XJ900F wheel polishing/refurbing

What do you guys use to clean up your wheels?

The ones on mine are in a fairly poor state and I would like to get them looking good again!

 

I use one of those small household steam cleaners (If your paint is sound)

 

I will polish the bare aluminum edges usually by hand with Blue Magic (*love* that stuff) The wheels I get are usually in sad condition, so there is nothing to be done for the painted parts, except to repaint them. I have done it with a brush, by hand, Rustoleum Gloss black, looks awesome and tough as nails after a week or two. Conversely I have masked them off (very tedious) and then sprayed them with the Rustoleum Automotive Gloss Black Lacquer. Looks good either way. A bit of work, but that is what it takes!

 

Here's a picture of what I have to contend with.



I'm thinking an abrasive wheel of some sort on a wheel to get rid of the worst, then a polishing kit on a mandrel.

 

I would be careful with an abrasive wheel... you don't want to round off the bare aluminum edge at all, would probably not look too good when done. If it were me before I tried that, I would get some steel wool, the very finest and a couple of grades up from that, and your favorite metal polish (if you have not tried Blue Magic, I can recommend it, Amazon has it). You would be surprised what you can clean up with steel wool and a good polish. Start with the rougher one, then end with the finest. The wheels on my 900 probably looked a lot like yours, and that is what is working for me.

 

Scotch-Brite abrasive wheels work great. I have takes wheels like yours back to new. You will need to repaint it there is no help for that. Personally I would stay away from steel wool on aluminum . I will work but will also leave steel particles embedded in the aluminum that won't wipe off. You will see small rust specs soon afterwards. Its OK to use if it is the first step of cleaning and sandpaper follows but I still don't like it. Scotch-Brite pads are clost to the same price.

 

Knowing that I was going to get new tires, I went crazy with the armor all on the wheel(s) itself... not caring where it landed... I sprayed and walked away, let it soak and then wiped and repeated. Several times in fact. You'd probably be surprised that under all that dust and grime the black paint on the mag is still there. After a good wipe down, I used that cheap polishing kit from Harbor freight. It comes with several wheels (for your drill) and 3 cutting polishes (black, red & white). It's really not bad for the price (under $20 if I remember correctly).

Though I can see some pitting and flaking in the photo you posted, it might be worth it to give it a good cleaning and polishing, then detail paint your bare spots with some black enamel.

It worked for me in the above before and after and was a relatively inexpensive solution.

 

a fine brass wheel brush can be used to clean up the rims or aluminum makes it really shine