Polished wheels

So, when I unwrapped my car from heated and dry winter storage, I started my list of clean up and "get her ready" projects. When I got the wheels off, I found them really dirty with brake dust as expected, but they have a host of pitting and small little scratches and other marks. These appear to be chips through the clear coat and resulting typical aluminum corrosion. The chips or dent pits seem to be from small stones and big dust particles going through the rotor and impacting the rim. Undoubtedly other small stones bouncing around must be part of the deal too. Now this car never sees rain and never sees winter so could the aluminum corrosion damage at the clear coat chip sites just be from the heated garage, humidity, etc.? Then, what is the method to prevent the damage to the aluminum and what is the remedy or repair for the yearly wear and tear and damage. Is this as detailed as a wet sanding or aggressive wire wheel clear coat removal and re-coating with new clear coat as the remedy? Is there a firm who specailizes in this type of repair?

While I can't contribute towards the cause, I can comment towards the remedy.  While some owners may have the ability to make the repairs themselves, there are indeed companies that specialize in refinishing alloy wheels.  Most of these facilities have mobile trucks / trailers, and can often make repairs onsite ... though this is sometimes limited to making said repairs at automobile dealerships.  Some of these companies also have pickup and return service (again. sometimes limited to dealerships, or wholesale accounts).  In the suburban Philadelphia area ... these facilities can charge about $85 per wheel (including repair of curb rash and refinish the surface), and up to $150.  Pricing dependings on whether you are wholesale, retail, volume, etc.  Hopefully, others will chime in as to the cause of the problem.

Brake dust is a fine powder residue created from the brake rotor wearing away the brake lining. The pads contain carbon fibers, metal filings and an acidic adhesive. It is very sticky and collects in every nook and cranny of the wheel. If allowed to sit on your wheels, the highly corrosive brake dust can pit the metal. Wheels are one part that I keep after regularly. Moisture and brake dust do corrode in my opinion 2Cruzn-072011-04-01 18:41:10

Like Cruzin said - the worst thing you can possibly do is leave brake dust on your wheels (for even short periods of time).  This not only goes for aluminum polished or otherwise), but chrome wheels as well.

Thanks,