General Cycling Discussion - How do you make aluminum rims shiny?

Does anyone know how to make aluminium rims look shiny? Mine are quite dull.

Does anyone know how to make aluminium rims look shiny? Mine are quite dull.
try never dull. this is the easiest to use.
or you may want to try eagle one mag/aluminum polish.
just take your time and keep rubbing on them.they will
get shiny'r the more you rub. you can make them look
chrome.

you're using disc breaks, right?

toothpaste

try never dull.
I'll see if I can find it at the local wally mart.


you're using disc breaks, right?

No, i'm using v-brakes, i assume it's a bad idea to polish the sides.


toothpaste

Uhhh... how does this work :)

well... the brake pads do need to grip the rims.

[QUOTE=operator]I'll see if I can find it at the local wally mart.



No, i'm using v-brakes, i assume it's a bad idea to polish the sides.

you can find it in the automotive dept. @ wally's.
if you have a prob. w/ braking. wipe the area of the rim
with rubbing alchol after polishing.

Older aluminum rims were typically shiny on all surfaces including the breaking surface and they worked just fine. Recently (in the last 20 years) it has been seen as desirable to have anodized aluminum rims. Anodization gives a smoother look to the rim, is typically harder and more scratch resistant, but is more inclined to crack when stressed.

If you have newer anodized rims and you want them truely shiny, you will have to polish off the anodization. A better bet is to find some older rims. [curmudgen mode on] An even better bet is to ride the bike and spend less time looking at it.

Does anyone know how to make aluminium rims look shiny? Mine are quite dull.

Are you trying to remove brake pad residue? A light rubbing with steel wool will polish them up & not hurt the braking surface.

toothpaste

Uhhh... how does this work :)

Many toothpaste brands contain silica or silica gel which acts as an abrasive and polishing agent. People often use toothpaste to polish medals too.

Just wanted to generally look shinier, anyways picked up a can of mothers mag and aluminum polish at the local wally mart.

Just wanted to generally look shinier, anyways picked up a can of mothers mag and aluminum polish at the local wally mart.

i'm sure you will be happy w/ the shine you'll get.
use very small amount @ a time, it doesn't take much.
rub it till its black, then buff w/ clean clothe. well.
follow directions on can. i've used mother's for a long
time. i suggested eagle one, its bout the same. just
figured mother's was harder to find these days. i seen
it @ wally's this morning. let me know how it comes out.

Touch them up with wax then I apply a coat of ArmorAll, they shine like crazy!!

Touch them up with wax then I apply a coat of ArmorAll, they shine like crazy!!

Don't forget to apply a nice spray coat of teflon to keep dirt and other nasties from sticking to them in the future. You can also use Pam if you're on a budget but won't last as long. :D

i wouldn't put armorall on them, as that stuff
is a dust magnet. as for wax, it wouldn't hurt,
but again is unessary, the mothers polish has
a wax in it, therefore if you try teflon spray, you
will only get "fish-eyed" affect. therefore resulting
back to step one. pam. dust magnet again. so, as
a professional metal finisher, i suggest to just keep
them clean by washing, & you can polish again with
the mother's as needed. good luck, & enjoy the shine.

I can't believe no one has recomended steel wool yet! Give it a try! Just use it to scrape off all of the "gunk" on the rim and you will have them looking brand new!

0000 steel wool, stay away from the coarse stuff. Also, steel wool can darken aluminum in some cases.

Shined the front wheel last night after work... will do the rear one tonight.

Don't forget to apply a nice spray coat of teflon to keep dirt and other nasties from sticking to them in the future. You can also use Pam if you're on a budget but won't last as long. :D

For the ultimate in shine, chromed steel wheels!

synthetic steel wool, get teh 000 equivalent.

It's not metal, won't rust, and is easily reusable. It's also not as flammable as 000 steel wool....yes steel will burn if it gets hot enough....we used to use 00 as tinder for campfires if it was too wet to find decent tinder around.

For the ultimate in shine, chromed steel wheels!

the temp screws with the true of steel. here... steel is not real.

synthetic steel wool, get teh 000 equivalent.

It's not metal, won't rust, and is easily reusable. It's also not as flammable as 000 steel wool....yes steel will burn if it gets hot enough....we used to use 00 as tinder for campfires if it was too wet to find decent tinder around.

We used to carry it with a 9V battery in boy scouts in case you didn't have matches or a lighter - worked pretty good...

Ok I got outside and said screw polishing it and went for a nice bikeride around town :)

Ok I got outside and said screw polishing it and went for a nice bikeride around town :)

Ahhh... you've seen the light... ;)

What about black anodized rims? Mothers Mag?

55/Rad

What about black anodized rims? Mothers Mag?

55/Rad
usually on color anodized metals, some liquid wd-40,
(not the spray). wipe wd on w/cloth, dry w/ clean cloth.
this usually gives a good shine. using a polish like mothers on
those can sometimes remove some color. i'd try the wd
first. if you don't get the look you want. there is some stuff,
called "black chrome" designed for black ani-d . can usually find
it in the automotive section of the mart.i've allways had a
good result w/ the wd route in this area.

I love polishing my bikes. Last Winter, I took my American Classic seatpost and sanded on it using fine grit sandpaper and finally polished it with Mother's mag polish. It came out looking better than new!

Here's a pic of my 30 year old Super Champion wheels after a brief polish session with Mother's mag polish. I didn't do much around the nipples. I'll catch that when I respoke the wheels one day soon.

Are you trying to remove brake pad residue? A light rubbing with steel wool will polish them up & not hurt the braking surface.

Or, even better, a copper pad. It's less hard than the steel, and steel can leave tiny particles in the rim which will later turn to rust.

i just picked up some killer stuff @ the lbs,
its called quick-glo it works great on that old
rusty chrome. i just done a set of rims on a 1959
schwinn.i had to use a bit of 0000 wool on the real
bad spots. they shined up nice. i also have been using
blue magic lately instead of mothers. its cheaper &
works as well. but none better on the rusty stuff than
that quick-glo. for extra shine, & protection i used the
blue magic for that ultimate finishing touch.

"WINDEX" the cure and fix all like in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding!

I picked up a '68 Motobecane last month with Weinmann concave rims that hadn't seen any polishing in many moons, and had a good bit of surface corrosion. The cross-section of those rims makes it just about impossible to get in and polish around the spoke nipples with just your hands and a rag. I ended up using my Dremel tool with the 3/4" cloth buffing wheel attachment, and DuPont polishing compound.