Can’t seem to get my wheel clean! Any suggestions would be great!

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Benz4life2020

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Hey Guys,

Trying to detail my wheels and there’s this dirty looking film I can’t seem to remove. I’ve used many different wheel cleaner strengths and it doesn’t seem to come off. The wheel is a OEM BENZ C450 Wheel. Any idea what I’m looking at?
 
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Benz4life2020 said:
Hey Guys,

Trying to detail my wheels and there’s this dirty looking film I can’t seem to remove. I’ve used many different wheel cleaner strengths and it doesn’t seem to come off. The wheel is a OEM BENZ C450 Wheel. Any idea what I’m looking at?
Click to expand...

What wheel cleaners have you tried? Any pictures?
 
Chemical Guys: Diablo Wheel cleaner, Sig Series Wheel Cleaner, Sticky Citrus Wheel cleaner, Decon Pro decontaminate cleaner, regular car wash soap, ice snow foam soap, tried clay barring it... I took some steal
wool to a VERY small section of it with some detail spray for lube and it removed it then I used a buffer to remove the scratches and that worked but I don’t wanna do that for all 4 wheels. There has to be a simple way to get this clean...

I posted a close up pic of my wheel on the second post!
 
If you have a product like IronX, I’d try that and let it sit for 3-5 minutes, agitate with a small brush and pressure wash it off. Could also try Tarminator in the same man or, just make sure to wash off residue with some soap. The other wheel cleaners I would use aren’t sold here so I won’t mention them. Lastly if need be, I’d forgo the steal wool and just polish/compound that gunk away and apply some sort of protection after. Id use either a ceramic coating or at least something like Hydro2. Will definitely help with future cleanings.
 
First time poster to the forum,

Welcome to AutogeekOnline! :welcome:


Benz4life2020 said:
Hey Guys,

Trying to detail my wheels and there’s this dirty looking film I can’t seem to remove.

I’ve used many different wheel cleaner strengths and it doesn’t seem to come off.

The wheel is a OEM BENZ C450 Wheel.

Any idea what I’m looking at?
Click to expand...


Here's the picture,

69710d1590517483-can-t-seem-get-my-wheel-clean-any-suggestions-would-great-aa040657-1eb6-46f7-ab73-56b2d173e0fc-jpeg


I can't tell from the picture, it's kind of small. Opposite of what most people share on the forum, (humongous pictures)


My guess is what you're trying to clean is not ON the wheel but a stain IN the wheel finish. If that is the case, probably not much you can do outside of replacing or re-finishing.

Can you get a larger picture?


:)
 
fly07sti said:
If you have a product like IronX, I’d try that and let it sit for 3-5 minutes, agitate with a small brush and pressure wash it off. Could also try Tarminator in the same man or, just make sure to wash off residue with some soap. The other wheel cleaners I would use aren’t sold here so I won’t mention them. Lastly if need be, I’d forgo the steal wool and just polish/compound that gunk away and apply some sort of protection after. Id use either a ceramic coating or at least something like Hydro2. Will definitely help with future cleanings.
Click to expand...

I second IronX. If that doesn't work, Meg's Wheel Brightner should clean that up. Very toxic chemical, so be careful while using it.
 
This is a better picture, now I can see what looks like a "film" on the wheel.


69713d1590524878-can-t-seem-get-my-wheel-clean-any-suggestions-would-great-fcf7d975-5e73-4a8b-a806-9248aa543bdf-jpg



I still can't tell if it's painted or polished?


Maybe try one of the wheel cleaners recommended above and a GREAT brush to agitate the cleaner. See the black Wheel Woolies Wheel Face brush here,


Must Have Wheel Cleaning Brushes that make cleaning wheels fast and easy



Wheel Woolies Boar’s Hair Wheel Brush


The perfect wheel cleaning brush
This is my favorite wheel cleaning brush. Why? Because the bristle are perfect for effective cleaning. They are stout enough to agitate the wheel cleaner but still flexible enough to bend and flex so the ends of the bristles can get into intricate areas. At the same time they won't scratch so they're safe for any finish.

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Not only are the bristles the perfect combination of not to soft or not to stiff but the ends are flagged so they thousands of tips can agitate wheel cleaner in tight cracks, crevices and other wheel designs.

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Might also try a simple one-step cleaner/wax by hand, see if you can polish that film off.



:)
 
I am pretty sure they are painted. I’ll attach a description of the wheel from an official Mercedes parts website.
8d7ae065-7961-45e4-adca-db803a4721df
 
yes I do. I use stiff bristled brushes. I’ve soaked in many different strength cleaners and only was able to remove this filth with my nail or steel wool. I don’t like using steel wool as I then have to compound and polish using my 6.5 inch orbital which obviously is WAY to big to properly polish and compound wheels but it’s all I have right now. Idk if chemical guys is something sold on this website so I apologize if I’m bringing up a competitors products but I have their V32, V34, V36 and V38 compound and polish I use to do my car. Im assuming when you say to use a paint polish those are what your talking about.
 
The barrels of my explorer ST black wheels were exactly like this when I got it. I tried cleaner waxes and polishes, didn't do it.

Like you, I ended up using steel wool and then buffing the scratches out after. Looks fantastic now but was a PITA.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
 
Benz4life2020 said:
yes I do. I use stiff bristled brushes. I’ve soaked in many different strength cleaners and only was able to remove this filth with my nail or steel wool. I don’t like using steel wool as I then have to compound and polish using my 6.5 inch orbital which obviously is WAY to big to properly polish and compound wheels but it’s all I have right now. Idk if chemical guys is something sold on this website so I apologize if I’m bringing up a competitors products but I have their V32, V34, V36 and V38 compound and polish I use to do my car. Im assuming when you say to use a paint polish those are what your talking about.
Click to expand...
Do yourself a favor and dump the V compound and polishes. Chemical Guys makes some great shampoos and a few other products, but their compound and polishes suck.
 
Why do their compounds and polishes not do well? And what would you recommend? I’m all about quality and am willing to spend good money on amazing product so point me in the direction to whatever people consider the absolute best. It seems there are so many detailing products out there and it’s so confusing on what’s good and what’s not. I’m pretty new to detailing so all this info has been great!
 
Great lol, I really hope I don’t have to go this route, but I will if I have to. The previous owner of my car didn’t clean the rims ever so there have this wonderful layer of filth.
 
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