serious wheel cleaning

P

phatfarm

New member
i have some serious issues with cleaning my wheels. they're 18" alloys, and i'm having so many problems trying to get them clean.



there seems to be "stains" in/under the clearcoat? is that possible? theres a lot of spots and stains that seem to be under the clearcoat that no amount of cleaning will remove,



also in the inner edges of the spoke seem to be stained dirty? they never seem to come clean



any heavy duty-industrial cleaners you guys can suggest? im even cool with removing the clearcoat (how?) cleaning them and respraying clear back on



i know last year when i took it into service, they got my wheels REALLY clean (spots still there but not that noticable).. my friend said they used "wheel acid"? whats that?



my car has been detailed perfectly, now i just need to know how to get the wheels clean..



any thoughts would be helpful



(my rim is in my avatar... )
 
First, whats your current wheel cleaner so we can get a feel if you need something stronger? Wheel acid has to do with the pH level of the chemicals. The old Eagle One A2Z Wheel Cleaner was considered acidic. The new one (orange bottle) is not. BTW, EO A2Z works pretty good.
 
i normally use my zymol car wash to clean my wheels, but i've tried to use simple green to remove the blemishes ...



also some armor all wheel cleaner (it does get the wheel shiny-er) but the blemishes are still there.



ive tried to remove the spots with my fingernail but it feels like they are underneath







my main issue isn't getting the wheels shiny (well, later, but i dont think thats the big issue).. its getting rid of the spotting on the inside of the spokes and on the lip.
 
If its under the clear coat then you are likely going to have to strip the clear coat and polish the wheel and reapply clear coat. I am in the process of helping someone do this with a 2000 Pathfinder since the rims were not taken care of by the previous owner. I used a key to break the clear coat in the bad areas and then flaked off the affected area. I then used Meguiar's wheel polish to polish the black tarnish off. That has brought them back to almost normal. Now just waiting for a string of good weather days to final buff them and then get some clear coat on them(UAP/NAPA sells it).



Hopefully someone else has some better answer for you though as it is a pain in the butt!
 
wheel1.jpg




see the dark brown spotting on the rim. seems to be UNDER the clearcoat. can't feel with fingernail



wheel2.jpg




wheel3.jpg




see blemishes on right spoke. looks like nicks in the wheel but seems to be in the clearcoat. was not there when the wheel was new.



also, spots on the lip (middle bottom)



when i feel any of those areas with my hand it seems completely smooth
 
I'm guessing that the problem is not under the clear. That would be a difficult trick. However, you may have stained the clear coat.



Is it a stock BMW wheel? I'd try clay and polish first. That will at least tell you if the problem is on the surface.



FYI, it's not possible to remove the clear coat on a wheel without doing some serious damage to the polished finish. There are only two good ways to remove paint from a wheel: sand blast or use a chemical stripper. Both of these methods will require that the wheels be completely re-polished. The labor required would be 5+ hours per wheel. At $70 per hour, you'd be $350 into each wheel. At that point, you're better off just replacing the wheels.
 
i see... it is possible for things to even get under the clearcoat?



i'll try the clay and polish, hopefully that does something.



and yes its a OEM bmw rim. they're about 6 yrs old now. i guess i'll have to look into getting new rims after my tires are gone (19's... possibly)



and can anyone recommend the harshest wheel cleaner out there? i'd be willing to wax the wheels afterwards.



thanks for the replies!
 
DavidB said:


FYI, it's not possible to remove the clear coat on a wheel without doing some serious damage to the polished finish. There are only two good ways to remove paint from a wheel: sand blast or use a chemical stripper. Both of these methods will require that the wheels be completely re-polished. The labor required would be 5+ hours per wheel. At $70 per hour, you'd be $350 into each wheel. At that point, you're better off just replacing the wheels.
Click to expand...



It is possible to get the clear coat off without damage. I have done it! Now the galvanix corrosion that was under it was the size of silver dollars. At that point the clear coat is not attached to the alloy at all. :scared



Phat - yours is not galvanic corrosion, as David said it looks like you might have stained the clear coat or might have some small pits in the clear coat that dirt has collected in:confused:
 
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