I’m looking into some wheels for my 77’. I was just planning on going with some regular black 15x10 steel wagons. But I seen some race line rock crushers on a members ride here and really liked them. But never had any cars with polished aluminum wheels. So my question is are the a pain to take care of or do they just need a rinsing here and there once in a while. I have read some articles on the internet but thought I would ask you guys. Thanks in advance.
CK5
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Polished aluminum wheel guys!!!
- Thread starter mark84k5
- Start date
887 - Rockcrusher – Raceline Wheels
Classic heritage inspired truck styling Outer lip feature aids in overall weight savings Push thru cap with contrasting embossed Raceline logo Constructed out of heavy duty A356 aluminum Available in Polished finish Available in 16” and 17” diameters Passes or exceeds all DOT standard load...
racelinewheels.com
rampage
3/4 ton status
Haven’t used the sharkhide. I have used Mother’s and McGuires. Usually with a diaper so that you don’t scratch or swirl the aluminumI think they are just regular polished wheels.887 - Rockcrusher – Raceline Wheels
Classic heritage inspired truck styling Outer lip feature aids in overall weight savings Push thru cap with contrasting embossed Raceline logo Constructed out of heavy duty A356 aluminum Available in Polished finish Available in 16” and 17” diameters Passes or exceeds all DOT standard load...
I’m up in Michigan. I will be doing a lot of highway driving and a lot of backroads(dirt roads)
Yeah I’m starting to think about going back to the original idea with some cheap steelies. 1/2 the price and I have a feeling they will hold up better.
Bigb55
1/2 ton status
I have Eagle Alloy 589s. They get polished every 12-18 months.
I also have a TJM polished aluminum bumper. Both get cloudy over time. But require some mothers polish and a buffing ball not much else to stay mirror like.
I also have a TJM polished aluminum bumper. Both get cloudy over time. But require some mothers polish and a buffing ball not much else to stay mirror like.
Do they salt where you live?
Bigb55
1/2 ton status
Only salt I get now is when I go up to the mountains. But I do live by the Ocean so the air is salty.
But I had the Eagle Alloys for 20 years on my truck. Two of those were full time in a mountain town with salt in winter. I'd Rinse them often and apply a wax to the exterior face to keep water and salt off as much as possible.
They always clean up nice.
But I had the Eagle Alloys for 20 years on my truck. Two of those were full time in a mountain town with salt in winter. I'd Rinse them often and apply a wax to the exterior face to keep water and salt off as much as possible.
They always clean up nice.
Awesome thanks bud. I would say that’s a good comparison to where I live.
Keeping aluminum nice can take some work, for sure. You must decide if you want the look and weight advantage for the initial cost and the future commitment.
I have done the polish and wax routine, I have heard that baby oil wiped on works, but I have never tried it.
I do know that a good clear coat will work until damaged and there are some good wipe-on coatings nowadays. I have been impressed with Simple Reflections brand, however I haven't been using it very long. It seems amazing on glass and paint so far, but I haven't tested bare aluminum with it against mag chloride or salt.
And my experience has been that mag chloride is worse than salt, it will even etch stainless.
I have done the polish and wax routine, I have heard that baby oil wiped on works, but I have never tried it.
I do know that a good clear coat will work until damaged and there are some good wipe-on coatings nowadays. I have been impressed with Simple Reflections brand, however I haven't been using it very long. It seems amazing on glass and paint so far, but I haven't tested bare aluminum with it against mag chloride or salt.
And my experience has been that mag chloride is worse than salt, it will even etch stainless.
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I have a set of aluminum alloy rims on my crew cab that are clear coated. I have to polish them about once a year. Do not use wheel cleaners on them or you will damage the clear coat on them.
Had Mickey Thompson classics on a truck. Had to polish them at least twice a year. Diluted muriatic acid and rinse and then Eagle metal polish cleaned them up. I’ll never own another set of polished aluminum wheels ever again.
I never used acid on the wheels of my old KW wrecker. The acid seems to open up the pores of the aluminum and kill the reflective surface. It seemed to me that the surface would hold dirt more easily unless polished, so I avoided it.
If I had been running in mag chloride, I would hit them with hot water with the pressure washer first. But I got to where I did that regardless of if I had been in salt or mag. Utah used salt, Colorado more mag. For a normal scrub, just Dawn in water, or car wash soap. Road tar, I would use Super Clean.
I usually only polished all ten of the wheels with a power buffer once a year, but a few quick wipe downs by hand every few months. And that was running 7 to 10K miles per month. I will admit that the wreckers at that company used to get taken care of better than the heavy haul trucks, since they cost more.
I would like the weight savings and the great looks but I don’t want to polish wheels. I know it sounds lazy but it’s just one more thing I would rather not worry about. I’m gonna go with some procomp 51 series 15x10 with some 31x10.50r15 a/r tires. This truck is gonna be a daily driver so I’m not worried about airing down or anything. Thank all of you for taking the time to respond to me.
If you get offroad onto some rough stuff at slower speeds, airing down will help the ride. The weight of the wheel won't be the most noticeable factor. You should be good with steel.
I personally would get an 8" wide wheel for that tire size. I believe that these were 32x11.50x15 on 8" wide rally wheels.
