Distraction can be dangerous behind the wheel or cleaning a wheel.

I agree about the power ball. Not so great. I would happily pay more for a great product, so expensive is indeed a relative term.
 
I followed Art's advice on the steel wool, and it works.
Didn't get all the light marks out, but you can only see them up close.

This also works great on cruddy chrome that is not yet pitted.
 
I agree about the power ball. Not so great. I would happily pay more for a great product, so expensive is indeed a relative term.

Buff Ball | Super Mini 2"

Buff Ball | Large 5"

Though don't buy from their site, the prices are very high there. Hit up Amazon.com, should get the price down by quite a bit (25% or more). Though it does seem if you go to front page of the site that if you buy for $125 before the end of the month they toss in an extra can of their polish, which is good stuff and $65 for a quart usually...

But if it's the coating that has "melted" you may have to find a way to get that off, which may include wetsanding in the end. But certainly try less extreme methods first.
 
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I have used the Mothers power ball with a good quality aluminium polishing paste with good results. You want the paste to turn black then remove and polish with a clean cloth.

For really stubborn stains I've used an Aluminium Polishing Kit similar to this in a high speed drill. Make sure you have the aluminium compound. Takes off everything. Don't forget that the aluminium portion of our rims has no coating on it. I polish to an almost chrome finish then apply a good quality rim wax to maintain the shine.
 
The Powerball is no doubt great compared to plain old elbow grease, but it's pretty inferior to viscose and the cost difference between it and the Flitz viscose ball isn't huge. I'm sure it works fine, but I'm also pretty sure you're not going to be reusing the Powerball 10 times.

Here's a sales pitch from Flitz that I think is worth reading anyway (no, I'm not getting a commission from Flitz, just bought the product and think it does what it says on the tin).

Flitz® Buff Ball vs. Mothers® Power Ball
 
DONT use simple green straight out of the bottle is too harsh 50/50 with water is better but if you just use LEMON PLEDGE it cleans and leaves a shiny protective coating and prevents corrosion try it youll like it
 
Two-bucket wash system with grit guards, a microfiber mitt and a soft brush and a quality car shampoo over here. If it's good enough for supercar detailing, it will do for my Rocket...
 
I will try this tonight.
OH and polish only in the direction of the machine finish on the wheels and If you have really bad corrosion you can use xx steel wool to start then go to xxxx and Mothers polish for the final finish I think youll be happy with the results
 
SOS pads?

Helped me clean up my filthy pitted rear rims a lot. Or rather, the local equivalent of them. Fantastic for any serious cleanup job, and don't really scratch. Just a thought.