i finally picked up a set of factory wheels for my 92 RS they are straight true wheels with wery little curb rash but the finish on them is terible
can anyone give me some advice on howto refinish them

thanks

 

Mine were getting bad like that too, the clearcoat was either coming off or the aluminum was corroding under it. My plan was to hit the wheels with paint stripper to remove the clear, then polish them. I sold the car before i got to it.

 

meguiars makes some really good products to help with finishes but you might try some polishing or rubbing compound first

 

The only way to clean up corrosion under clear coat is to rub off all the clear coat. Steel wool, green pads and WD40. A few cases of beer later you will be down to the base. Then spray it with a good clear again.

Some kind of light abrasive spray medium may work but you will need a media both and lots of gear to do that. Depending on the extent of the corrosion, you may want to have someone blast them for you.

 

If you don't want to use paint stripper, I found out by accident that carb cleaner, 0000 steel wool, and elbow grease will cut through the clear coat. Actually, carb cleaner can ruin paint too (it's designed to cut engine varnish) so be careful where you use it.
If you want to go with a polished finish, try using Flitz. I'm really impressed with how that stuff shines raw aluminum, amongst other things..

 

what i did was use steel wool and elbow grease until the clear was off. then i started at somewhere around 250 grit to get the corrosion off and worked my way up to wet sanding with 1500 grit. i finished it off with some mothers aluminum polish and bandaids for every raw fingertip. i posted the before and after pics to kinda give you an idea on how it could look.