wheel-well depression

R

rx280

New member
I spent part of the weekend prepping my driven-daily 2004 Acura TSX

for its third New England winter. (I put on two coats of Menzerna FMJ -- my first use of this product.) The winter-prep chore includes putting on snow tires (mounted on

steel wheels). As always, removing wheels and getting a good look at the condition of the brakes, suspension

components, pipes, mufflers, etc. was depressing. The exhaust system probably has

to be considered an aesthetic lost cause, but I'm wondering what can be done

to make the other parts look better. Does anyone have advice for cleaning and

treating the corrosion on the things you see when you look into a wheel

well?

(By the way, I had a hard time removing my three-season wheels and tires. Thanks to corrosion, the OEM alloy wheels were stuck to

the rotors, and getting the wheels off required repeated -- and very careful

-- hitting of the tires (the rubber) with a hammer. These were gentle blows,

but they eventually got the wheels to separate from the rotors. I guess the solution is to apply anti-seize paste. If anyone has another suggestion, let me know.)
 
I have mixed feelings about anti-seize paste and I seldom use it except on the lug nuts/bolts of certain vehicles. You don't want things coming apart of their own accord ;)



Taking the wheels off more often is the approach I've ended up going with. Makes it easy to detail these areas too.



Corrosion like rust needs to be chemically treated/neutralized. Then you can put some kind of paint over it. Check out a company called Eastwood (sorry, no link handy). They sell some stuff called Rust Encapsulator that works better than the more commonly recommended POR-15 stuff (which isn't bad either).



For a quick fix, you might consider just using some Griot's Undercarriage Spray. It's a temporary, imperfect, but quick and easy solution.



The big thing about areas like these is to not let them get too bad. Once they're nice, keep them that way by detailing them frequently. I keep two floorjacks in the wash bay just so I can raise up my vehicles and gain access to areas like this at every wash.
 
I recently used FMJ to prep a couple of friends cars for the winter. I had never used it before either. I thought it was a great product. What did you think?
 
Mikey, the FMJ certainly was easy to apply and remove, just as I’d been led to expect. The gloss and slickness also impress. Tough to say whether the look is significantly better than I was getting with Meguiar’s NXT Tech Wax. The biggest reason for giving the FMJ a try was the advertised durability. I’m hoping to get a winter’s worth of protection – something I doubt the NXT could provide. Time will tell. I certainly hope the upcoming winter is kinder than the last couple have been.

Accumulator, thanks for the response. I've been meaning to try that Griot's product.
 
I always apply a little copper grease between the hubs and wheel face to prevent this, and also on each wheel bolt then torque up correctly.



Like others I jack the car up during washing to clean the wheel wells each time, with car saop and water. Over sealed and treated plastic things clean up easily.



As for cleaning things up, if i can be polished up to remove corrosion I do it that way, other bits I try and paint to replicate there origional apperance. If your really keen to get it looking nice again I even went down the route of changing the parts to new items and then keeping them that way.
 
Accumulator, thanks for the response. I've been meaning to try that Griot's product.



Look at TOL's grape juice. IMO it is VERY close to Griots but a lot less expensive. I kept the Griot bottle though.
 
3Dog said:
Look at TOL's grape juice. IMO it is VERY close to Griots but a lot less expensive...
Click to expand...



Is the TOL stuff grape scented? I gotta admit that I really like the industrial smell of the Griot's stuff, whereas I absolutely detest grape (and cherry) scented detailing products. Heh heh, that no-cost fragrence decision during manufacturing costs me plenty as an end-user. Buying products for the smell sounds so goofy :o buy it's all about enjoying myself.
 
QUOTE : " The exhaust system probably has to be considered an aesthetic lost cause, but I'm wondering" UNQUOTE



Not necessarily; go to a local hardware store and buy a can of aluminum paint and a couple of sheets of #1,000 sandpaper. Take your car to a local lift (or canal) sand down the pipe and muffler and wipe it down with a little bit of cellulosic thinner on a cloth. Wipe down one last time all over with a dry cloth and wait for approx 1/2 hour before you start painting the whole pipes and the muffler with a soft bristle brush. Do this every six months (but you mention rust on a 2004 car so you need to do this more often) and you have not only a better look but also a longer lasting exhaust system...



One last point : NEVER SMOKE of let anyone smoke within the vicinity of at least 20 ft around you while doing this work... Keep your car's extinguisher handy and near you for a safety precaution...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top