i have some mickey thompson classic 2 rims and while i was in iraq my family drove my truck for me. well im home now and they are pretty much ruined. rust/ salt stains/ almost hazzy from no 1 takin care of them when i was gone. well what should i do? i dont want new rims, and i was thinking about painting them black to match my truck. any ideas on anything lol i want it fixed soon...please help!

I checked your garage to see them but you have no pics.. Post some up so we can see them.

im really not sure how to put pictures in a garage or anything like that lol, i tired to describe them as best as i could. should i try and clean them or just paint them, and if so how?

Personally I like aluminum polished rims. You can make them like new with elbow grease. If they are clear coated you need to strip off the clear first then buff them with a aluminum polish.

Depending on the severity of the pitting sometimes starting with a fine 500, 1000, 1500 grit wet sandpaper and working to a higher number will be faster before polish in the bad sections.

I would seek advise from someone that has done it before that can show you so you don't get to aggressive with the sandpaper and make more of a mess.;)

i dunno if elbow greese will work lol they are horrible....i was gone for 1 full winter and 1/2 of the other winter...they are BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

go here and look and buy www.metalwax.com

take'em off and have'em chromed

hahah chromed....i dunno lol

Trust me they can be saved. My rims on my truck look real bad at the edn of winter and first spring when all the salt is off the roads I spend a whole weekend on them polishing them by hand. Takes a little while but they can be cleaned. Do this every year for the past 4. Look in my garage and you'll see how they look after I get them cleaned up.

Only thing is your fingers will be killing by the time your done with the last rim...

hahahaha yea i bet man. ill try to get a picture up here as soon as i can. bc they are FU##ED lol

They can be fixed don't mess with detailing wheel polish. Get some metal polish and buffer wheels for a rotary and go to town with the wheels(rims) off. You can find it at Sears around the bench grinders IIRC they have different stages/colors in packs they look like bars of chalk.

i dunno if elbow greese will work lol they are horrible....i was gone for 1 full winter and 1/2 of the other winter...they are BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i used to have polished rims as well and they would get horrible looking by end of winter...takes alot of work but they come around, then every spring people think u bought new rims

Before you go thru all that hard work try ZEPALUME. It is a powerful acid that is used to clean and brighten alum on milk tanker trucks or anything that is uncoated aluminum.

Made my tool box look like new. Once you spray it on it will start to foam, give it 3-5 seconds then spray it off with a hose.

You can dilute it with water to try first. This stuff is awesome.

BTW i bought it from Ravens truck sales, They manufacture alum Semi trailers.

i think alot of it is oxidation...will that stuff work on that? and how much was it?

i think alot of it is oxidation...will that stuff work on that? and how much was it?
Oh yeah, it works great, about 15-20$ a gallon.

Yea you can use some acid wash (muratic acid) or polish them.. Keep in mind the acid wash really cleans them but it doesnt give you a polished look.. Only polishing them will give you the shine. MIne too are uncoated aluminum and im pretty sick of dealing with them, but every fall i put them on and just use some scotchbrite pads to go over them, its definatly not a showroom shine but they get shitty again within a few months no matter how well i take care of them.. If i cared i'd just get them chromed and be done with it.

Found this using the search. My wheels are in the same kinda shape, but not from family neglect, but from mine. This acid cleaner you guys are talking about, it doesnt hurt the tires or valve stems?? Can you polish them after you acid bath them?? Do you scrub the wheels after you put the acid wash on them??

Also, i cant seem to find the ZEPALUME stuff your talking about anywhere around here. Any other recomended products to clean VERY VERY bad wheels?? Thanks!