How do I clean neglected wheels?

Be sure to wear safety protective clothing (long sleeves, gloves and face protection) while using that speed master brush with harsher chemicals. That brush tends to spritz the product back at you while working it in and out of the wheel. The brush does a great job though.
 
tuscarora dave said:
Be sure to wear safety protective clothing (long sleeves, gloves and face protection) while using that speed master brush with harsher chemicals. That brush tends to spritz the product back at you while working it in and out of the wheel. The brush does a great job though.
Click to expand...
I work at a chemical plant so safety equipment won't be a problem. :)
 
Ahhhh the memories of the days when I'd load up the 2½ gallon sprayer with hydrofluoric acid and clean the top & bottom of the bed, as well as frame front to back of my rollbacks, after having hauled burned up vehicles leaving a trail of ash, soot, melted plastic, toxic water, charred rubber, battery acid, transmission fluid and antifreeze.

All of course whilst trying to stay UP wind from the fumes that probably should have killed me!!!!!!! :laughing:
 
Last fall I picked up some snowtires mounted on Nissan aluminum wheels that were so neglected & covered with baked on brake dust. They looked like they had never been cleaned.

They cleaned up nicely using spray-on oven cleaner, they'really not perfect but look 1000% better than they did. Sprayed all 4 wheels, waited about 5 minutes & scrubbed them with a nylon wheel brush, wear eye protection & long sleeves & rubber gloves.

White foam quickly turned to brown sludge & washed off easily with a hose. Probably not necessary but I did them a 2ND time to make sure I removed as much crud as possible.

No heavy scrubbing, maybe a scotch Brite pad would have worked better, but satisfied with the results.
 
KMdef9 said:
This. Works just as good as Sonax Full Effect, but at a 1/3 of the cost. And available OTC!

If you have Iron-x, that would work too. It's more expensive, but probably more potent than DUB.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this info! This sounds good. I have a '14 Ford Focus ST with some very mild pitting in the wheels, which tends to attract grime which is very hard to remove. I'm gonna order some of the Sonax Full Effect and give it a try. It looks like a decent product for a decent price. I'll update this thread with the results.

If I'm going to spend an hour or two detailing my car, I'd like it to be perfect...
 
Last edited:
I have another OTC product suggestion that I have have had success with that I forgot to mention.

It is GoJo Natural Orange Hand Cleaner With Pumice.

This may seem odd after my bash on using aggressive products like steel wool. I'm not sure why but it does not seem to scratch, or maybe it just leaves much finer scratches that I can't see. It also works almost a quick as steel wool. Just put some on your finger and rub, and it just works it away.

I have tried the non pumice solvent version and it doesn't seem to work at all.

The wheels that I was working on where pretty bad. I tried agitating with Dub Wheel Cleaner, then EagleOne Chrome wheel cleaner. Neither did much. Steel wool and Aluminum foil did too much. The hand cleaner seemed just right.

Hopefully this helps, and hopefully nobody thinks I'm too crazy for suggesting this
 
RichElliott said:
Thanks for this info! This sounds good. I have a '14 Ford Focus ST with some very mild pitting in the wheels, which tends to attract grime which is very hard to remove. I'm gonna order some of the Sonax Full Effect and give it a try. It looks like a decent product for a decent price. I'll update this thread with the results.

If I'm going to spend an hour or two detailing my car, I'd like it to be perfect...
Click to expand...
:dblthumb2:
 
RichElliott said:
Thanks for this info! This sounds good. I have a '14 Ford Focus ST with some very mild pitting in the wheels, which tends to attract grime which is very hard to remove. I'm gonna order some of the Sonax Full Effect and give it a try. It looks like a decent product for a decent price. I'll update this thread with the results.

If I'm going to spend an hour or two detailing my car, I'd like it to be perfect...
Click to expand...

I won't waste my money on Sonax FE again...
 
Decided try out my Pumice GoJo again today on one of the plastic chrome plated lug caps today. I tried my best to scratch with it, but could not. Even took the pump off, stuck my finger in and got the dried out stuff that should be mostly pumice. Worked it only in one direction in one spot for several minutes and can find no scratches in any light. I think I've found my hardcore chrome cleaner
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top