I know a lot of you will INSTANTLY say go chrome. However, I kind of like the slightly less blingy look of a nicely polished aluminum wheel. Does anyone on here have aftermarket polished wheels? Are they a nightmare to keep looking "show" ready? I imagine with all the new Flitz Polish *****, Meguiars Polish cones, and so on, it can't be THAT bad to keep them looking great. Not to mention, there is significant savings going non-chrome. Please help.

 

My Street Rod has a lot of polished aluminum as opposed to chrome, including the wheels. I can speak from experience that it takes a lot of maintenance to keep looking new. You really need to be proactive with the polishing and not let it go for too long. I always use Mothers Aluminum Polish and a rag. I would just do a little each time and follow a routine. If you are just talking wheels then doing it by hand should be easy enough and less messy.

 

mine aren't bad, my whole bike is polished aluminum minus the handlebars. I usually have to polish them in the spring and then they're ok until you ride in the rain a lot or get into salt.

 

oxidation is a mother. And made the mistake of using one of the purple cleaners, like greased lightning and it has nickel in it, which makes the pretty aluminum oxidize and you get to repolish everything to get the gray streaks out.

 

I use the polish at the link below on my polished aluminum parts. It works better than any wheel polish I have used in the past. Someone recommended it and I found it at my local ACE. I got it for the polished wheels on my old truck and it made them look almost like chrome.

http://www.amazon.com/SCI-Scandicraf.../dp/B0000DE4QE

 

I've had really nice results w flitz in the past on metals, firearms, etc. you guys are really starting to talk me into saving some dough and going the polished route I look at this this way. I don't come from a wealthy family or anything. I take pride in my work ethic and I do value my possessions. I clean my bike like it already has expensive wheels. Furthermore, i dont care what anyone says chrome is going to "give" sooner or later. All you need is that one good pebble to hit it the right way. Dunno if youve ever been in Chicago. Our streets suck. You must maintain both finishes to keep them looking top notch. I just never owned polished wheels. Definitely not gonna take it out in the snow. I really try and avoid rain too. I appreciate all your guys input.

 

I use Eagle One aluminum wheel cleaner. Spray it on. Hit it with a soft bristle toilet brush and hose it off. Takes less than 5 minutes to do each wheel : )

 

the nice thing about aluminum vs. chrome is that it will look the same twenty years from now, where chrome will rust through. To quote Joe Dirt... "sh$t'll buff out"

 

Yea. Like I mentioned, especially around here it's bound to happen. As they say, Chicago has 2 seasons. Winter and construction. Roads are horrible. You should see the front end of my car... It's a shame. I know Perf Wheels has some kind of chrome guarantee. But I'm positive some brilliant attorney attached clauses...