Aluminum Rims best way to polish?

[Marc Lublin]

My 2000 has polished aluminum rims as do all I think. While they are still perfect I'm sure eventually I will touch a curb. We all know that on these cars, the rims hit first. I want to be, prepared so can anyone tell me their remedies for removing the nicks and polishing. I would think either drill or dremel with fine stone to remove and some type of polishing wheel to shine. If so, where does anyone recommend picking up the necessary stuff.

 

[Matt M PA]

The wheels on your car are indeed polished aluminum...then clear coated. Short of using a good car polish (Zaino, there is really no other care you can do. If you use a metal polish you will damage the clear coat.

 

[Marc Lublin]

I don't think the wheels are clear coated. I'm not talking about anything that Zaino or any other polish/wax can help on. I'm talking about smoothing out scrapes on the rim. Anyone else have a 2nd opinion?

 

[Matt M PA]

Here we go again. Every Viper since 1996 has had clear coated wheels. (Except the painted ones on '96 RTs) I have friends that operate a mag wheel shop, and this is what they do. To get rid of a nick on the face of the wheel, you will want to use the least abrasive manner you can. Maybe some 2000 grit wet-dry sandpaper, but bear in mind that you can't go far without going through the clear coat. If you damage the edge of the rim, you can file the damage smooth with a very fine file. Either way, there is really no way to "fill" the damage that I know of. If you need to use power tools, you are better of leaving to an expert.

 

[Silver98]

I must confess that I did scrape one front rim soon after I took delivery of my Silver Bullet. I used a small Dremel tool to smooth it back and it can hardly be seen now. The clear coat must be very thin because you can not see it around the polished area.