Is it a good idea to....

[Jeanius]

Use a claybar cleaner such as ClayMagic on aluminum wheels? I had the curb rash grinded off my wheels, I washed off all the dust, dried them off and proceeded to use the claymagic on them (only the outer lip) and the dirt would not stop coming off! I did one wheel 3 times and still after that when id rub the claybar on it all the lube and the claybar would turn black. Am I taking off polish from before or is it dirt?

[Coop '02Z]

You are just polishing the aluminum but VERY inefficiently. Get some Blue Magic aluminum polish you will get further much faster. The black is just oxidation.

[Injuneer]

If you've had the wheel ground, and then polished progressively smoother, all you really need to do is make sure you got the grit and residue off. The clay bar would be good for embedded particles in paint, acid-rain residue, calcium from water spots, etc. But you don't have any of those on your wheels at this point.

As noted above, all you are doing is messing up your clay by coating it with aluminum oxide.

Ive had very good results with Mothers Aluminum Polish for a rough cut, followed by the Mothers Incredible Billet Polish. It will have well finished aluminum looking like chrome. After you are done, don't forget the Zaino.

[Jeanius]

If you've had the wheel ground, and then polished progressively smoother, all you really need to do is make sure you got the grit and residue off. The clay bar would be good for embedded particles in paint, acid-rain residue, calcium from water spots, etc. But you don't have any of those on your wheels at this point.

As noted above, all you are doing is messing up your clay by coating it with aluminum oxide.

Ive had very good results with Mothers Aluminum Polish for a rough cut, followed by the Mothers Incredible Billet Polish. It will have well finished aluminum looking like chrome. After you are done, don't forget the Zaino.

Thanks for the reply, I was just doing this cuz I thought it might clean the aluminum before I applied any polish to it. How do you polish your aluminum? I was thinking about getting the mothers powerball (I think its called) that hooks up to a drill but I dont know if it would be better to do it by hand, its only the outer rim of the TTII's that I want to polish up because the center will be powdercoated, also, which zaino are you supposed to use on the wheels? Does it act as a sealer?

[Injuneer]

I've always polished by hand. I have Weld Pro-Stars for the track, and they are not clear coated, so it takes a bit of work to get them clean. I bought the Mothers Power Ball a month or two ago, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

Polishing aluminum generates a lot of the black oxide... that's part of the polishing process. Use a cotton towel that you can afford to give up for car drying, since it will always be black after you apply the aluminum polish and buff it off. A small swatch of the towel to apply the polish, and then use the main part of the cotton towel to buff the polish off and get the final shine.

[Coop '02Z]

There is a company called Blitz that makes a better "ball" for polishing. It has felt strips so it is alot more durable than the one that Mothers makes. (that one is the red sponge like one isn't it)

[Jeanius]

There is a company called Blitz that makes a better "ball" for polishing. It has felt strips so it is alot more durable than the one that Mothers makes. (that one is the red sponge like one isn't it)

Yea it looks looks kinda like a mini mop head, I think I might just do it by hand since its only the outer part of the rim, where can i find the blitz ball

Injuneer, What zaino do I use on the wheels and what does it do (protect, shine, seal)

[Injuneer]

I use the regular Zaino for paint..... Z1, Z2, Z5..... mainly on my polished ZR1 wheels, and they are clear coated. It keeps the brake dust off. I don't use it as much on the uncoated Pro-Stars, but then I don't generally run the Pro-Stars more than a 1/4-mile at a time

[Jeanius]

I see, My T/A is a daily driver, so ill probably just use some wheel wax to seal it, thanks again for the help!