Hi, new to the forum and just bought a '02 Dodge Ram Sport (4X4) with 20" "chrome" 5 spoke wheels. I worked 2 hrs on them today trying to get them looking good-you know-chrome shiny...and had so-so results. Tried Turdle wax Chrome polish, and several other polishes. Found that some spray on tire foam brought out the best shine, but still not great. I'm guessing these wheels are Aluminum and coated with a plastic maybe? My old '92 Ford F-150 had coated chrome wheels and they looked terrible once the coating got chipped.

Any help on what you guys use to make 'em look great???

 

There's actually two versions of the 20" wheels, the actual chrome clad, and the aluminum. The aluminum will never quite get as shiny as the chrome clad.

 

Thanks...that's what I thought-the other sport wheels I've seen on trucks seemed like mirrors compared to mine. Any recommendations for the aluminum ones?

 

Hi , i only use dish soap and water once they are dry just use a clean cloth for the water spots. Than they look like mirrors, this also depends an what shape their in .

 

There is also the option of polishing them to a mirror finish. I have polished plenums, valve covres, fuel rails etc in other vehicles to a mirror shine. Aluminum will shine up just like chrome if enough time and attention is paid. Check out www.eastwood.com, they have a huge buffing and polishing section. Something Tipoli white rouge and plastic or jewelers compound will get you there. And then I prefer to use Mothers aluminum and chrom polish to keep them nice and shiny. If you dont find what you are looking for or are confused PM me and Ill send you more links. Eastwood also has a video on how to polish etc... though i've never seen it I have heard it is quite good.

 

Theres some incredible stuff i found at a car show called master formula. It will make a pop can shine like brand new chrome. The stuff works wonders. I buy mine off ebay there is a polish and then a protective coat to put over it.

 

Does that white-wall bleaching stuff brighten Alums up any? Chromes?

 

Hey thanks.....what I'm afraid of is do these alum wheels have aplastic coating? From your reply, I'd guess no (unlike my old F-150, which had coated alum chrome wheels).
If anyone had worked on these wheels to look great, LMK. I do jewelery work, so I have a lot of Tripoli, Rough and other polishing compounds. Soooo Mothers would be a good buffing unit to try??? I will read up on the other polishes mentioned here (www.eastwood.com,master formula) -thanks.

 

Mother's mag polish and one of those Mother's powerballs...you can get both at Autozone and/or Wallymart

 

Just by tapping on the wheel you can tell by the sound if you have the plastic faced chrome wheels. If you have them and they are dull, there is very little you can do to restore a shine. Any harse polishes will probably scratch the finish and make them look worse. Waxing or using a window cleaner or plastic cleaner is probably the only way to safely polish them to whatever shine they have. Someone may have cleaned them incorrectly in the past and damaged the finish so they will never shine properly.