Guys, just curious to see what type of cleaner and polish you use on your 20' inch wheels. Are these Rims real chrome or some type of polished chrome. I dont want to put anything on them and mess them up, been there done that before..... Thanks for any advice.

 

Are they the chrome? or aluminum? My alumin ones have a clearcoat layer on them, and i cant polish them till thats off, once it is ill be using just normal polish, and then usin Zoop seal to keep em shiny

 

I noticed that my '03 has what looks like a clear coat on them while some '04s that I've seen look like just chrome and have a way brighter shine. Does anyone know about this? Did they take the clear coat off for the '04s or are they different wheels? I'd like to be able to shine my rims to look like the '04s I've seen (a little bit of bling on a badgeless truck). Should I try to take the clear coat off and what should I use to do it? I just don't want to end up messing up my rims.

 

They're two styles of rims, some are chrome, some are aluminum. Once the clearcoat comes off, we can get our alumin's to shine just like the chrome ones, just need lots of elbow greese.

 

If you have the chromed rims, try this test. Look at the rim's lip near the tire, where the wheelweight is attached to the rim. One of your rims should have a wheelweight attached to it. At that point you should see that the edge of the rim is aluminum, and just inside that you will see a seam where the wheel changes to the chrome look. If the seam is visible, your rims are like my chrome optioned rims ( I ask this as I only know about my new 05 truck, and maybe at one time MP built them differently). Now tap one of the spokes with a fingertip. If it sounds hollow, you have the PLASTIC CHROME covers like mine does. I believe these rims are just the aluminum rims with a doubleback taped or glued plastic cover on them!

If yours are like mine, be very carefull when you clean them, as the chromed plastic will scratch pretty easily.....

Allen

 

You got that right, my 2003 had the chrome plastic, hubcaps I call them.....LMAO

 

My rims look chrome but I can see the famous web where brushes and other abrasives have attacked the rims over the last 2-3 years. Never seen Chome do this. I tried your test and the spokes are solid and have a soft feel when I touch them. Be danged if I know. I tried some non amoinia window cleaner on them and made them shine like new money but would like to put a good polish wax on them but just dont know what brand to use.
Thanks for replyin

 

I would be on the safe side and use any wax that was clear coat safe.

 

I guess one more thing to look at. If you look close at where the rim's lip is next to the tire, and where the spokes intersect the rim, on my chrome plastic rims you can see a gap that a flat blade screwdriver could fit into.... IE a 1/16" gap or seam where the plastic cover intersects the rim's lip... Hope this makes sense. If they look scratched and feel soft, they are plastic like mine.

I believe that once mine are trashed I can remove the plastic covers and still have aluminum rims. The main problem with new aluminum rims is the clearcoat will keep you from ever getting a polished look... until the clearcoat is removed.

Allen

 

I had the Chrome Clad (that is what they are called) wheel on my 04 HEMI Ram. They looked awesome and were easy to clean. I don't care if they were plastic or not, they just outshined everything on the road. I cleaned them with Meguiars Quick Detailer and would wax them twice a year.


I do not have the Ram anymore but my Pacifica has the same type of rim (chrome clad) and they also look awesome and are easy to clean/shine.


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