The Yukon

[SAATR]

It's certainly clean! Hopefully I'll be able to clean my Burban up that well before she falls apart . Cowl hoods on these trucks have never been my thing, but whatever floats your boat!

 

[Playare]

Looks really nice man!

 

[gmcyukondriver]

As most of you can tell by how old the posts are in here, I haven't done a lot to this thing in a while. School keeps time and finances kind of short. However, it is funny to look back at how my tastes have changed. I no longer care for the 442 hood, it works on some, but I like the cowl better now. I also used to think about getting an insert, but now I'm thinking I like having the emblem. Anyways, I know I said I was planning on some Boss 338's, but I saw these on CL and decided to jump on them. I got a good enough deal that I can sell them for more money than I paid if I don't like them. If I do, these might be the only wheels I get.

On to pics, here's how I bought them.

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And here's how I cleaned them up, not even polished yet!

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And if you're wanting the method, all I did was spray them down then brush them with a nylon brush to get the dirt and dust off. Then, I got some aluminum foil, and folded it with the shiny side out. Made sure to get it flat, with no raised corners as it will put fine scratches in the chrome. For the most part, foil is softer, so it won't scratch, and this really worked well. I just got a little water, and when you rub the foil on the chrome, it uses the small amount of water and almost forms a paste that you use to clean and polish at the same time. It took off rust and brake dust that 409 and extra strength wheel cleaner didn't touch! It took me maybe 15 minutes per wheel, and like I said, I haven't even used a polishing compound yet. I was amazed. I will probably get these mounted in the next week or so. I'm currently looking at some GMC center caps on ebay.

 

[Half Assed]

does that work better than steel wool?

 

[gmcyukondriver]

does that work better than steel wool?

I've heard that you can use #0000 steel wool, but that it still might scratch the chrome. There were hardly any scratches after this, and I'm not sure if they were there before, or if I just needed to be more careful to avoid hard corners of the foil rubbing on the chrome.

Either way, for taking off rust, aluminum works well because of the chemical makeup, it accepts electrons, which is what rust is......oxidized metal. It accepts those oxides and creates aluminum oxide, the water and friction cause the reaction, and it seemed to work really well. I was definitely impressed. Aluminum is so cheap, I think it's at least worth a try if you have a specific project in mind. I googled this method before trying it, and came up with several results saying the same thing, it works really well, and these were car and motorcycle guys who are crazy about their chrome.

 

[eric.s.t]

ive always used SOS pads and they make me wheels look pretty good. ANd for you center caps, good luck! specially if you want black. took me forever to find some on ebay. stayed patient, and finally found some. Goodluck, cant wait to see them!

 

[Z71Sierra]

0000 Steel wool is fine for wheels with either a window cleaner or polish.

 

[blue_92_sierra]

Nice job on the wheels, the 454s are the best looking stock wheel for any 2wd gmt400 imo

 

[gmcyukondriver]

Well, it turns out the piece of trash that sold me the wheels lied. They said they weren't bent at all. 3 came with tires, I guess that should've given me a clue about the one without, but you couldn't visibly see anything wrong with it. Just took it to the shop, and they said that it's slightly bent, and another one is a little better, but not perfect. Two are great. So they said it would shake and shimmy when driving, especially at speed. I'd never known that steel wheels weren't as "round" as aluminum wheels, that is to say that alloys are "truer", so there will be more likely to be slight shaking with steel wheels, especially at speed.

Also, they said I've probably got less than 5000 miles left on my current tires, so it looks like it's time to do something, I just gotta figure out what, and get it all planned. Kind of frustrating, but I'm glad that I know I can make back what I paid, if not more, especially since the tires I got are in really good shape.

 

[gmcyukondriver]

...........

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Still have some small things to do on the exterior, but it's pretty much done now. I'm REALLY happy with how it looks. I'll get some better pictures later, but you get the idea.

18" Boss 338's with the black powdercoat finish.
Tires are 245/60/18 Nitto's.