Wheel Cleaner that actually Works??????

[crysinlove]

Any know of any GOOD wheel cleaners that actually work? My rims are nice and I don't plan on replacing them for a while, but they have this like scuff/stains marks on them and they won'd come off with anything. I've tried water & soap and even when to AutoZone and bought a wheel cleaner that didn't work at all.

Anybody???? :frown:

[M3_KILL3R]

Any know of any GOOD wheel cleaners that actually work? My rims are nice and I don't plan on replacing them for a while, but they have this like scuff/stains marks on them and they won'd come off with anything. I've tried water & soap and even when to AutoZone and bought a wheel cleaner that didn't work at all.

Anybody???? :frown:

i have the same problem and ive tried 3 types of wheel cleaner/degreasers i say get some rattle can paint from autozone and paint your rims. you'll get rid of the stains from brake dust and what not and it will look much nicer! IMO

[aceyx]

Scuffs and stains are physical blemishes in the paint; they can not be cleaned.

I bought a set of wheels that had some type of goop melted on them in various places. After soaking the locations in water by setting a damp cloth over them, they came off using an assortment of plastic scrapers, magic erasers, 3M bug tar and wax remover, and a crapton of elbow grease.

If it's just stubborn brake dust, P21s or S100 (same stuff, just cheaper) works well.

[cali-ti]

you may laugh (i would, but i'm too tired!), but i just finished soft scrubbing my nearly 12 year old rims that were quite full of gunk (probably haven't cleaned them for real in the last two plus years). as aceyx said, if it's scuffs and curb rash, you're not going to be able to clean those off, you'd need to have them redone or repaint them yourself (a few on here have done that).

i spent about a day on each of my wheels (almost done with the last one!). here's the process i used (again, feel free to laugh, lol):

1) remove wheel from car
2) remove surface rust from brake disc surface where wheel mounts, i then apply copper anti-seize
3) give the wheel a rough cleaning, use a plastic drywall spatula or similar to scrape off any large deposits, rinse thoroughly
4) use goo gone or similar to soak any old tape from previous wheel weights and then use the plastic spatula and some paper towels to remove the sticky crap (i had 3-4 spots of old tape on each wheel!)
5) remove rust and gunk from machined surfaces of rim
6) using scrotch brite NO SCRATCH pads with soft scrub, i give each wheel a very thorough scrubbing, rinse very thoroughly
7) dry it off
8) use a wheel sealant (i'm trying wheel guard from chemical guys)
9) reinstall wheel and admire how shiny it is!

EDIT: forgot the most important step
10) drink a beer!

[cali-ti]

thought i'd post up some pics :)

before:

http://lh5.google.com/emasshardt/R4lwXMIzAhI/AAAAAAAABe4/Zg_yimlkh40/s800/Dirty1.jpg
http://lh3.google.com/emasshardt/R4lwXsIzAiI/AAAAAAAABfA/dVA-gxQmdDc/s800/Dirty2.jpg
http://lh5.google.com/emasshardt/R4lwYMIzAjI/AAAAAAAABfI/8NVOb_ID4PA/s800/Dirty3.jpg
http://lh6.google.com/emasshardt/R4lwYcIzAkI/AAAAAAAABfQ/5xY35Uq5yUY/s800/Dirty4.jpg
http://lh5.google.com/emasshardt/R4lwZMIzAlI/AAAAAAAABfY/drbMKp-fbiU/s800/Dirty5.jpg

[cali-ti]

CLEAN! time for a beer!

http://lh4.google.com/emasshardt/R4lxi8IzAmI/AAAAAAAABfk/w_I7hmqFSvM/s800/Clean1.jpg
http://lh6.google.com/emasshardt/R4lxjcIzAnI/AAAAAAAABfs/sJi_gvgr-aE/s800/Clean2.jpg
http://lh3.google.com/emasshardt/R4lxjsIzAoI/AAAAAAAABf0/EVvqSo2yjhY/s800/Clean3.jpg
http://lh5.google.com/emasshardt/R4lxkMIzApI/AAAAAAAABf8/P8JN5LKvz2c/s800/Clean4.jpg

[thesk8nmidget]

ummm wow...

signs of to much free time.....

http://lh5.google.com/emasshardt/R4lwXMIzAhI/AAAAAAAABe4/Zg_yimlkh40/s800/Dirty1.jpg
http://lh4.google.com/emasshardt/R4lxi8IzAmI/AAAAAAAABfk/w_I7hmqFSvM/s800/Clean1.jpg


good work Eric!

quite the difference.

ps you sure those are the same wheels?

[cali-ti]

lol ... yes, they're the same. my hands hurt! but i'm hoping with the wheel sealer that i won't have to do it like that again ... EVER!

it keeps me out of trouble and from spending money on other things :)

[thesk8nmidget]

yeah good point!! not being online saves me from spending money on things! lol

i get to tempted with good deals that pop up.

eric you need to post pictures of your whole car in the photo album.

just make an album labeled photo shoot and give her a nice array of pictures with all different angles if the inside and out!

[cali-ti]

lol, its best parts are already in the gallery! :biggrin:

she needs some work yet. still have deer dents, some rust on the hatch lip, an 11" crack (hey, stop looking at my 11" crack!) in the front bumper, a slightly bucked up hood, a bumped in nose piece ... it never ends! she needs a lot of TLC yet. a bunch of the interior is still out for the HD radio install, a number of pieces of the hatch are still out from my hitch install and attempted rust stoppage on the hatch. thank god it's still fun to drive, i think i just depressed myself.

[thesk8nmidget]

oh eric i am sorry!

wish i could dedicate some good solid helpful time to get her back up and recovered from surgery!!

i would help you for the week i have til i get working again if i was closer!

[elfhearse]

I've been using Simple Green (spray) for years. Spray it on and wipe down with a small sponge or cloth...just be sure to rinse it off immediately.

[teetime4one]

the hitch on his car is all messed up from my dumb @ss running into it.
LMAO
true story!

[thesk8nmidget]

ouch!! damn you sean! why you gotta be hitting people?


i can agree with the simple green cleaning up a lot of deep grease and stains!

[teetime4one]

okay...more like i "tapped" it.
i wasn't even sure it happened until i ask Eric...he said, "yeah, you got it...but, it'll only hurt your car not my hitch."
so, no harm no foul.
didn't even leave a mark on my car.

[thesk8nmidget]

hahaha some damn mexican rear ended me one day. i hear errrrch! and then ding. i get out look at the ti expecting lose of a rear bumper and not a damn mark. so i said eff it and have a good day.

[elchicano]

the hitch on his car is all messed up from my dumb @ss running into it.
LMAO
true story!

haha i remember that. I was getting out the car when i heard you, i was like the first meet and already someone got hit. :biggrin:

[elchicano]

hahaha some damn mexican rear ended me one day. i hear errrrch! and then ding. i get out look at the ti expecting lose of a rear bumper and not a damn mark. so i said eff it and have a good day.

Lets be PC about this it was a hispanic, latino, spanish guy haha just messing

[2cam16]

Like Aceyx said, the scuffs won't come off from cleaning. You'd have to repaint or refinish.

[ATF]

Jeez. I feel like i've been under cleaning my car. I usually just do a paper towel and some Windex.

[thesk8nmidget]

Lets be PC about this it was a hispanic, latino, spanish guy haha just messing

no you are completely right he was hispanic and it was a very unhappy moment for me so i tend to use more abrasive words! lol

[elchicano]

no you are completely right he was hispanic and it was a very unhappy moment for me so i tend to use more abrasive words! lol

i dont really care, some people will get offended even if you call them hispanic. Others prefer latino, some mexican if they are from mexico. It's confusing, but like i said it don't matter, for all you know he was mexican, and you did no wrong. :biggrin:

[crysinlove]

Lol.. it's like they say in Spanish.. "por uno la llevamos todos"...

That sucks.. I figured it would take much more to gets those marks out.. They're not too noticeable.. which is the good thing...

If I decide to paint them... what would be a good brand/kind of paint to use on them?

Sorry... I'm a little knew at all this car stuff.. :rolleyes:

[thesk8nmidget]

hahaha well down in texas mexico is very close and we do have quite the large selection of day laborers at gas stations in the hood!

[elchicano]

Lol.. it's like they say in Spanish.. "por uno la llevamos todos"...

That sucks.. I figured it would take much more to gets those marks out.. They're not too noticeable.. which is the good thing...

If I decide to paint them... what would be a good brand/kind of paint to use on them?

Sorry... I'm a little knew at all this car stuff.. :rolleyes:

Haha yea thats true. Yea i would go with painting them if you can't get them clean.

[tiFreak]

I spray WD-40/PB Blaster onto a paper towel and scrub my rims with it, it seems to get the brake dust off pretty well

[aceyx]

I've just come across these plastic scrapers (http://www.scraperite.com/index.html) that look awesome for this type of work and are much cheaper than the plastic spackle spatulas I've been using. I'm going to order a bunch.