[wbassnp007]

I have the machined aluminum wheels. Can anybody recommend a cleaner/polish/protectant that they have had good experience with?

 

[GARYD]

Mothers aluminum polish and a good wax. On my 81 Vette, the clear coat started to flake off. I finished taking the rest off, polished it the best i could and then re-clear coated them. Lasted for quite awhile.
Does yours have any king of clear coat on them from the factory? If so you shouldn't need to do anything, but if they are bare aluminum you definately need to do something.

 

[wbassnp007]

Mothers aluminum polish and a good wax. On my 81 Vette, the clear coat started to flake off. I finished taking the rest off, polished it the best i could and then re-clear coated them. Lasted for quite awhile.
Does yours have any king of clear coat on them from the factory? If so you shouldn't need to do anything, but if they are bare aluminum you definately need to do something.

I can't tell if clear coat was applied but they clean up real nice with just car wash soap mixed with h20.

 

[RIT333]

I would hope/think that machined finish means that the aluminum is buffed until it has the desired shine, and then they are painted with a clear-coat finish. Aluminum, by itself - without clear-coating, would oxidize and look very crappy after a winter of salt/dirt/brake-dust.

 

[GARYD]

You would hope they coated the wheels. You can be sure by cleaning a hidden spot with chrome cleaner and if the rag shows black residue after each rubbing, then it is bare metal.

 

[gar187er]

it has clear....no wheel on the market is bare aluminum....

 

[RSchleder]

gar187er---I can agree if you are referring to Terrain wheels, however there are "raw aluminum" wheels made for Corvettes that are very popular. They are manufactured by:

http://www.ccwheel.com/

I have the CCW 505a's on my C5, they are great wheels and if you put a few coats of REJEX on them, they're not too tough to take care of.

 

[k9kuz]

Armor All "Wheel Protectant". Hands down, the best and longest lasting; but you'll use a lot on the many spooked wheels of the Equinox. Perfect for the Corvette, just 5 simple spokes. It lasts forever.....

 

[RnB]

I use Zaino. When I rotate the tires, I clean the wheels and put a fresh coat on them. Great shine and it lasts until the next 5K miles for another coat.

But any wax/polish you use on the paint will work fine on the wheels.