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Cleaning RIMS?

winty87

CEG'er
Joined
Apr 2, 2007
Messages
187
Location
Howell
Yes I did search but I came up with nothing concrete as to any specific rim cleaning products. What are you using or what is a good product to get road tar off from the inside of the rim and then whats another good product to get brake dust and rust spots off these rims?
 
As for cleaning when washing your car, I use wolfgang or p21s. They work awesome
For rust spots on wheels, I used soft scrub. Seemed to work pretty damn good for me.
Tar- bug and tar remover.
 
Don't know if its avalable where your at,but I us Nathens liquid brilliance wheel cleaner. Works great and is safe on all wheels. Removes brake dust and road grime.
 
Well I went out and bought some Simple Green concentrated this :censored::censored::censored::censored: works wonders. all the caked on rust, road grime tar on the back side of the rim came right up with the scrubbing of the brillo pad. One rim is REALLY bad so I'm going to have to break that down with some sand paper. But they look great, really shine again.
 
These are the products I use to clean my wheels:

Brush that can clean inner part while still mounted on car (works excellent): http://www.autogeek.net/ezdebrfca.html

This OXO brush is designed with user ergonomics in mind and works great on the outter parts of the wheel: http://www.autogeek.net/erwheelbrus.html

As Starjammer mentioned the P21s Gel wheel cleaner is excellent but a little pricey, I use the DP Wheel Gel which is also excellent, but easier on the wallet. I prefer these water-based gel wheel cleaners because they don't contain harsh acids that slowly eat away at the wheel's finish: http://www.autogeek.net/dp370.html

For when the wheels are really nasty and dirty I like Poorboy's Spray & Rinse wheel cleaner. Yes, these are a little harsher, but then again they are only meant to be used on those rare occasions when the wheels are filthy: http://www.autogeek.net/pbsrwc32.html

A cheaper alternative to the Poorboy's heavy-duty wheel cleaner is Meguiar's Wheel Brightner: http://www.autogeek.net/meguiar-s-wheel-brightener.html

Also it doesn't hurt to use some sort of protection on the wheels after they are clean and dry. DP makes a good one: http://www.autogeek.net/dp-wheel-glaze.html

And Poorboy's also has a wheel sealant on the market: http://www.autogeek.net/pbws.html

I hope this helps. The above products/techniques have served me well in the cleaning/maintenance of my wheels.
 
holy crap steve....your on the boards and posting :shocked::laugh:

Nice write up.....i hate cleaning my rims in all honesty. To fix the problem i try not to drive my car :laugh:
 
I use a concoction of special enzymes. I probably shouldn't give you more details, but I'm a nice guy. It's a mixture of lysozymes/amylases that I manufacture and synthesize myself (I term it very poor poorboy's brand) and apply it liberally to the wheels w/ taco bell napkins. Sometimes I'll upgrade to the Little Caesar napkins, but usually Taco Bell napkins work well.
 
om winter wheels my father and I have used bar keepers friend. works really well at cleaning them up. then coat with a nice wax of your choice to help make them easier to clean in the future.

I posted about it here


also on suggested from a guy that runs a wheel repair shop I have used the mothers mag and aluminum polish to clean wheels. I used this with the small mothers power ball. however I do caution using the power ball. On one wheel I tried some Zaino paint cleaner and it wore through the paint which might of already been thin :blackeye:. however this could also be in part to using an electric drill when I should have been using a cordless drill. but then again the zaino didn't stick to the buff ball as the paste of the mg/aluminum cleaner did.
 
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om winter wheels my father and I have used bar keepers friend. works really well at cleaning them up. then coat with a nice wax of your choice to help make them easier to clean in the future.

I posted about it here

As suggested by 'JimD' in the linked post extreme caution needs to be taken when using an abrasive polish such as bar keepers friend which really is more suited for use on bare metals.

I couldn't agree with you more Brian, any type of protection (preferably a synthetic or wheel-specific product with a higher temperature tolerance from the amount of heat that brakes generate) should always be used for protection and to make cleaning in the future easier.

also on suggested from a guy that runs a wheel repair shop I have used the mothers mag and aluminum polish to clean wheels. I used this with the small mothers power ball. however I do caution using the power ball. On one wheel I tried some Zaino paint cleaner and it wore through the paint which might of already been thin :blackeye:. however this could also be in part to using an electric drill when I should have been using a cordless drill. but then again the zaino didn't stick to the buff ball as the paste of the mg/aluminum cleaner did.

The same principle applies with the Mothers mag and aluminum polish. While a great product for polishing bare metal wheels, valve covers, bumpers, etc. It really is too abrasive for clear coated wheels. Mothers will tell you the same thing and suggests using their plastic polish for the cleaning/polishing/protection of clear coated wheels rather than their mag and aluminum polish.

I suspect that the problems you experienced with the Mothers power ball were more to do with the Zaino product being too abrasive/chemically strong for the clear coat, or as you stated the clear coat being extremely thin rather than the power ball it self causing the damage.
 
however this could also be in part to using an electric drill when I should have been using a cordless drill. but then again the zaino didn't stick to the buff ball as the paste of the mg/aluminum cleaner did.

I gave up on using a cordless drill for any kind of work like that and bought a nice corded one I know wont bog down or overheat from a little polishing pressure. As mentioned I too think it was a case of the polish and a thin spot of clear coat rather than the ball made to safely polish rims.
 
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