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Old 02-02-2013, 07:22 PM   #1
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It's Polishing Time Again

For you do it yourselfers, here are the tools and polishing products I used today to put the shine back on my Journey Wheels. It took about 30 minutes per wheel for the polishing part of the job.
First I wash each wheel to remove all dirt and grime. Then I spray Magic Mix Aluminum Polishing Prep which helps to remove any water spotting. Next I polish using the Mothers Mini polishing ball and Flitz Aluminum Polish. To remove the nasty black residue in the final wipe down step, just sprinkle some cornstarch on your polishing rag and wipe off the remaining polish. I then rinse each wheel and dry.
Not real hard, but start to finish ate up about 4 hours.

Magic Mix Aluminum Polishing Prep

Flitz Aluminum Polish

Cornstarch

Mothers Mini Power Ball

Cordless Drill












Have Fun,
Sammie
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Old 02-02-2013, 07:44 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammie View Post
For you do it yourselfers, here are the tools and polishing products I used today to put the shine back on my Journey Wheels. It took about 30 minutes per wheel for the polishing part of the job.
First I wash each wheel to remove all dirt and grime. Then I spray Magic Mix Aluminum Polishing Prep which helps to remove any water spotting. Next I polish using the Mothers Mini polishing ball and Flitz Aluminum Polish. To remove the nasty black residue in the final wipe down step, just sprinkle some cornstarch on your polishing rag and wipe off the remaining polish. I then rinse each wheel and dry.
Not real hard, but start to finish ate up about 4 hours.

Magic Mix Aluminum Polishing Prep

Flitz Aluminum Polish

Cornstarch

Mothers Mini Power Ball

Cordless Drill












Have Fun,
Sammie
Thank God my are Stainless Steel Covers...nice job..I feel your pain...I have to custom Harleys with tons of chrome or aluminum to polish...
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Old 02-02-2013, 07:45 PM   #3
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Looks Great Sammie!!!
I did mine this fall and didnt do a great job like you have done.
I am going to pull the lug covers and acid etch them this spring and then polish them with Adams metal polish!
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Old 02-02-2013, 07:47 PM   #4
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Great job Sammie. You have too much time on your hands.

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Old 02-02-2013, 09:51 PM   #5
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Sammie,
Nice job partner. Polishing these wheels, to me, is kind of fun. I put on the outside stereo, plug in my I-pod, get some '50s and '60s music going and sit down and get at it. My wheels weren't too bad when we purchased the coach about 20 months ago so, I didn't have to work too hard to get them to the condition you see them in the pics.

I now spend about 20 minutes per wheel, about every 3 months to keep them like that. Then, they get covered between trips.
Scott


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Old 02-02-2013, 10:28 PM   #6
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Scott,

Your camera must be a better model than mine as your wheels look shinier than mine. Really, what brand polish do you use?

Sammie
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Old 02-02-2013, 11:41 PM   #7
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Hey Sammie,
Actually I have several different aluminum polishes. To get the really dull finish off or, some deeper scratches and corrosion off, I use a 3" x 1/2" cotton, tightly sewed buffing wheel and some brown rouge. Then, when I'm satisfied with it's results, I head on over to either semi-chrome, or Wenol. Then, I graduate into the Zephyr 40 which, at one time, was a "Costco Online" product only. But, the last time I checked, Costco on line was not selling it any more. Imagine that, Costco not carrying something the sold prior.

I use the yellow, micro fiber towels for most of the application of the polishing compound and, the buffing. I've not had to use anything to remove the black film. It comes off with the regular buffing cloth. Hope this helps some.
Scott
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Old 02-03-2013, 01:01 AM   #8
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Ummmm... I don't understand how to do it..
Can you show me on my wheels?
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Old 02-03-2013, 02:56 AM   #9
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I too sorta enjoy the satisfaction of polishing my wheels. It's not too bad but doing six is a little like work. I used to polish ten on my Tractor and trailer and the fuel tanks!
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Old 02-03-2013, 05:18 AM   #10
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Sammie, the wheels look great.

For FireUP, only a retired firefighter with too much smoke in his blood would say polishing these wheels is 'fun.' .

I try to do mine once in spring and again in the fall. That little Mothers polishing ball and some Wicked metal polish do the job for sure.
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Old 02-03-2013, 12:15 PM   #11
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They do look good. I pay to have mine done and it wears me out just watching the guy do it.
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Old 02-03-2013, 05:37 PM   #12
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Sammie and Fire UP -- NICE JOB!

So I'm still confused on these AccuRide wheels. Don't they have a coating of some sort on them which they recommend not using a wheel polish on???

I know it's been documented here before, and I'd love to do a buff-n-shine on my '07 Journey wheels, but I have always been under the impression if I do, it will harm them.

Please set me straight. Maybe this time, I'll get it!
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Old 02-03-2013, 05:43 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pusherman
Sammie and Fire UP -- NICE JOB!

So I'm still confused on these AccuRide wheels. Don't they have a coating of some sort on them which they recommend not using a wheel polish on???

I know it's been documented here before, and I'd love to do a buff-n-shine on my '07 Journey wheels, but I have always been under the impression if I do, it will harm them.

Please set me straight. Maybe this time, I'll get it!
If they are coated they will have "Accushield" stamped on them somewhere.
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Old 02-03-2013, 06:08 PM   #14
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Hey Mr Pusherman,
There are some wheels on these coaches that come from the factory with a coating on them. I could not even guess as to the ratio of how many come with a coating and how many don't. Or, if a certain brand of coach manufacturer stipulates to the wheel supplier that the wheels supplied to him have a coating or not.

Accuride wheels have a coating on some of their wheels called "Accu-sheild". And, to the best of my knowledge, it's printed right on the wheels if, it's there. If you have Accuride wheels and you don't see that moniker on them, then you should be able to polish your wheels to your hearts content without worry of damage. And, as I've stated to many folks here, two things. One, if a person is unsure of a coatings presence or not, then put a dab of polish on a rag, rub in a small spot and, if you've got black residue instantly, there's no coating and the polish is doing what it's supposed to do.

Second, the coating, if present, is seriously strong stuff. By trying a dab of polish on a spot on the wheel, you're not going to damage that coating within the time frame it takes to determine if you have black residue or not. If the coating was that weak, that a tiny bit of attempted polishing would do damage, then it would come off very easily and be damaged easily by common everyday contact.

If I had to guess, by the reports on this site alone, there's more folks that have uncoated wheels than there are with the coated ones. But, no numbers are there to back me up.
Scott
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Old 02-03-2013, 06:20 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pusherman View Post
Sammie and Fire UP -- NICE JOB!

So I'm still confused on these AccuRide wheels. Don't they have a coating of some sort on them which they recommend not using a wheel polish on???

I know it's been documented here before, and I'd love to do a buff-n-shine on my '07 Journey wheels, but I have always been under the impression if I do, it will harm them.

Please set me straight. Maybe this time, I'll get it!
Don, I'm not sure about Accuride wheels but I know Alcoa offered an aluminum wheel that had a coating on it and it was not to be polished. One way to know for sure is that when your wheels start to get that hazy look like the one pictured below it should be able to be polished. Take a dab of simichrome or blue magic or some mothers aluminum polish and try it in a small spot on your wheel. If the aluminun polish starts to turn kinda black, that is just the polish doing its job. It won't take much elbow grease to rub that spot and you won't hurt your wheel if it does have a coating. Just don't go crazy and start off with the drill motor and polishing ball.

Sammie

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Old 02-04-2013, 10:26 AM   #16
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First check of the wheels reveals the label AccuRide (not AccuShield). So my guess is they're polish-able.

Next test will be next week, when I get it into the warmth of the shop and try the polish test like both of you suggested. I'll let you know the results.

Thanks!
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Old 02-04-2013, 02:08 PM   #17
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Pusherman,
As you've read on here and possibly other RV forums, polishing these wheels can be a chore or, it may be a simple brush up to the luster you desire. It all depends on just what kind of condition they're in when you start the process. Really oxidized aluminum requires more agressive compound(s) or stronger rouges. The finer the surface becomes, the less agressive the polish has to be. And in the final stage, 99.9% of the time, only a liquid polishing compound will most likely be needed.
But, if they're heavily oxidized, and one trys to use a light duty polishing compound, it will be a lot more work and, the intended results will be a long way off. So, hope this helps some.
Scott
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Old 02-04-2013, 04:09 PM   #18
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flitz
elbow grease and a set of polishing pads
and whammmmmoooooo

followed by a good coat of wax to seal them, now i just damp cloth wipe off the dust and dry em to a high shine
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Old 02-04-2013, 04:19 PM   #19
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powerboatr,

Jeez, I just went to your post and was almost blinded by the picture on my monitor. Nice job

Sammie
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Old 02-04-2013, 04:31 PM   #20
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Very nice job on the wheels to all you polishers. I have the accushield on my wheels so I'm assuming I don't need to polish them. But they aren't as shiny as shiny as the ones in this thread even though they do have coating.

One question I have is how do I get rid if the corrosion around the lug nuts. It's on almost every wheel. I'm assuming the coating has come off the wheels due to the wheels being removed. I've attached a pic, but I took it with my iPhone, then uploaded it to photobucket and inserted it in this post all from my iPhone. Not sure if it'll work or not.

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