How to get off heavy stuck dirt on the wheels?

Is that rust? Looks like pitting and corrosion. I don't think that's gonna "clean off"


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Wow, I'm not sure what to tell you.

You could just keep cleaning repeatedly. They should slowly get cleaner. You could try a wheel acid with agitation to see if that helps.

I might try soaking them Tarminator, it may help break some it down. A polish, or AIO will usually remove some of the gold staining.

The only thing that will make fast work of it is using something aggressive to scrub with. A pot scrubber, plastic razor blade, harsh abrasives. If you do that then you are probably going to remove some of the wheel's coating in the process, and then you will need to remove a little more polishing them back out.

One thing that does work for this is citrus based pumice hand cleaners. Just put some on your finger and rub the spot. It does a great job of breaking up that junk. Again, it will scratch some, but this works 10x's faster than anything else I've tried on wheels in this condition.

And speaking of wheels in this condition, these look like they are getting to the point where I would just sand them down, prep and prime, and drop them off at the painters.

Looks to me like a dirty wheel and brake dust with moisture ate away at the wheels finish over time while parked. I've worked on an Accord where the owner didn't wash it for over a year....like not at all, and the wheels were damaged due to what I'll deem corrosion.

Those wheels need to be completely refinished...

But you might want to try Meguiar's Wheel Brightener. Or if you don't want to buy by the gallon and need something off-the-shelf, get some wire wheel cleaner. The usual wheel cleaner precautions: make sure wheels are cool, do not allow to dry on wheel, don't allow to sit for longer than a minute or two, rinse thoroughly with soap

anonymoususer said:

Those wheels need to be completely refinished...

But you might want to try Meguiar's Wheel Brightener. Or if you don't want to buy by the gallon and need something off-the-shelf, get some wire wheel cleaner. The usual wheel cleaner precautions: make sure wheels are cool, do not allow to dry on wheel, don't allow to sit for longer than a minute or two, rinse thoroughly with soap

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What this guy said. You need to refinish them, they won't get much better. If you go too heavy with degreasers then you'll do more damage.

Media blasted followed by some powder coating.

Like many have said, I think they will need to be refinished.


Lets see that S2000!

jameskim said:

Thanks for all help.


I might have to just ride it as is now until I get a new rim set.

I will definitely upload a few pictures once the cleaning procedure is done.

Thanks

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Just refinish them instead of buying new rims. Stock AP2 S2000 rim's look nicer than a lot of aftermarket rims.

Since they are trashed anyway, why not use them as a test platform.

Use most aggresive method first.

000 steel wool and metal polish.

Next up 400 grit sand paper with metal polish.

Once you find the least agressive method you will be able to determine a plan for the rest of the wheels.

If it was my wheels, I would sand them and paint with Plasti-Dip.

Crispy said:

Since they are trashed anyway, why not use them as a test platform.

Use most aggresive method first.

000 steel wool and metal polish.

Next up 400 grit sand paper with metal polish.

Once you find the least agressive method you will be able to determine a plan for the rest of the wheels.

If it was my wheels, I would sand them and paint with Plasti-Dip.

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This is reviving an old thread (was trying to find some other information). But I just wanted to mention this in case someone else reads it and decides to go with it. Do you mean start with the LEAST aggressive method first? I understand the wheels are in pretty bad shape. But why not start with something that may be able to save them more safely? Just my opinion. Obviously when I say least aggressive, I mean least aggressive method that might get the job done, not literally least aggressive method.

Alumi-Bright Wheel Acid mixed 50/50
Spray, let it dwell for 2-3 minutes then rinse well, in most cases no need to scrub the wheels.
Repeat until clean.

10 bucks per gallon.
As with any type of acid wear safety glasses, mask and gloves.
Won't hurt clean coat , chrome or plastics.
Ace Hardware sells it.


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That is baked on brake dust and it has eaten through the clear and started corroding the aluminum beneath.
The wheels will never look like new now. They will require refinishing. Or just toss them and get a perfect condition used set from someone that is going with fancy new wheels.

LydiaGP said:

This is reviving an old thread (was trying to find some other information). But I just wanted to mention this in case someone else reads it and decides to go with it. Do you mean start with the LEAST aggressive method first? I understand the wheels are in pretty bad shape. But why not start with something that may be able to save them more safely? Just my opinion. Obviously when I say least aggressive, I mean least aggressive method that might get the job done, not literally least aggressive method.

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Yes I meant least aggressive first (although these are agressive methods I was describing).