bring the rims back to their original look.

rims-BnA2.jpg
 
What order and procedure worked best for you? LOL why didn't you clean the rest of the rim? Did you use something to seal it?
 
I used the Mother's PowerCone with the Mag & Aluminum Polish as the first layer (for no particular reason), and went over it again with the Mother's Billet Polish as the final layer. No sealant was used for it. I didn't bother cleaning the rest of the rim because the car itself was filthy
 
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