Aluminum wheels will dull over time, eventually producing a faded look that is unattractive. Aluminum is one of the easiest metals to polish, and it only takes a few tools to polish aluminum back to a mirror-like shine. Be sure to have a bench buffer handy along with several polishing pads for the buffer. Polishing compounds are equally important and are the critical part of the process of brightening the metal. This project is messy and can take several quite a while to complete, so work in an area you do not mind getting dirty.
Determine whether you have anodized or non-anodized aluminum wheels. If the wheels are faded it is most likely that they are not anodized. The easiest way to tell is to start polishing with the buffing compound. If nothing seems to happen, then the wheels are probably anodized.
Remove the anodized coating, if present, by spraying the surface of the wheel with oven cleaner. Wear rubber gloves and work outdoors. Allow the cleaner to sit on the surface of the metal for five minutes. Then clean the surface of the metal with fine steel wool. Rinse the metal with dish soap and water to remove any residue.
Place the firm cotton wheel over the bench buffer. Place a few pieces of thick grit polishing compound onto the aluminum wheel. Buff the wheel for several minutes with the rough compound, adding more compound every few seconds.
Wipe off the compound and replace the cotton wheel with a soft cotton pad. Use the next roughest grit polishing compound to buff the wheel for several more minutes. Use the same polishing procedure as you did for the roughest compound.
Continue to switch out cotton wheels for each compound used until you reach the finest grit compound. Polish the wheel for about twice as long with this polishing compound. Apply the compound liberally.
Polish the wheel with a clean buffer pad alone to add a mirror-like shine to the aluminum wheel. Buff the wheel for as long as you think it makes a difference in the appearance of the wheel. Repeat the polishing process for all aluminum pieces. Replace the wheels and try to keep them clean and avoid nicks and scratches.
