What happens if I clear coat my aluminum mags? I just polished them a week ago. They were looking as shiny as new....but now they are dull with dirt spots that won't come off in the car wash. I don't want to have to polish my wheels every week....can't I protect them with clear coat or something?

 

thats a good question i would also like to know the anwser. also what type of clear would you put on it.

 

I was told not to put any polish or any other type of compound on my wheels once they were polished, because there are abrassives in it that will dull and scratch.
I was told to use Windex and works well, search some of my posts for wheel pics, I'm not at my computer right now.

 

Windex is a good cleaner.... a bit harsh but OK.

Use clear carnabu wax to protect your wheels. Don't use aluminum polish. You could clear coat them but this presents all kinds of potential for problems.

1. Clear coat dulls finish.
2. Clear coat runs or is not smooth.
3. Doesn't resist chemicals or spills and spots or white clouds.
4. Peels off then you have to take it off and start over.

Right now I'm using Meguairs with good luck. They make a 1/2/3 step waxing system where 1 is a cleaner, 2 is a polish and 3 is a carnabu wax. I just use the 3rd step.

 

Yeah, that 3 step by Meguiar's is awesome, so you say the 3rd step works good huh. Guess I'll give it a try.

 

Doesnt Mother's make a clean posish with no abrasives? I know thire wax doesn't have abrasives.

 

This is a bit hard to explain but I will try. Every single "aluminum polish" I have every tried uses a chemical base to "de-oxidize" aluminum. This is for aluminum that is screwed messed up, tarnished, oxidized.

When you put it on you will notice the rag turns black.

Problem comes from the aluminum being porous. The black chemical on the rag fills these pores and actually dulls the aluminum a bit. In more severe cases it will actually cause what I term "black clouding".

This is where the carnabu wax comes in. The pores still get filled but it is with clear/white wax. This is also why the point that your aluminum will look it's absolute best is directly after you buff with white rouge.

If your aluminum is in real bad shape you could use the aluminum polishes to make it look better then finish it off with the carnabu wax.

 

I just bought seven dollars worth of mothers california gold carnauba wax. I polished a wheel with Mothers aluminum polish, then I waxed it with carnauba wax. Is the wax supposed to protect it so it doesn't get dirty? How do I clean the wheel without losing the coat of wax? The wax didn't really seem to make a big difference as far as looks.

 

The wax is purely for protection. Try windex, I did and worked well.

 

Cool thanx

 

Um, dude. Windex = ammonia = no more wax on wheel Ever dripped windshield cleaner on your paint from a gas station squeegee? The dull spot that results is because the ammonia has removed the wax in your paint. *Ouch*

 

That's why you get the ammonia free kind, oops forgot that part.