Huh... Mothers. I've seen it in the store; I'll have to give it a shot. Obviously it's OK to apply to anodized surfaces, as you had great success with it.

And Wil, thanks very much for contributing the link about anodizing. Interesting read!

--Steve

I would "guess" that if the rag turns black ( with Mother's or any othr polish)..then the "anodizing" you *think* you have there....is gone.....

Wil

As a datapoint...My 'otherwise perfect' Fuchs had quite a few scratches etc. on the very outer 1/2" lip, so I decided to sand down the lips to a polished finished (a royal PITA I might add...that anodized finish is TOUGH!). I now use vasoline on the remaining anodized portion, and Mother's on the polished lips. Both work great on their respective finishes...

Nope. The rag turns black on polished aluminum as well. Mothers does not hurt the anodization.

When you get the finish in better shape then you can protect with this:

http://www.speeding.co.uk/acatalog/wheelwax2.JPG

Anodizing is an electrochemical finish. Not a coating, plastic, or other BS from some saleman. The word anode is important here. There are probably some things you can do to recoat the surface temporarly, however, probably one of these days, some sort of "refinishing" will need to be done to solve your problems.

Good luck, read lables.
David Duffield

I would not use Mothers or any other abrasive mag polish on anodized Fuchs. It might make them look wonderful but you are slowly removing the anodizing.

I did this on my 914 Fuchs with P21S wheel cleaner/polish and yes the wheels looked fantastic afterwards but I also noticed a couple small shiney spots where the anodizing was worn completely through.

Not to disagree with you Anthony, but with the amount of sanding it took to remove the anodizing from my wheels lips, I can't imagine Mother's (or any other polish) having much effect. I literally spent approx. 10 hours (per wheel) to get the polished look (just on the lips)... 50 grit (with electric sander) then 100, 220, 1000, etc. Man that anodizing is tough to remove!!!

Well, after I used P21S I ended up with the polished spots with no annodizing. Maybe they were already there but just dull and I didn't notice them until I polished them. Still, if you are getting black stuff on your rag then you are removing metal even though it's a small amount.

If anodizing is so tough . . . how can it get stained by simple water?!? :D

tough relates to structural integrity rel. to mechanical removal

... not to porosity - the pores can "take" stains and make them hard to remove

that's what the alcohol is supposed to do - solvate the stains and as it evaporates, move them up to the surface.

if interested re the EtOH - somebody posted that not too long ago....

Hmmm... Need to find out more about the rubbing alcohol thing. Maybe it acts as a neutralizing agent... I also have been in contact with folks at anodizing.org Maybe they can shed some light for us all. I'll let you know what they say...

Ask them to describe the grain structure of anodized Al... ask if they have any scanning em's of a fractured anodized surface.

Moses:
I don't understand....
I purchased some used Fuchs with the original finish but the rim portion had swirl marks "underneath". so I tried all sorts of polishes including Mother's , Meguire's, P21 and Blue Magic. In *all* cases....the rag never came up black and the finish remained as it was. This is in direct contrast to the ( for example) raw magnesium engine cooling fan, that would indeed polish up with any of these polishes...and the rag did come up black.

My point was that if your rag came up black on the Fuchs, then ( I offer) that the anodizing was gone and you were polishing raw aluminum. See my point? Did I misunderstand you ?

Wil

I believe the "black stuff" on the cloth is the material that was on the oxidized wheels. I polish the cymbals on my drumset (Avedis Zildjian) once a year with a cleaner called "Groove Juice" and I get the same black stuff on the cloth. Polishing with Mother's or other non-abrasive cleaners doesn't remove the anodizing, it removes oxidized material. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure of this...

Moses is right when he says Mothers is the best! I've been using it on my wheels and stainless steel targa bar since 2002 and I couldn't be happier with the results!

I too used Blue Magic/Mothers to polish my Fuch's. Here was my process by default. When the car was delivered (new) the wheels had the clean but dull look that was the original.

Simply by mistake, I started using the Blue Magic on the wheels whenever I washed the car. After about 3 - 4 times I began to notice that the wheels were beginning to take on a shine.

Long story short...They are fully polished and have been that way for many years. I did the same with my Brey Krause strut tower brace.

I'll concur with Art Z. about the cymbals... I've been cleaning mine for 30 years. (Most cymbals ship new with a clear laquer protective coating that DOES wear off in time. Prior to that, NO black residue during cleaning. AFTER the laquer finish is gone, oxidation will occur, and hence, "the black stuff".)

Anodizing was primarily used on Fuchs wheels to prevent oxidation and help maintain a finish. That's why mild soap and water is all that's recommended by Porsche in the owner's manuals. But once pinholes, scratches, and worn-through sections appear in the anodizing, air and moisture will react and cause oxidation of the aluminum, which makes for black cleaning rags.

I've heard from several people who simply clean and buff their rims to a perfect shine, then have them sprayed with a few coats of clear laquer -- either high-gloss or low-lustre, depending on desired effect. This can help maintain the finish for a long time. Some purists may cringe at this, and great care should obviously be taken, but it is an alternative.

--Steve

If Mothers polish doesn't turn black, my guess is that you have some kind of clear coat on the wheels.

I used Mothers on anodized aluminum for a long time and loved the result.

Moses:
My point is....if Mothers doesn't show up black..its because the anodizing is still in-place.....

If it shows up black...the anodizing is gone....

Wil

I just got off the phone with Al Reed. I asked him how I should care for my wheels once they come home. He recommended a product called "Extreme" that he said is very similar to Never Dull, and it's a cloth that is impregnated with the cleaner. I told Al that I usually use Mother's and he said "you're good then, just use that". He recommends Mother's and says it doesn't harm the wheels and recommends cleaning them every few months.

BTW, Al Reed is a BIG Stevie Ray Vaughn fan and loves the blues. I may pick up a little SRV gift for him (poster, CD, etc...) and send it to him, he's really a great guy!