How can i tell the differences between alum. and magneisium (dam i can't spell tonight) any ways i got some 60's slots guy bough them in early to mid sixties for dune duggy project he never finished everyone tells me there mag. bought there all 30 something mullet men so what do they know!
The magnesium wheels should be, if they are magnesium a lot lighter they will also burn like you wouldn't believe take a scraping and set fire to it if it burns with an intense light then they are magnesium
Aside from Magnesium being lighter than aluminum - Mag, when polished, will have a more brilliant color than aluminum - more of a brilliant silver/chrome look - nothing shines as "bright" as a piece of freshly polished magnesium. It will also TARNISH in mere days where aluminum will hold it's polish for years. Which means untreated (no clear coat or anything) those wheels if really MAG will be very dingy by now - a dark greyish color. Darker than your typical aluminum parts get.
Mag will not shine brighter than aluminum. It is porous and goes a blacky grey with the slightest heat. Freshly polished pure magnesium will be full or pores and will blacken over night. That is why people treat mags with Dow#7 and other chromates.
The Jalopy Journal
