Forged Rims - Billet or Chrome Polish or Mag&Alum Polish

[cntlaw]

Loads of questions.
I have a car with forged Rims and another car with Alloy rims(Benz C-class W203 stock rims), Not so sure to use which, Billet or Chrome Polish or Mag&Alum Polish ? I only have Chrome Polish and Mag&Alum Polish, do I really need to get the Billet ? Can anyone suggest what brand/model of rechargeable drill I should buy for driving the Mini Power ball ? Can I skip Power Ball and just get the Mini Power Ball?

thx
CNT

[admin]

Always remember to use the appropriate product for the finish.

While wheels are made of many different types of metals, including cast aluminum, billet aluminum, forged aluminum, steel, wire, etc... you must keep in mind that you are addressing the finish on the wheel -- not what's underneath it.

• For chrome, use a chrome polish.
• For bare aluminum, use an aluminum polish
• For bare aluminum that's dense, like billet and forged, use a billet polish -- it's a finer polish and can make those metals "pop"
• For painted or clearcoated, use a paint care product or a product like our Plastic Polish (a formula which works good on the plasticized clearcoats on factory alloys).

Factory wheels are generally chrome if they're not clearcoated/painted; some are polished aluminum and then clearcoated. Clearcoating makes them easy to maintain.

On custom wheels, it's not uncommon to have a variety of finishes, so one must be careful to use a product that's appropriate for each finish.

If you're not sure what your wheels are, let us know the exact model and we'll try to help.

You don't want to use our Mag & Aluminum Polish or our PowerMetal on chrome or clearcoated wheels -- while one accidental application likely won't affect it (and may even provide a nice shine), repeated applications will wear on them.

[admin]

Part 2 of your question...

Our "how to" sticky at the top of this page has the following tip:

? Ideal for use with most cordless drills of at least 14.4V and capable of speeds of at least 1200 RPM at 350 in.-lbs of torque.

Though that's fairly vague, our recommendation is that you don't get a cheap drill. The more you spend the better for all uses. At least if you go low-end, be sure you have a spare battery.

Some of us have 19.2-volt Mac Tools drills or an 18-volt DeWalt, but these run US$150-$300 and we don't expect that you should have to spend that. You should be able to get by with something much less, but we've seen some US$50 that don't really cut it.

Based on the photos I've seen you post, you should be fine with the PowerBall Mini.

[cntlaw]

Originally Posted by admin

Always remember to use the appropriate product for the finish.

While wheels are made of many different types of metals, including cast aluminum, billet aluminum, forged aluminum, steel, wire, etc... you must keep in mind that you are addressing the finish on the wheel -- not what's underneath it.

• For chrome, use a chrome polish.
• For bare aluminum, use an aluminum polish
• For bare aluminum that's dense, like billet and forged, use a billet polish -- it's a finer polish and can make those metals "pop"
• For painted or clearcoated, use a paint care product or a product like our Plastic Polish (a formula which works good on the plasticized clearcoats on factory alloys).

Factory wheels are generally chrome if they're not clearcoated/painted; some are polished aluminum and then clearcoated. Clearcoating makes them easy to maintain.

On custom wheels, it's not uncommon to have a variety of finishes, so one must be careful to use a product that's appropriate for each finish.

If you're not sure what your wheels are, let us know the exact model and we'll try to help.

You don't want to use our Mag & Aluminum Polish or our PowerMetal on chrome or clearcoated wheels -- while one accidental application likely won't affect it (and may even provide a nice shine), repeated applications will wear on them.

Thanks, very thoughtful guidelines. I suspect rims of both my cars are likely clear-coated. They are:-
- Japan RAYS Volks Racing ME for BMW
- 2004 AMG Style IV Sterling silver paint finish for C-class
Not sure if you can help to confirm it before I apply any of my polish products?

Today, I tried both my M&A and Chrome Polish.
I found M&A is very similar to AutoGym's metal polish I used to use for my exhausts.

However, today, I applied Chrome Polish to my exhaust tips, as I believe the exhaust tips are chrome (very shiny) , not aluminium.

I tried M&A on a 35 years old stainless steel fingernails cutter, and it removed the old stains effectively!

I also tried Chrome Polish on the water tap of my kitchen , it worked fine !

I have found Chrome Polish is more mild than the M&A. Just wonder would there be any issues if I apply M&A to chrome finish? I did not find any issues to apply Autogym metal polish to my exhaust tips, but I felt that Chrome Polish seems to remove the stains at the edge of the exhaust tips more effectively.

I guess the door/window metal trims of my E90 is stainless steel, I am planning to apply M&A instead of Chrome Polish; or can I use both on them?

I don't have Power Polish yet, guess I will be even more confused when I have it .

[admin]

Our Chrome polish is mild, and though it is intended for Chrome, you can use it on glass or other highly polished metal finishes if all they need is a mild cleaner and some protection. You can also use our Glass Cleaner on chrome. But sometimes you need a polish, so we have our Chrome Polish.

Note: Mothers Chrome Polish is more mild than others out there, so we only recommend ours as safe on glass; we can't speak for other brands and their use on glass -- check the fine print.

Our Mag & Aluminum Polish can be used on just about any bare metal. Chrome is not a bare metal, but because of Mag Polish's superior cleaning capabilities, it's also good for chrome that is lightly corroded or rusty. But Mag Polish is not recommended for repeated use on chrome.

Note: Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish is a little more aggressive than some other mag polishes, and is only recommended for use with polishable bare metals. Some brands of wheel/metal/mag polish are mild enough to use on most any surface, but that trait also makes them less useful on bare metals.

For polishing stainless steel, which can be a very hard finish, you might be able to get by with just a pure carnauba wax or chrome polish if you need little or no polishing, but just want to protect it. If you do need to polish, Mag & Aluminum Polish would be recommended, and you're likely going to want to use a PowerBall.

Since your exhaust tips look shiny (or even if they were brushed), likely they are polished stainless steel. In the old days exhaust tips were often chrome, but stainless steel is more common today with aftermarket and factory performance exhausts such as found on BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes.

Based on what I could find online, your wheels are not bare metal, but painted/coated.

Bare Metal Test: if you're not sure you're working with bare metals, lightly rub a little Mag & Aluminum Polish on a clean surface and it should turn charcoal gray in just a few seconds if it is bare metal -- either aluminum (cast, billet, or forged), brass or stainless steel. Read more in the Detail Guide.

[cntlaw]

Originally Posted by admin

Based on what I could find online, your wheels are not bare metal, but painted/coated.

Bare Metal Test: if you're not sure you're working with bare metals, lightly rub a little Mag & Aluminum Polish on a clean surface and it should turn charcoal gray in just a few seconds if it is bare metal -- either aluminum (cast, billet, or forged), brass or stainless steel. Read more in the Detail Guide.

Thx a lot, all well said and exactly what I wanted to know for my lesson 2 of mastering of metals polishing !

I would think those wheels I have are 'coated' to certain degree. I am keen to polish the forged Rays ME rims to very shine. So, I would do the test as you have suggested, and will try a bit of Chrome Polish to a small area of it and see the effect.
If I still find risky to use the products, I would just use Mothers cleaner wax to polish the rims.

Now, I need to know so I really need to buy Billet Polish for my forged Rays ME rims ?

I some time use Showtime to clean/polish the rims with MF paper, at least it removes the water stains and some brake dust left off after wash. Today, I also tried to use Mothers Glass Cleaner on the Rays ME forged rims, it does clean off some dirt in a way but after dried, the feel is not as smooth as when I used Showtime?

BTW, I applied the FX Wheels Cleaner to the very dirty forged rims today; I felt the bake dust /grease seemed to be washed off (with a hose) much easier than any previous wheels cleaning products (pretty disappointed with the standard Mothers Wheel Cleaner).

Because I also used a brush and towel wet with Mothers car shampoo to wash the rims , even I cannot be 100% sure how effective the FX Wheels Cleaner is, but I still think that it is the best wheel cleaning product I have ever used, as the Rays ME mutiple spokes rims definitely looked more shine than before.
( the only issue is Mothers products are not cheap here , use it for cleaning 4 19" mutltispokes rims is a luxury ! )

t

[admin]

Originally Posted by cntlaw

Thx a lot, all well said and exactly what I wanted to know for my lesson 2 of mastering of metals polishing !

I would think those wheels I have are 'coated' to certain degree. I am keen to polish the forged Rays ME rims to very shine. So, I would do the test as you have suggested, and will try a bit of Chrome Polish to a small area of it and see the effect.
If I still find risky to use the products, I would just use Mothers cleaner wax to polish the rims.

We suggest you not alter the finish... use Cleaner Wax or Plastic Polish or Showtime if they're coated; metal polish if they're bare metal.

Now, I need to know so I really need to buy Billet Polish for my forged Rays ME rims ?

Only if they're bare metal. Forged or billet aluminum -- both dense aluminums -- really brighten with Billet Polish.

I some time use Showtime to clean/polish the rims with MF paper, at least it removes the water stains and some brake dust left off after wash. Today, I also tried to use Mothers Glass Cleaner on the Rays ME forged rims, it does clean off some dirt in a way but after dried, the feel is not as smooth as when I used Showtime?

That makes sense Showtime makes things shine, as it's the nature of the product. If they were chrome, glass cleaner might be more appropriate to clean -- but glass cleaner is not really for shine, unless we're talking glass and lightly dirty chrome.

BTW, I applied the FX Wheels Cleaner to the very dirty forged rims today; I felt the bake dust /grease seemed to be washed off (with a hose) much easier than any previous wheels cleaning products (pretty disappointed with the standard Mothers Wheel Cleaner).

Sorry to hear you had been disappointed with the other product. It could be there was excessive build-up and it took a while to dissolve... and now you're more aware of maintaining your wheels... hard to say at this point, but we're glad you like the FX. PM me offline if you have additional concerns about the other product.

Because I also used a brush and towel wet with Mothers car shampoo to wash the rims , even I cannot be 100% sure how effective the FX Wheels Cleaner is, but I still think that it is the best wheel cleaning product I have ever used, as the Rays ME mutiple spokes rims definitely looked more shine than before.
( the only issue is Mothers products are not cheap here , use it for cleaning 4 19" mutltispokes rims is a luxury ! )

t

[cntlaw]

Originally Posted by admin

Sorry to hear you had been disappointed with the other product. It could be there was excessive build-up and it took a while to dissolve... and now you're more aware of maintaining your wheels... hard to say at this point, but we're glad you like the FX. PM me offline if you have additional concerns about the other product.

Thx again for all the answers. My gut feel is, the Benz rims could be coated and the Rays ME rims could be not. I will be very cautious about applying metal polishers.

You are also right about my experience with the wheels cleaning product, it could be I did not clean cars as often as I am now where there were more accumulated dirt in the old days.
But I have a feeling that the FX Wheel cleaner is more aggressive than other brands of similar products, as I could see the brake dust on the rims coming off so quickly that the whole rims became blacken before I water hose it.

t

[cntlaw]

I am just reading this Chrome/Wire Mist product, which I don't have. It looks like it is something I can simly spray to the rims , clean off the brake dust and dry to shine? Wonder if there any restrictions of its application?

[admin]

Originally Posted by cntlaw

I am just reading this Chrome/Wire Mist product, which I don't have. It looks like it is something I can simly spray to the rims , clean off the brake dust and dry to shine? Wonder if there any restrictions of its application?

You don't want Wheel Mist Chrome/Wire -- it's too strong for your wheels and can damage the finish. Wheel Mist Chrome/Wire is designed to dissolve brake dust on chromed wheel finishes -- especially chromed wire wheels, which can be incredibly tedious to clean by hand.

If you need a spray-on, hose-off wheel cleaner for your wheels, what you want is our Wheel Mist All Wheel -- it's safe for all types of coated wheel finishes and is ideal for both of your vehicles.

[admin]

Forrest is concerned that your BMW's aftermarket wheels may be powdercoated, or have some other special coating. If that's the case, we may want to avoid certain products.

Do you know the exact finish? If not, please consult with your manufacturer representative on your specific wheel finish before proceeding with any cleaners or polishes.

We'll be glad to help further if you can provide more information on the finish.