Very dirty wheels Inside

[zippymbr]

I can't seem to get the insides of my factory wheels clean at all. Both the wheels from my Es 300 and Honda Odyssey will not come clean. I have tried several cleaners, several applications with lots of scrubbing. The biggest hurdle seems to be the groves on the insides of these wheels. They look terrible, I need some help.

 

[EBPcivicsi]

I would either remove them and use a tar and wax remover, then clay,paint cleaner, and sealant......or get an EZ detail brush and some acid based wheel cleaner.

 

[travisdecpn]

Have you tried claying them yet?

 

[ntoddalbert]

Its not easy, but they have to come off unless you have huge open spaces to reach through.



When off I use a good brush with Eagle 1 AZ after that some AIO and or if needed a mild polish like Megs 9. Then I SG them before putting them back on, it makes the next clean up a breeze.



Good Luck

 

[togwt]

Tar should be removed with a solvent type cleaner (and #0000 synthetic steel wool if necessary) and any bonded contaminants or over spray removed with Detailer's Clay, then clean surface with a chemical / polish (Klasse AIO) wash and dry wheel surface thoroughly.

Note- Clay is not recommended on wheels that do not have a factory clear coat or powder coat finish.



Once the brake dust has been removed with a 100% acid-free wheel cleaner, apply a citrus based cleaner to the surface, agitate with a boarâ€â„¢s hair wheel brush and rinse off, dry thoroughly and then apply a polymer sealant for protection, this will also make future cleaning easier. A polymer is recommended ( ZoopSeal ) as it has a higher melting temperature (350oF) compared to Carnauba wax (180oF) a wheel surface will reach a temperature in excess of 120oF due to rotor friction and in excess of 195oF when parked in the sun.



Periodically remove the wheels (one at a time) to enable the back of the wheel, callipers and give better access to the wheel wells. Should the wheel surface have small scratches they can he removed with a mildly abrasive polish.

JonM

 

[MongooseGA]

Jon, why isn't clay reccomended on non clear coated/ powder coated wheels? Chance of marring?

 

[zippymbr]

Thanks, I did take the wheels off to do the brakes and figured it would be a great time to get them clean. Clay would not touch this stuff. You can feel it with your fingers as you rub them over the inside of the wheel. The gunk actually fills the grooves toward the outer edge of the wheels. I will try some tar remover and synthetic steel wool. Acid free wheel cleane did nothing. Sure is alot of gunk for a 2.5 year old car.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

Thanks, I did take the wheels off to do the brakes and figured it would be a great time to get them clean. Clay would not touch this stuff. You can feel it with your fingers as you rub them over the inside of the wheel. The gunk actually fills the grooves toward the outer edge of the wheels. I will try some tar remover and synthetic steel wool. Acid free wheel cleane did nothing. Sure is alot of gunk for a 2.5 year old car.

Do you have access to a pressure washer? It might be worth a shot to saturate it in some full strength simple green and scrub as best you can, then pressure wash it off. Maybe even resort to mineral spirits if you must.

 

[Ducky]

isnt simple green hazardous to aluminum? I remember reading that few years ago.

 

[Don]

I used Megs Gold Class Instant Wheel Cleaner on my sister-in-law's Buick when nothing else would touch it. It took off all but the worst baked on corrosion from the never-cleaned wheels. Make sure you rinse frequently, this IS strong stuff.



This is AFTER power washing w/Simple Green

This is After the GCIWC and a plastic "brillo" pad. I didn't get a close up, and you can still see some build up in the corners, but A) this was a freebie to a relative and B) these are BC/CC painted rims, anything harsher (scrubber-wise) might have damaged the rims

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

I used Megs Gold Class Instant Wheel Cleaner on my sister-in-law's Buick when nothing else would touch it. It took off all but the worst baked on corrosion from the never-cleaned wheels. Make sure you rinse frequently, this IS strong stuff.



This is AFTER power washing w/Simple Green

This is After the GCIWC and a plastic "brillo" pad. I didn't get a close up, and you can still see some build up in the corners, but A) this was a freebie to a relative and B) these are BC/CC painted rims, anything harsher (scrubber-wise) might have damaged the rims

I'd think you could get in there better with a toothbrush (or at least that's what I do with wheels like that)



and as for Simple Green harming aluminum, that usually only happens if you're not very careful about rinsing or something of that nature. I'd also check to see if those wheels are clearcoated (a lot of machined aluminum ones are now days) because then you're probably just fine.

 

[Don]

I'd think you could get in there better with a toothbrush (or at least that's what I do with wheels like that)



and as for Simple Green harming aluminum, that usually only happens if you're not very careful about rinsing or something of that nature. I'd also check to see if those wheels are clearcoated (a lot of machined aluminum ones are now days) because then you're probably just fine.

The angle was too sharp for anything but my finger forcing the brillo pad in there & trust me on this one, a toothbrush wouldn't have touched this stuff, a WIRE brush maybe but then you run into a few drawbacks.



I don't think Simple Green is much of a danger to wheels, unless you let it sit too long (dry) on painted/clearcoated rims. Even then I think the biggest danger is stripping all the wax off.

 

[Accumulator]

don M- Interesting about the GC wheel cleaner. I might oughta have some of that on hand; thanks for posting on how well it worked.

I don't think Simple Green is much of a danger to wheels, unless you let it sit too long (dry) on painted/clearcoated rims. Even then I think the biggest danger is stripping all the wax off.

Originally posted by Shiny Lil Detlr

..if those wheels are clearcoated... then you're probably just fine...

I haven't used Simple Green on wheels, so this is just hearsay, but somebody who really cares could probably do a search and find it (it's a *years* old post and I don't remember who posted it ). Anyhow:



Somebody who swore it worked fine used it on the wheels of, IIRC, his VW for a long time. One day he noticed his (painted/clearcoated) wheels looked slightly "foggy" compared to somebody else's. No matter what he tried he couldn't fix it, the Simple Green had apparently compromised the clear. I believe he ended up replacing the wheels.



So I sure don't think it'll do much if used infrequently, but I wouldn't make a habit out of it. Sorta a "proceed at your own risk" type of thing...



The etching of aluminum *has* happened to quite a few people, especially when used on underhood stuff, and they always insisted that they didn't do anything careless.



I'm just so about what others posted that I generally don't use the stuff for automotive purposes, though I *have* used it on greasy undercarriages now and then.

 

[Don]

Somebody who swore it worked fine used it on the wheels of, IIRC, his VW for a long time. One day he noticed his (painted/clearcoated) wheels looked slightly "foggy" compared to somebody else's. No matter what he tried he couldn't fix it, the Simple Green had apparently compromised the clear. I believe he ended up replacing the wheels.

I'm curious if that person regularly used a polish/sealant regimen on his rims, or just used the SG & dried them off?

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

don M- Interesting about the GC wheel cleaner. I might oughta have some of that on hand; thanks for posting on how well it worked.







I haven't used Simple Green on wheels, so this is just hearsay, but somebody who really cares could probably do a search and find it (it's a *years* old post and I don't remember who posted it ). Anyhow:



Somebody who swore it worked fine used it on the wheels of, IIRC, his VW for a long time. One day he noticed his (painted/clearcoated) wheels looked slightly "foggy" compared to somebody else's. No matter what he tried he couldn't fix it, the Simple Green had apparently compromised the clear. I believe he ended up replacing the wheels.



So I sure don't think it'll do much if used infrequently, but I wouldn't make a habit out of it. Sorta a "proceed at your own risk" type of thing...



The etching of aluminum *has* happened to quite a few people, especially when used on underhood stuff, and they always insisted that they didn't do anything careless.



I'm just so about what others posted that I generally don't use the stuff for automotive purposes, though I *have* used it on greasy undercarriages now and then.

I remember for certain Brad B. saying it (Simple Green) destroyed a set of wheels on one of his vehicles. I also didn't say "its fine to use SG every wash" -- for extreme cleanup on an occasional basis its ok. But there are always safer alternatives.



Like I said, if you're dealing with non-clearcoated stuff, DONT use it at all.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

The angle was too sharp for anything but my finger forcing the brillo pad in there & trust me on this one, a toothbrush wouldn't have touched this stuff, a WIRE brush maybe but then you run into a few drawbacks.



I don't think Simple Green is much of a danger to wheels, unless you let it sit too long (dry) on painted/clearcoated rims. Even then I think the biggest danger is stripping all the wax off.

Well first of all, I've also used the Gold Class stuff -- I don't find it to be as strong as Eagle One A2Z.



Simple Green IS, as we've been mentioning, a danger to non-clearcoated stuff, and even clearcoat if used frequently enough. And it's a GUARANTEE that you will strip off all the wax even with a diluted ammount of SG.



As for those Buick wheels being too sharp of an angle for a toothbrush, I call BS. The majority of the details I do are on buicks and vehicles with similar wheels with similar ammounts of neglect. I've ALWAYS been able to get stuff with A2Z and a toothbrush; even stuff worse than what your first picture shows. Try it -- I guarantee it works.

 

[Don]

Well first of all, I've also used the Gold Class stuff -- I don't find it to be as strong as Eagle One A2Z.



Simple Green IS, as we've been mentioning, a danger to non-clearcoated stuff, and even clearcoat if used frequently enough. And it's a GUARANTEE that you will strip off all the wax even with a diluted ammount of SG.



As for those Buick wheels being too sharp of an angle for a toothbrush, I call BS. The majority of the details I do are on buicks and vehicles with similar wheels with similar ammounts of neglect. I've ALWAYS been able to get stuff with A2Z and a toothbrush; even stuff worse than what your first picture shows. Try it -- I guarantee it works.

Perhaps, but how far are you willing to go when the detail has taken three days already and you're doing it for a family member, for free?

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

Perhaps, but how far are you willing to go when the detail has taken three days already and you're doing it for a family member, for free?

Depends on the family member, among other things. I've actually had a relative's vehicle in my garage for a WEEK working on it before; didn't even get a thank you but I don't care. For me, detailing is an activity I do to relax and get my mind off anything but the vehicle/task at hand :xyxthumbs my paying customers are just an added bonus

 

[Accumulator]

Don M- Sorry, I really don't remember the details, but if I had to guess I'd say it was the sort of Autopian who sure wouldn't leave his wheels unprotected. This is the problem with remembering the *old* posts, you remember the basic gist of them but not the details

I remember for certain Brad B. saying it (Simple Green) destroyed a set of wheels on one of his vehicles. I also didn't say "its fine to use SG every wash"...

Ah, maybe it was Brad...I just can't remember.



I didn't mean to imply you were recommending it for regular use, sorry if I made it sound that way. I'm trying to *not* miscommunicate these days.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

Don M- Sorry, I really don't remember the details, but if I had to guess I'd say it was the sort of Autopian who sure wouldn't leave his wheels unprotected. This is the problem with remembering the *old* posts, you remember the basic gist of them but not the details







Ah, maybe it was Brad...I just can't remember.



I didn't mean to imply you were recommending it for regular use, sorry if I made it sound that way. I'm trying to *not* miscommunicate these days.

It's all good -- we all have blonde moments! (no offense to blondes...ha...)