Polished Aluminum Wheels Turning Yellow

[JAUSTIN]

The polished aluminum wheels on my Envoy are beginning to have a yellow tint to them. I cannot use regular aluminum polish as the wheels appear to have some type of clear coat on them—the polish goes on and just wipes off. Also, I have tried various wheel cleaners, etc. with no luck. Does anyone know how I can restore them to the original polished aluminum color/shine?

Thanks for your thoughts.

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When you find out - let me know. My 2002 Envoy SLT has the same problem. I havent tried cleaning them yet (guilty here!) but I would like to know whats safe to use on them. I'd hate to kill the clear coat or something.

[JAUSTIN]

I am not sure what is causing them to yellow. I am assuming right now, without knowing too much, that the clear coat is part of our problem. If we were dealing with uncoated aluminum, a quality polish would be sufficient to shine them up. I will keep digging and let you know if I come up with anything.

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Today I went out and cleaned the rims on my 02 Envoy with Eagle One wheel cleaner. Then I polished them with some Turtle Wax Chrome polish. I noticed a "slight" difference. Theres got to be somebody out there who knows the trick.

[JAUSTIN]

I have tended to stay away from the Chrome polish as it may be more abrasive than the clear coat on the aluminum can handle. I need to look at the owner’s manual again, but I thought it did not recommend the use of Chrome polish—I need to check it again.

I found a lot of places that would strip the wheels down, polish them up, and then re-seal them, but I don’t want to put that kind of money into it. Also, there were several people who gave instructions on how to do it yourself, but they always recommended taking the rims off the car and removing the tires from the rims. That seems like an awful lot of work; I might as well buy new rims at that point.

I will let you know if I come up with anything. We may just have to tell people that we ordered the “gold” package.

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Hey while im back on here for a bit... I wanted to tell you that after I washed the rims with some wheel cleaner and polished them... I went out and bought some Blue Magic or something like that.. its metal polish- it WORKED awesome!!!!!! My wheels are bright and "chromey" now.

[JAUSTIN]

That is wonderful news! Can you give me any more info on the stuff you bought? “Blue Magic”? Where did you find it? I still have had no luck and had come to the conclusion that I would either have to have the rims re-polished and sealed or buy new rims.

I would appreciate any more details you could provide. Thanks!

[StewBme]

I'm still not comfortable cleaning the polished aluminum wheels on my '05. The manual specifically states not to use chrome polish, warns about car washes, etc.

I've seen some spray only stuff on Ebay that claims great results and safe for aluminum wheels, but they don't mention "polished" aluminum wheels. Pictures that look like polished wheels, but hey, I'm paranoid.

Does anyone have a safe, specific product to recommend? Can I hear more about this "Blue Magic" (Brand Name?)? Is it spray on, polish, wax? How long to run a wheel through the process?