RC10Talk - The Net's Largest Vintage R/C Community

Guys,
A few years ago I got some decent looking Technacraft aluminum wheels on a Gold Pan that I bought on Ebay.
I'm just getting to them:

I was hoping to get some advice on what to use to clean and polish them. I'm going to disassemble them to clean/polish, but I'm not sure what cleaners are safe for the aluminum.
And also, I'm going to need new rubber for them. The old Shumacher Cat mini-pin spikes were dry-rotted really bad. Does anyone know if any manufacturers make tires that fit them? They appear to be the stock wheel sizes.

CUDDZILLA wrote:Seriously? Nobody is going to offer ANY info at all?

You only waited one day, calm down.

There are other methods to find the answers to your questions on the internet than posting on message boards.

They involve more effort on your part but can result in quicker answers.

flipwils11 wrote:

CUDDZILLA wrote:Seriously? Nobody is going to offer ANY info at all?

You only waited one day, calm down.

You're right. Sorry.

Mothers polish and elbow grease!

I would first disassemble and clean up with plain old dish soap and water, and be sure that the screws and threads are OK, then reassemble after a thorough drying and cleaning up of the hardware.(wirewheel or whatever to clean up the screws)

its hard to say how much oxidation is on them from your phone pics.

But if they were mine with an average amount of surface blemish, I would chuck them into a drill press/lathe/hand drill (whatever you have at hand) and use some scotchbrite on the outer rims to clean up any oxidation marks.

the next part would be to use a dremel and buffing points and polishing compound and polish up the spokes the best that you can, followed by the outer rings.

I would have to ask around to figure out the best way to preserve them from there, maybe a light clear coat of some kind or a sealer wax.

Thank you for the input! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

I disassembled 2 of them. Sprayed the bolts with Hog Wash then soaked the bolts in WD40 until I reassembled them.

I used Mothers on 2 of them to see how deep the oxidization goes. The Mothers didn't take it off.

I'm afraid to use Scotchbrite pad on them. It will scuff the surface. I may have to bite the bullet and do that though.

yes, that is what it is designed to do. If you can spin them in a drill, like I said, you will get a very nice brushed finish that can be further polished with the dremel. Scotchbrite would take a very long time to ruin the wheels. If they are already polished nicely, except for the oxidation marks, you can probably skip the scotchbrite and go right to the buffing points

I believe you need troopers sister

You been drinking AGAIN Johnny???? WTF does your Trooper Car have to do with his wheels?

rc10johnny wrote:I believe you need troopers sister

Wow! That's.....really....white.....
Very nice!
And yes, the Technacraft wheels came from the factory(back when they were new) with a gloss finish. That's why I was so apprehensive about using Scotchbrite.
That may be my only alternative. I was hoping to find some "Magic Bullet" I guess.
Thanks again for commenting!

Eagle 0ne polishing wad!

It will amaze you.

I'm not sure I have pics but I bought some beat up old aluminum wheels for cheap that were heavily oxidized and spotty. I used scotchbright, 0000 steel wool, and the dremel to polish them to a mirror finish. Aluminum is very forgiving. You just have to bite the bullet, scuff them and go through progressively finer media until you get the finish you like. Any metal polish will make them shiny, it's the smoothess of the finish that really makes them stand out.

Bent wrote:Eagle 0ne polishing wad!

It will amaze you.

I'll have to try that. Thank you!