Traeger2591
New member
Well yesterday I had to take my rear struts off to change them because the passenger side was ruined. The spring broke and was rubbing up against the fenderwell, don't ask me how it happened haha, I have no idea. But while I had the wheels off I figured I would give them a good cleaning since they needed it bad. I did it and I was amazed at how much better they looked. They literally looked like different wheels. The amount of brake dust and road tar these had on them was ridiculous.
After doing the rear wheels, I thought, I gotta do the front ones so it all looks this good. I took alot of pics when I did the front ones. Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of the rears. They were actually worse than the front ones if you can believe that haha. Keep in mind that these wheels are from a 99 so they are 11 years old (except the front passenger wheel which was replaced this past January).
Anyway, here's the process I used:
-Wash
-Claybar lightly soiled areas
-Steel wool on inside of wheel to get rid of caked on brake dust (I didn't use this on the outside, only on the inside. Because these wheels are painted, I didn't want to affect the clear coat)
-Razor blade on big chunks of caked on tar
-Tar remover on more road tar
-Another claybar of the whole wheel
-Wash
-Wax
I would guess it took me about an hour and a half to two hours to do the front two wheels. They were absolutely hammered though. The pics don't really even show how bad it really was. Here are the results:
Driver's side on car:
Passenger side on car (not as bad, this wheel replaced the old one in January):
Back to the driver's side:
Pitting from 11 years of use:
After one wash:
After another wash, a whole lotta wheel cleaner, and a ton of scrubbing with a wheel brush:
Steel wool is done! Wow! But holy road tar! And yes this is still the driver's side
After tar removal. The other black spots are chips and scratches in the paint.
Spots from where the pitting was. These cleaned up nice. Not perfect, but better.
Finished product (driver's side):
Finished product (passenger's side):
Don't worry, the tires are all nice and dressed up now haha. I hadn't put any tire dressing on when I took the pictures. And yes, I know my rotors and calipers are ugly haha. I need to do something about them.
Anyway, I'm really happy with the whole turnout. I didn't post too many pictures of the passenger side during the cleaning process cause it wasn't as bad as the driver's side. You can get the point with just the pics of the drivers side.
After reading THIS thread a couple days ago, that is what inspired me to do my wheels. Check the bottom of the first post.
And just for fun, this is why I had the rear wheels off in the first place...lol...
After doing the rear wheels, I thought, I gotta do the front ones so it all looks this good. I took alot of pics when I did the front ones. Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of the rears. They were actually worse than the front ones if you can believe that haha. Keep in mind that these wheels are from a 99 so they are 11 years old (except the front passenger wheel which was replaced this past January).
Anyway, here's the process I used:
-Wash
-Claybar lightly soiled areas
-Steel wool on inside of wheel to get rid of caked on brake dust (I didn't use this on the outside, only on the inside. Because these wheels are painted, I didn't want to affect the clear coat)
-Razor blade on big chunks of caked on tar
-Tar remover on more road tar
-Another claybar of the whole wheel
-Wash
-Wax
I would guess it took me about an hour and a half to two hours to do the front two wheels. They were absolutely hammered though. The pics don't really even show how bad it really was. Here are the results:
Driver's side on car:
Passenger side on car (not as bad, this wheel replaced the old one in January):
Back to the driver's side:
Pitting from 11 years of use:
After one wash:
After another wash, a whole lotta wheel cleaner, and a ton of scrubbing with a wheel brush:
Steel wool is done! Wow! But holy road tar! And yes this is still the driver's side
After tar removal. The other black spots are chips and scratches in the paint.
Spots from where the pitting was. These cleaned up nice. Not perfect, but better.
Finished product (driver's side):
Finished product (passenger's side):
Don't worry, the tires are all nice and dressed up now haha. I hadn't put any tire dressing on when I took the pictures. And yes, I know my rotors and calipers are ugly haha. I need to do something about them.
Anyway, I'm really happy with the whole turnout. I didn't post too many pictures of the passenger side during the cleaning process cause it wasn't as bad as the driver's side. You can get the point with just the pics of the drivers side.
After reading THIS thread a couple days ago, that is what inspired me to do my wheels. Check the bottom of the first post.
And just for fun, this is why I had the rear wheels off in the first place...lol...
