Best way to clean inside of super dirty rim?

[SirFerret]

Hey all,

I just purchased a set of second hand alloy rims for my car!

The front face is flawless and was easily cleaned with some wheel cleaner. The barrel of the rims are filthy and would barely budge with Sonax wheel cleaner, a brush, and even a power washer.

What other products or techniques can I use to attempt to make the filthy barrel clean again? Thanks!

 

[Rsurfer]

Hey all,

I just purchased a set of second hand alloy rims for my car!

The front face is flawless and was easily cleaned with some wheel cleaner. The barrel of the rims are filthy and would barely budge with Sonax wheel cleaner, a brush, and even a power washer.

What other products or techniques can I use to attempt to make the filthy barrel clean again? Thanks!

Meg's Wheel Brightner. It is an acid, so use eye protection and gloves. You can try 1:5 and work up as needed.

 

[jamesboyy]

Another vote for acid another option is to have them refurbished

 

[SirFerret]

So I have worked on them with all my current cleaning products and tons of elbow grease, and this is all I can get them to. Will the acid cleaner remove the rest of this nasty 15 year baked grime?

The worst wheel

The cleanest wheel

All four after my attempted cleaning.

 

[moosehead89]

Have you tried purple power?

 

[SirFerret]

Have you tried purple power?

I tried using an industrial degreaser (Oil Eater, full strength mix) as my first cleaning step, and that broke some of it up. I have not tried actual Purple Power, but it is just a degreaser as well. I cannot imagine it making a huge difference.

I do have some in the garage, so it's worth a shot :xyxthumbs:.

 

[wdmaccord]

Have you tried any tar removers? Almost looks like asphalt sealcoat.

 

[SirFerret]

Have you tried any tar removers? Almost looks like asphalt sealcoat.

I have not tried a tar remover.

The lighting makes it look black, but it is most certainly brown caked in brake dust and road grime.

I have a steamer, would that work at helping remove this?

 

[FUNX650]

Remember: It took 15 years for all of this layer-upon-layer
of build-up to happen.

So far...
You've done an excellent job of removing several layers with the products you have on hand. It's not going to be easy to remove the remaining layers. Keep up the good work.

IMHO: You need to steer clear of the "acids".
You sure don't want to screw around
with your health&safety...
let alone screw-up the wheels' outer faces!


Bob

 

[LSpec]

I had rims that looked like yours at the end the problem was the clear coat damaged, i only got the job done with paint remover.

Or you can try with gasoline the regular one.. And then degreaser. Worked on another set


Downloading................

 

[Tato]

I'd suggest IronX paste to get a bit more improvement on this, but I cannot assure you'll get them flawless again.

Thought about a 're-paint'? Don't know if it's a possibility.

Kind Regards.

 

[mark98xlt]

Meguiars dub wheel cleaner is cheaper then using iron x and just as effective!

 

[BobbyG]

Seriously, try kerosene or mineral spirits and scrub with a brass brush. If it's an asphalt product these should do the trick....rops:

 

[BillE]

Maybe give 'brake cleaner' a go?

Bill

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I've owned a lot of aluminum wheels in my life, I like that I can "fix" them. Not as easy with chrome and painted rims.

Here's how I restored a set of 16.5 Slotted Mags.... used a product from Fitz called, Aluminum Pre-Clean.



Old School Aluminum Slotted Mag Wheels - Extreme Makeover



I recently picked up a set of 4 old school Aluminum Slotted Mag Wheels for my truck and today they're getting and extreme makeover...

These are in about the same shape as the wheel that Oley from Flitz and I restored in this thread...

Show Car Garage Video: How to clean and polish aluminum wheels by machine with Flitz Metal Polish

Oley from Flitz calls this "White Rust"

First up... wash with Flitz Aluminum Pre-Clean. In the link above there's a video where we used this product and the results were truly amazing...

Next up will be putting the Wolfgang MetallWerk Aluminum Polishing System to the test...

Lake Country Wool-Ball 3 inch & 5 inch Wool Polishing Balls

Nitrile Gloves to keep your hands clean and shielded from chemicals...

Even though the backs and insides of the wheels are not seen I'm going do my best to clean them up a little bit...

First up is washing and cleaning with the Pre-Clean... I'll be back in a few hours...


Here's the time stamp from the start of this thread...

08-14-2010, 11:13 AM


Here's the time stamp for the update to this thread with after pictures...

08-14-2010, 06:22 PM



Took a short lunch break and a second break to run over to Robert's "Impressions Detailing" to pick up my spare, which is the slotted mag Oley and I polished out with a 35" Bogger on it...

And here are the results after about 5 hours of work; first a reminder as to how the backs of the wheels looked before starting. You can see the Flitz Aluminum Pre-Clean soaking in and going to work.

Here's the back of the wheels now...

Fronts after polishing...

And cleaned up the insides too...

Tons more info in the actual thread, the above is just the eye candy...


Old School Aluminum Slotted Mag Wheels - Extreme Makeover

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I don't recommend Easy Off Oven Cleaner to others but when working on really old cars and trucks with decades of built up grease and oil sludge, it does work pretty good... it will also remove paint, not just stain it...

Here's a shot of the engine compartment painted with Hammerite...

NOTE: I'm pretty sure Easy Off will stain the polished side of your rims so if you use it be very careful and be prepared to do some clean-up polishing.

It will also burn your skin as it contains lye. So wear safety glasses and gloves when using it.

When I take the small block out of my Silverado and install the 454 big block, I'll be using Easy Off to completely clean and sanitize the engine compartment before painting. So I do use this stuff as it works better than anything for removing sludge and gunk that's built up over years.

 

[SirFerret]

Meguiars dub wheel cleaner is cheaper then using iron x and just as effective!

I heard good things about this product. It is available at Walmart right? Did not see it at my local Advance Auto.

Maybe give 'brake cleaner' a go?

Bill

Sure why not, I have so many cans of that stuff it is not even funny!

 

[SirFerret]

I don't recommend Easy Off Oven Cleaner to others but when working on really old cars and trucks with decades of built up grease and oil sludge, it does work pretty good... it will also remove paint, not just stain it...

NOTE: I'm pretty sure Easy Off will stain the polished side of your rims so if you use it be very careful and be prepared to do some clean-up polishing.

It will also burn your skin as it contains lye. So wear safety glasses and gloves when using it.

When I take the small block out of my Silverado and install the 454 big block, I'll be using Easy Off to completely clean and sanitize the engine compartment before painting. So I do use this stuff as it works better than anything for removing sludge and gunk that's built up over years.

First of all, that is a nice looking set of rims you have there sir! They look brand new! As does that engine bay!

I think I am going to try all the other OTC remedies before I pull out the big guns. I want to try to avoid repainting as much as possible. It is just my daily driver, so not trying to get them to showcar finish (else I would not have bought salvage yard rims :laughing, but I do want to make them look as nice as I possibly can without spending too much money.

 

[HD.Detailing]

Brown Royal or IronX maybe...

 

[SirFerret]

Update!

Today I have tried every product mentioned here that is available OTC. That includes different degreasers, bug and tar remover, brake clean, and a bunch of wheel cleaners ranging from cheap to expensive.

I am starting to think I will need to purchase either Brown Royal or Megs Wheel Brightener. For my alloy (I think) rims, which cleaner would be the most effective with minimal damage to the existing coating?

This is the cleanest rim I can muster up

Close up of cleaner one

This is the dirtiest one of the lot

Close up of the dirtiest one