Any hope for cleaning these wheels?

SRTSean

SRTSean

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I'm detailing a friend's Viper that he just bought and the previous owner apparently didn't like to clean the front wheels after racing it. The brake dust is literally baked on to the wheels. So far I've tried:
  • Griot's heavy duty wheel cleaner and heavy scrubbing with wheel brush
  • Meguiar's "hot rims" all wheel cleaner (has some acid in it) with more scrubbing with wheel brush
  • Clay bar
  • M105 compound to try and polish them out

Here's what they look like as of now.

viperwheeldirt.jpg
 
iron-x or sonax full effect wheel cleaner.
i say that due to the rust showing in the photo from the lugs. most of the particles from the brake dust will wash away.

if neither of those have an impact, might opt for a BRASS bristle brush on a drill, while running a low rpm.
this will result in the required re-coating the wheels though.

others might have another or better idea.
chris<pixelmonkey>:D
 
Do not use WB on those!!! Those are BBS LM wheels the web (center) is finished but the rest of the wheel is not... Those wheels are in the price range of about $1100.00 each for the size of them...

Use some of the Sonax or GG wheel cleaners but nothing with acid... Then use some agitation and then if needed polish them... Then on the web throw on some Wheel Armor from Prima
 
05xrunner said:
is that dirt or is the finish wearing away?
if it is dirt..you can try this..Everyone says this is pretty powerful stuff..just gotta be careful handling it
Meguiars Wheel Brightener is a professional grade wheel cleaner for factory coated wheels! Meguiars wheel cleaner and brightener makes coated wheels
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's dirt.

pixelmonkey said:
iron-x or sonax full effect wheel cleaner.
i say that due to the rust showing in the photo from the lugs. most of the particles from the brake dust will wash away.

if neither of those have an impact, might opt for a BRASS bristle brush on a drill, while running a low rpm.
this will result in the required re-coating the wheels though.

others might have another or better idea.
chris<pixelmonkey>:D
Click to expand...

The rust will rub right off. It's simply there from water sitting on the wheels overnight.

CrownKote said:
Do not use WB on those!!! Those are BBS LM wheels the web (center) is finished but the rest of the wheel is not... Those wheels are in the price range of about $1100.00 each for the size of them...

Use some of the Sonax or GG wheel cleaners but nothing with acid... Then use some agitation and then if needed polish them... Then on the web throw on some Wheel Armor from Prima
Click to expand...

Yeah, the surface that the dirt is on is painted, so I'm not using anything harsh on them. The amount of dirt you see in that picture is about half of what was on them before I started washing. It sounds like these will just take a ton of time and scrubbing to get right. I'll let my buddy know that and he can deal with them as I'm out of the GG heavy duty wheel cleaner and he's not paying me enough to rush out and buy more and spend 4 hours scrubbing on the wheels.

Thanks to all for the help.
 
Looks like it could be coated centers, so treat carefully with Sonax and then use a paint polish as needed. Then protect with something like Dp Wheel Glaze.
 
Malco Brake Off is second to none on painted or coated aluminum. However it WILL oxidize uncoated aluminum!

You can also try a plastic razor blade along with whatever wheel cleaner you decide on.
 
blob said:
Malco Brake Off is second to none on painted or coated aluminum. However it WILL oxidize uncoated aluminum!

You can also try a plastic razor blade along with whatever wheel cleaner you decide on.
Click to expand...

I understand why Malco Brake Off will cause harm to uncoated aluminum (sodium hydroxide will eat aluminum up!); but, in your opinion, why will it not also cause harm to painted or coated aluminum (I'm assuming coated means clearcoated)? Or for that matter, any other type of wheel that's painted or coated (clearcoat)?

Also, won't bare aluminum naturally oxidize? That is, when bare aluminum is exposed to oxygen, passivation naturally occurs, forming a "skin" of aluminum oxide. It may seem unsightly but the action of the "skin" forming a layer (filling in the voids), over time, until no bare aluminum is available to passivate, actually protects the aluminum from further dedragation.

Most people are unhappy with the look of this "skin" of oxidation, as it were, and wants it to be polished away. Don't blame 'em at all. During the polishing process this oxidized layer is removed. And further polishing with finer and then still finer abrasives takes place until one is satisfied with the results. Then the freshly polished aluminum wheel must be sealed off from the elements with a wax or sealant that's compatible with aluminum. If not, the passivation process begins anew. Therein, is where brake dust and other contaminates start to accumulate, causing threads such as this to arise. :)

Malco Brake Off MSDS (Excerpts from PPG's website)
Hazardous Ingredients:
Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether 1-10%
Sodiumhydroxide 5-15%
ph: >12.5

Any information, or corrections to the above, you or others may have will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Bob
 
CrownKote said:
Do not use WB on those!!! Those are BBS LM wheels the web (center) is finished but the rest of the wheel is not... Those wheels are in the price range of about $1100.00 each for the size of them...

Use some of the Sonax or GG wheel cleaners but nothing with acid... Then use some agitation and then if needed polish them... Then on the web throw on some Wheel Armor from Prima
Click to expand...

Please do not buger up these wheels. Use some sonax wheel cleaner and take your time. These are very expensive wheels.

609speed6 said:
The best wheels ever BBS FTW :)
Click to expand...

+ A Million!!!!
 
smack said:
Please do not buger up these wheels. Use some sonax wheel cleaner and take your time. These are very expensive wheels.



+ A Million!!!!
Click to expand...

I second that - use something gentle.... You might want to ask BBS what to use. I so want those wheels on my car!!!!!
 
smack said:
Griots Garage wheel cleaner has been approved by BBS.

I need some LM's in my life. To bad they are so expensive!
Click to expand...

I need some LM's in mine too! I think the Z3 would look great on a set!

I think there is only one other wheel cleaner that has been officially approved by BBS for their wheels but I can't remember what it is...
 
I got some SONAX after seeing pictures/vids of how well it works. It's a bit expensive since the bottle is kinda' small, but it won't hurt your wheels and it's super powerful. I haven't used it yet, but it's arguably the best wheel cleaner. I would get some and try it. It turns purple as it works, then I think you agitate it a bit and just spray it off?
 
Thanks to all for the feedback. I'm going to leave them as-is and recommend my friend pick up some Sonax. I spent way too much time on this car as it is for what I'm charging, so I think he'll understand and appreciate that I didn't do anything stupid in trying to get them clean.
 
It also may be worthwhile to send them out to get refinished. You can get the centers powdercoated again and get the barrels polished and clearcoated to maintain the polished look. I'm thinking of doing that soon on a set of Champion RG5s that I have.
 
Sorry to say this but sonar or any other type of iron dissolver will have little to no effect on that type of baked on brake dust and rust. So many people fail to realize products like sonax are designed for very minimal(extremely light) rust removal, and even then ph balanced wheel cleaners only go so far. I've run into this type of brake dust numerous times and even megs wb had little to no effect. I had to go extremely aggressive with stiff brushes and or wetsand and refinish the wheel. My advice to you is to live with it or send them out to be refinished.
 
Lasthope05 said:
Sorry to say this but sonar or any other type of iron dissolver will have little to no effect on that type of baked on brake dust and rust. So many people fail to realize products like sonax are designed for very minimal(extremely light) rust removal, and even then ph balanced wheel cleaners only go so far. I've run into this type of brake dust numerous times and even megs wb had little to no effect. I had to go extremely aggressive with stiff brushes and or wetsand and refinish the wheel. My advice to you is to live with it or send them out to be refinished.
Click to expand...

I would agree with the fact that they should probably be sent out for recon but in all honesty I have had GREAT luck with Sonax and Iron-X with the BBS LM's I tend to do a lot of them as they are a fan favorite of BMW owners... It will take a lot of work and time but they can come clean...
 
CrownKote said:
I would agree with the fact that they should probably be sent out for recon but in all honesty I have had GREAT luck with Sonax and Iron-X with the BBS LM's I tend to do a lot of them as they are a fan favorite of BMW owners... It will take a lot of work and time but they can come clean...
Click to expand...

Bbs's are really no different then factory or anyother wheel besides having delicate finishes . I've used sonax diligently on the same type of brake dust several times thinking the sonax would dissolve the iron but in the end did nothing. I then switched to megs wb neat and when that didn't work I used ardex buster which is 10 times stronger. Cleaners like sonax have their limitations and that's where acid cleaners come and even then they don't always work.
 
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