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I have a machined Al rim in which some calcium chloride solution from a bad tractor tire valve stem sprayed onto the rim. I think it has been on there for several months, to the point where a calcium deposit has been left on several spots on the rim surface. It does appear to have attacked the clear coat and probably the Al itself. So far it seems I can only remove the deposit mechanically, I tried CLR with no success, perhaps I should let it soak a while longer but then the Al may get damaged from that.
I was thinking about just restoring the rim but it seems a little trickier due to the machined surface which I would like to preserve. Several demonstrations show people stripping clear coat and then wetsanding with 400G and working up to 2000G, then performing a polish.
Does anyone have experience restoring machined aluminum (maintaining the machine marks) or even removing deposits from calcium chloride?
I performed that process on aluminum rims, the spoked ends of which are machine polished. Unfortunately upon using automotive paint remover on the clear coat, I discovered the rims were never polished to begin with. What is called white rust by detailers had hidden this fact. So I embarked upon polishing aluminum with a dremel and special designed polishing attachments containing silicone. That would have taken about 10 hours, per rim. I then tried a polishing wheel plus compound, same results.
I can attest that automotive paint remover and wet sanding will do the job and make those rims look better. However, I'm still painting mine as opposed to spending 40 hours holding a rotary tool.
Thanks Sun. Yeah my goal would be to clear up the deposits and corrosion, give the surface a quick polish (not mirror, as I will still have lathe marks) and then respray the clear coat.
It may take multiple applications of the remover, removing the wheel from vehicle helps via gravity. I left aircraft brand(preferring a brush-on so I didn't have to mask tires)remover on for an hour, but there was also powder coat on my rims under the corroded clear.
Wheeler Dealers did it the "right" way on a Honda S2000. They stripped them and had them re-machined. Not something for most people but it was pretty cool to see.
I'm not sure if the episode is online somewhere.
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