So, I detailed my friends car for him and other than all the tree sap and bug guts, everything went fine...until I saw what I had done to the rims. I wasn't too familiar with these rims, so I wasn't sure how severe the problem was until I returned it to him.
I guess it all started with a tip that I got from a friend who told me that if I sprayed the rims with a citrus degreaser and let it sit, that it'd be a heck of a lot easier to remove the brake dust. I had worked on a similar set of rims (with a machined lip) that were neglected and severely covered in brake dust. So, with my past experience, and my new found knowledge, I took my friend's advice and went ahead and sprayed the rims down with a 1:1 mix of degreaser.
The problem is, it seems that I let the degreaser sit for too long. The temperature was hot outside (23 and sunny), however, I was working in some shade. Before I knew it, the degreaser had foamed up, and baked itself onto the rims (the lip). That's where the trouble starts. The degreaser rinsed off of the rest of the rim just fine.
When soapy water didn't remove the baked degreaser (which I'll call scum from now on--since it looks like soap scum), naturally, I decided to try using more degreaser to fight it off. Funny enough, the degreaser was unable to remove the scum whatsoever. Since then, I've tried a highly concentrated solution of OxiClean, Goo Gone (I don't know why), Armor All's Triple Action Rim Cleaner, and none have worked.
HOWEVER! I did use Mother's Chrome Polish and a toothbrush later in the day, and it had some partially successful results. I say partially because: although it successfully removed the scum, it didn't leave the chrome shiny. It now has a matte, almost brushed, looking finish rather than a shiny finish.
Enough talking, how about some pictures??
Here are what the rims should look like
Here are the BEFORE and AFTER pictures
I need suggestions, or advice on how to restore the shiny chrome finish to the rims. Please help. I'll be working on them tomorrow at 8pm EST
I guess it all started with a tip that I got from a friend who told me that if I sprayed the rims with a citrus degreaser and let it sit, that it'd be a heck of a lot easier to remove the brake dust. I had worked on a similar set of rims (with a machined lip) that were neglected and severely covered in brake dust. So, with my past experience, and my new found knowledge, I took my friend's advice and went ahead and sprayed the rims down with a 1:1 mix of degreaser.
The problem is, it seems that I let the degreaser sit for too long. The temperature was hot outside (23 and sunny), however, I was working in some shade. Before I knew it, the degreaser had foamed up, and baked itself onto the rims (the lip). That's where the trouble starts. The degreaser rinsed off of the rest of the rim just fine.
When soapy water didn't remove the baked degreaser (which I'll call scum from now on--since it looks like soap scum), naturally, I decided to try using more degreaser to fight it off. Funny enough, the degreaser was unable to remove the scum whatsoever. Since then, I've tried a highly concentrated solution of OxiClean, Goo Gone (I don't know why), Armor All's Triple Action Rim Cleaner, and none have worked.
HOWEVER! I did use Mother's Chrome Polish and a toothbrush later in the day, and it had some partially successful results. I say partially because: although it successfully removed the scum, it didn't leave the chrome shiny. It now has a matte, almost brushed, looking finish rather than a shiny finish.
Enough talking, how about some pictures??
Here are what the rims should look like
Here are the BEFORE and AFTER pictures
I need suggestions, or advice on how to restore the shiny chrome finish to the rims. Please help. I'll be working on them tomorrow at 8pm EST
