side steps.

[rb911]

I am new here but this is an area I can help with.  Anodising is a hard coating that has a depth to its finish, so I wouldn't sand it off.  As noted, however, it can go milky and wheel cleaners, particularly those that are not ph neutral are the main cause of the milkiness.  Having looked after old Porsche wheels that are also anodised for 20+ yrs, I can tell you the secret solution - Vaseline.

This may sound odd, but the anodising responds really well to treatment with Vaseline.  It seems to feed the anodising and brings it back to like new.  For really milky steps, you put the Vaseline on fairly thick and leave it on for a while, maybe even over night, then wipe off with a soft cloth or microfibre towel.  If its still not perfect then repeat in a week or 2.  After the initial feeding, you only have to do it once or twice a year.  No need to remove the rubber plugs (unless you really want to) and its easy to apply with an old soft cloth.

I would also change to a ph neutral wheel cleaner.  A recipe of Vaseline plus Bilberry wheel cleaner all worked a treat on my old 57 plate 3.0SE (I am now in a 40d M Sport).

[redz]

would this remove the pitting and 'rust' stains?

[rb911]

I didn't have pitting or rust stains, however, IMHO nothing will remove pitting as that implies a physical defect.  You could remove the aluminium parts and have them stripped, polished and re-anodised if you were really keen.  I am having exactly that done ot a set of 911 wheels right now.  The Vaseline certainly helps to pull out stains and revitalise the anodising, so its worth a try on rust stains.  Where is the rust coming from, given these are aluminium though?  Are you sure its rust?

Bottom line is that Vaseline is cheap, easy to apply and will do zero harm.  Give it a try.

[UrbanFlow]

OK, so I've just been to my local branch of Boots.
I could only find the Vaseline lip balm tins so I walked up to the counter and asked if they had a big tub of Vaseline.
The teenage girl behind the counter started giggling.
I said it was for sorting my car out.
That seemed to make it worse.
I left.

I've sent my wife to get some.

[rb911]

I just assumed that everyone has a big tub of Vaseline at home  )

[Reusch]

[quote="UrbanFlow"]
OK, so I've just been to my local branch of Boots.
I could only find the Vaseline lip balm tins so I walked up to the counter and asked if they had a big tub of Vaseline.
The teenage girl behind the counter started giggling.
I said it was for sorting my car out.
That seemed to make it worse.
I left.

I've sent my wife to get some.
[/quote]

Pmsl

[X5Sport]

Some folks have an odd sense of humour......

The girls really should know it's for stopping your battery terminals from going crusty.  :blink:

250ml, £3.50 on Amazon.....inc delivery.

Richard

[UrbanFlow]

Amazon sounds like a good option!

[pcdee]

[quote="UrbanFlow"]
OK, so I've just been to my local branch of Boots.
I could only find the Vaseline lip balm tins so I walked up to the counter and asked if they had a big tub of Vaseline.
The teenage girl behind the counter started giggling.
I said it was for sorting my car out.
That seemed to make it worse.
I left.

I've sent my wife to get some.
[/quote]

Lmao.....

Sent from my GT-I9100P using Tapatalk

[Dimsum]

I honestly hadn't noticed jusy how "milky" my side steps were until I read through this thread... Vaseline tub on standby. ...

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[stu21t]

Funny enough I might try it later too.

[martin33100]

I have heard of using  Vaseline before for polishing up anodised masts on yachts so it should work fine.