Hey All,

I have a set of 90's Chevy Z-71 Alloy wheels I'm going to mount larger BFG ATs on.

However, they are pretty oxidized and I'm curious about what to do for them.

Should I use a metal polish?  I've been told alloy wheels have a clear coat and using any abrasive will strip off the clear coat and lead to damaged leaking wheels.

Any & All suggestions are greatly appreciated.  

BIGGER_HAMMER

OP, I'm not a wheel expert but I'd venture a guess to say the clear coat is already compromised if the wheels are oxidizing. I'd say use a metal polish on them and see what happens. If they polish up great, hit them with a rattle can of clear coat and you're done... if they don't then hit them with a can of plasti dip.

There are places that can restore wheels also. You might want to give one local to you a call and see what they can do. Look up wheel restoration or something like that. Youtube might have some good videos on the process as well.

Some tire shops will not install tires that are larger than factory spec on OE wheels.....

Round here, the Amigos who run the tire shops don't care what you mount on what as long as the Gringo pays the Dollars up front...

Bueno Dinero Por Favor Senior!!

I don't know if hitting them with a metal polish like FLITZ or similar, and then Rattle Coat of Clear Coat looks like the plan at this point.

You need to strip the clear coat first... Paint stripper... Then polish and clear coat again unless you like polishing aluminum..

Google it, there are lots of products to assist.  YouTube it... If I need to do anything I'm not familiar with I usually YouTube it....

Searched this same topic yesterday. Got a spare set of winter wheels and thinking of cleaning them up while they are off this summer.

Plan on stripping the clear coat then polish them up.

I did what this guy on youtube did, they look much better now but not as good as the ones in the video.