i paid a "friend" of mine to wash my car, IN AND OUT, and she sprayed chrome cleaner on my welds, and now they appear stained!!!!!!!! im pissed, but hey, she didnt know any better...so is there anything i can really do?
would an s.o.s. pad ruin the finish even more? you know, the kind that comes with the dry blue soap in it. my chrome rims got rusty over the winter and the s.o.s. pad cleaned them up like new. but i dont know about aluminum finishes.
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1998 SVT Cobra #4941 of 5174 built on June 19,1998
4.30s, Speedcal, WMS CAI, Pro 5.0 shifter, Sniper Tuner, March pulleys, Mac O/R H pipe, Flowmaster orig. 40's, King Cobra clutch, D/S rotors, FRPP 9mm's, Max. Motorsports C/C plates, Termy front control arms, H&R SS springs, MM solid steering rack bushings, Tokico HP struts and shocks, Mac subrames, HID Bi-Xenon 6000k kit, Saleen 18" wheels, Saleen S-281 spoiler, sequential tails
Up Next: Termi diff, 31 spline Axles, LPW girdle, MM LCAs
yup ive tried pretty much everything...i dunno whut else i could do. since my car is black, ive thought about powder coating my rims black? u think black power coated welds would look good on a freshly painted black 90 coupe?
A couple of things you might try. First- Mother's mag polish. If that don't do it then try a gray Scotch- brite pad( available from any autobody supply) ,if that works then go back over the rim with the mag polish.Another alternative( more work) is to wet sand the rim with 2000-2500 grit and polish the rim. Use moderate pressure when doing either method. DO NOT USE any scotch-brite pad as they are color coded for grit. It'll be some work but these methods help keep my polished aluminum on my Harley looking good. Hope this helps.
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65-2&2, 63 Falcon vert, 32 coupe, 76f-250 4&4,72 Ranchero GT-Some is good,more is better,and too much is just enough.
Mothers or Auto Brite polish and lots of rubbing Hope it works
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1995 Mustang GT - Vert
RHD Conversion, Vortech V2-SQ, 42# injectors, CAPA Chip, 18" BonSpeed Wheels, 3.73 Motive Gears, AutoMeter Gauge Pod, Pedders Springs, Koni Shocks, 13" Cobra Brakes, BBK Shorty Headers
~~ He Who Dies With The Most Toys Wins. But Is Nonetheless Dead ! ~~
This is probably the best stuff available for aluminum cleaning and polishing http://www.rebelsmetalpolish.com/. I've used this on the big truck for years, and it is fast and easy to use. Don't take my word for it, get a free sample from the Rebel and see for yourself.
Some household aluminum pot cleaners may indeed take out the oxidation. The stains will be difficult to remove since it is essentially chemically anodized. The stain actually creates a protective layer on the surface of the aluminum and it may be harder than the unstaind areas. Aluminum is very reactive and will change appearence with chemicals. Brillo pads will scratch the surface. I would try a tarnish remover that is compatible with aluminum (read the metals usage on the container before using it). I have seen a product in the machine shop called aluma-brite (something like that) which is used on aluminum parts prior to anodizing. It will take off the oxide layer off the aluminum surface sort of like the silver tarnish remover that was on TV some long time ago. If the welds are the light weight type with the three piece assembly, the aluminum shell is relatively thin and I am not sure if they can be machined. There are places that re-surface wheels, perhaps they may be able to suggest something. Best of luck in getting them back to their original color!
Hi 915.0coupe,
I accidently did something similar to the rims on my '94 GT. I used some of the wheel cleaner stuff and prompty sprayed it off, but if stained a couple of the wheels really badly, to the point I was considering buying new wheels. I tried all kinds of cleaners before finally finding something that worked.
At the local auto parts store I picked up some Turtle Wax chrome polish and it worked wonders for me. I was amazed at how well it did work. One of my wheels in particular looked awful before the treatment but you couldn't tell it apart from the others after the polishing. It works like a car wax, just rub it on, let it dry and buff it off.
I hope this helps you out.
Happy Motoring,
MrMustang1
I just cleaned up a set of 18" CCW's that were pitted from brake dust and severely discolored. I used Mother's mag wheel polish and the finest steel wool I could find...I believe it was 0000. It took some rubbing but they look great!
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After building Porsches, I now realize how elementary American cars really are!
My Welds Are Ruined!!!!!!!!! 
Hope it works
