Neglected wheel/tire clean up

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brwill2005

New member
I am working on a neglected 1992 Lincoln Town Car. The wheels had who knows how many years of brake dust build up. The tires were just as bad. Anyways, I used TOL's Wheel Wash, 0000 steel wool, an SM Arnold Spoke brush, electric pressure washer, and a lot of elbow grease and time. For the tires I used Hi-Temp's tire cleaner, a brass white wall brush and a regular tire brush. Here are some before and after pictures. Note: No tire dressing applied in the after picture.



Before

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After

IMG_0268.JPG
 
looks good but steel wool??! EEEWWWW!ida used this:...........it only takes me about 18 seconds to get a wheel like that SPOTLESS.also not to be rude but thats trick photography!!!! those wheels are still wet with water and id LOVE to see what that steelwool did to those wheels with a dry pic... :(



C-24.jpg


BUT YOU DID get those break pads spotess!!
 
Thanks. It was either the 0000 steel wool or much of the brake dust would have remained. I mainly used the steel wool on the polished lip section of the wheel. Oh yeah, explain the quote to me.
 
Thanks. I would never use anything with Hydroflouric acid in it. The 0000 steel wool did not dull the surface at all. I used it mainly on the polished lip.
 
brwill2005 said:
Thanks. I would never use anything with Hydroflouric acid in it.
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well thats cool and the difference between you and i but i have been using this EXACT product since 1996 and i have not messed up not a SINGLE wheel with it yet and i have cleaned just about EVERY type of car out there from a toyota to a phantom.

to each his own

in the pic towards the top of the wheel (actually mostly all of the polished lip) why does it look dull than shiney than dull again???? sounds like dullness to me. just be carefull with wool on CLEARCOAT weather on rims or paint. clear is clear.

im just tring to inform others that its not really a good idea to put ANY wool on clear even if its the mildest (0000) i do use wool but NOT for this.

P.S. YOU (and I) eat and drink acid EVERYDAY. read the ingredients on the next thing you eat or drink. :2thumbs: tis why they make a dilution ratio.
 
No offense psl, but hydrofluoric acid is nothing like the acids we eat and drink every day, or like any other acids typically encountered. I don't use that stuff not for fear of damaging wheels but for fear of damaging ME. Don't get me wrong, I'm not afeared of stuff...just that HF is pretty insidious and IMO it's not something that should be in a consumer wheel cleaner. Obviously you are a pro, and using a pro product, so more power to you.
 
What is your problem? I know the wheel/tire is still a little wet. I am, however, not trying to trick anybody. Just because I dont want to use a product that is harmful to the environment, and most importantly, to myself does not mean you need to bash my work. I was going to leave it alone, but you keep editting your post to be more insulting. The wheels still look 100% better than they did before.
 
brwill2005 said:
What is your problem? I know the wheel/tire is still a little wet. I am, however, not trying to trick anybody. Just because I dont want to use a product that is harmful to the environment, and most importantly, to myself does not mean you need to bash my work. I was going to leave it alone, but you keep editting your post to be more insulting. The wheels still look 100% better than they did before.
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no problem here buddy just speaking of the truth of what CAN happen using steel wool on clear coat. that is worse on a wheel than acid (diluted at the right ratio) and i NEVER bashed your work just asking to see a pic of the wheel DRY as you can clearly see its still wet and where its dry its "dulling".......again just tring to inform the average person to NOT use wool on clear



point simple. wool SCRATCHES clear. is that bashing? no. if you took it that way than im sorry but thats just how you took it.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
just that HF is pretty insidious and IMO it's not something that should be in a consumer wheel cleaner. Obviously you are a pro, .
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yes and this is why its NOT on the shelf at just any store because if used IMproperly it CAN ruin a wheel

BUT brwill2005 is a "pro"also so i was just trin to give him a tip that maybee he wasnt aware of.........seeing in his sig this is him>>>>>>Brad Will- OWNER

Reflections Auto Salon
 
Information from the Minnesota Poison Control System states that if your body surface area (BSA) of exposure to any HF concentration is 5% or higher, it is treated as a "high risk for serious complications from a dermal exposure"
 
I appreciate you trying to help me out. Maybe you could have approached it differently by not criticizing my method of attack and claiming I was using trick photography. I have been perfectly aware of the product you mentioned for quite some time, but choose not to use it because of the health risks associated with hydroflouric acid. No hard feelings.
 
brwill2005 said:
I appreciate you trying to help me out. Maybe you could have approached it differently by not criticizing my method of attack and claiming I was using trick photography. I have been perfectly aware of the product you mentioned for quite some time, but choose not to use it because of the health risks associated with hydroflouric acid. No hard feelings.
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again thats all i was doing just showing you of a product that works when needed for these situations.......and also i was not tring to criticize your methods

agiain im sorry if you took it the wrong way>>>>no pun intended :xyxthumbs this time i will ask politely.....

may we see a pic of those wheels dry please?

maybee this is a trick you tought me and it does work without scratching the rimtis why i asked in the first post to see a "dry" pic.

again SORRY to have bugged you.
 
psl car wash said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrofluoric_acid





also i hope you brush your teeth cause it is the same family as sodium fluoride that is in every toothpaste.



sorry to have offended you but like i stated just giving my opinion.
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Just because what's in your toothpaste is a fluorine compound doesn't make it anything like HF. That's like saying that you can drink bleach, which is NaOCl, because hey, it's just salt water with an oxygen atom added. Do yourself a favor and protect yourself from that wheel cleaner, don't treat it like toothpaste, no matter how much you dilute it.
 
psl car wash said:
it is the same family as sodium fluoride that is in every toothpaste.
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So is the flouride in municipal water systems, but I sure wouldn't drink hydroflouric acid, no matter what the dilution.



I don't use stuff like that because I don't like washing dangerous chemicals into the streams/lakes around me. If it has a skull and crossbones on it, I don't touch it.
 
White95Max said:
So is the flouride in municipal water systems, but I sure wouldn't drink hydroflouric acid, no matter what the dilution.
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well i never said to drink it or use it as a toothpaste now THAT would deffinetly be DUMB!!! :sadpace:

not your bandwagon. :sosad
 
Hey, those wheels are the exact same as ones found on the BMW 7 series. Hmm...that would make them BBS..
 
Yipes! From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrofluoric_acid



"Exposure to small quantities of this acid on less than 10% of the body can be fatal, even with immediate medical treatment. Highly concentrated solutions may lead to acute hypocalcemia, followed by heart attack and death, and will usually be fatal in as little as 2% body exposure. This substance is extremely toxic and has the capacity to kill upon exposure rather than simply damage skin and eyes. It should be handled with extreme care, beyond what is given to hydrochloric, sulfuric, or other mineral acids."



yeah, good luck with using that stuff!
 
I use an acid based wheel cleaner with HF acid in it. I just handle it with care and common sense. I use googles and gloves, dipose of the gloves when finished, etc.



We are talking about 30 gallons of HF mixed with 500 gallons of water/other ingredients, then cut 50/50 in a quart bottle.



It makes cleaning a wheel like that a snap, just spray on, wait 10 seconds, then PW, that's it.



Either way, the wheels look great!!!
 
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