how to clean hard to clean spots on rims

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sullysnet

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I have BBS rims on my 2015 Lancer Evo. In spots on the curves of the rims is what looks like rust or baked on brake dust. Is there a way to clean this? It is mostly on one rim but if there is a solution I wouldn't mind doing it on all these corners. I could upload pictures if needed.

thanks
 
Yes, post photos.

A few rounds of a good iron remover applied and left to dwell should help breakdown embedded ferrous materials in the wheel finish (if that's what the issue really is). If the deposits are still there then perhaps a good wheel acid will be necessary as a last resort.
 
Here is the picture, I hope it is good enough, if not I can try next time I am cleaning them. It's not the rim rash :D
 

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sullysnet said:
Here is the picture, I hope it is good enough, if not I can try next time I am cleaning them. It's not the rim rash :D
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What have you attempted so far to try to remove the staining? How often do you let your wheels go without being cleaned?
 
Oh, that's not that bad. As evo77 said, you can try an iron remover, but an alkaline wheel cleaner may be more effective on that. It looks to me more like resin/binder rather than metal.
 
in the winter not as much as I'd like to buy I do try to spray a cleaner on the before the car wash. In spring, summer and fall I clean them with a rim cleaner (griots all wheel cleaner, Chemical guys the orange sticky one) I ran out of both so I need a new option next wash. I have a soft brush for rims and I wash them with that. I also have a small microfiber brush that fits in the corners. I also use something I bought on auto geek that gets inside the rims. It's red and black. Then I usually do a spray detailer to protect them. The areas seem baked in and hard to clean. I'd hate to use something too abrasive on the areas. Thanks 👍
 
Yeah you cen get Meguiars iron remover over the counter at autozone. If ordering CarPro iron X.

Spray and let dwell. Rinse and wash. Repeat if necessary.


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Please try everything else recommended here first. If/when that doesn't work the nuclear option may be Meguiars Hot Wheels Chrome Cleaner. It's the over the counter version of Meguiars pro-level heavy duty wheel cleaner.

The stuff is seriously strong and you'll want to make sure you use it outside, don't let it get on your skin, and DO NOT let it dwell for very long. Spray it on, agitate, and rinse it off quickly.

A few years ago I bought a set of competition wheels second hand. I'm confident the previous owner had never washed them in the short time he owned them. They were black with brake dust and there were a few small areas like you show where the dust had baked into the paint. I tried other wheel cleaners, tar remover, and possibly some full strength APC. Nothing would get rid of of the dust on those spots. The Hot Wheels Chrome Cleaner wiped it out with little/no effort.

Again, it's a product of last resort and you have to be very careful, but it might work where nothing else will. I haven't used it since that day, but keep the bottle around just in case.
 
thanks guys I will try the CarPro first and hope that it is a fix. If not I can try the nuclear option. I've been doing this Chemical Guys WAC21116 Synthetic Quick Detailer on the rims after on both of my cars. Is that an okay option to protect them or is there a better solution like maybe Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax 2??
 
I hate to start another thread but can you advise me on painted rims? I have a cx30 and it has black painted rims and those are cloudy. Do I try the same solution or are painted ones different? thanks
 
sullysnet said:
I hate to start another thread but can you advise me on painted rims? I have a cx30 and it has black painted rims and those are cloudy. Do I try the same solution or are painted ones different? thanks
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again can you post some pics?
 
Here they are, hopefully they are good enough. Reminds me of cloudiness on the body of the car. Maybe bad detailing when the car was returned for end of lease? They did a horrible job for sure. I find all kinds of leftover stuff from them cleaning the SUV probably too fast. Now it is my turn to clean it up. Been waiting since January to get these correct. I have washed them at least two times since the weather changed and they look better than before but I'd like to get them clear :)
 

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I have black gloss rims on my trail boss and I have the most success with "Adams" wheel and tire cleaner.
Again...dont let it dwell too long and make sure the wheel is cool to the touch.
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Setec Astronomy said:
You can always try a little hand polishing in those corners to try and clean them up--I'd try the chemical approach first to get as much of it that way as you can.
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I was thinking that same thing on the polish but I will try it first the chemical first
 
It's just to loosen as much as you can, first. That's why I recommended the Wheel X, there is likely some iron on there, but IME the brown spots are more likely resin/binder from the brake pads, and that may require something different. I'm sure an HF-based wheel cleaner will take that right off, as suggested previously, but I can't in good conscience recommend that anyone use that.

It's been a long time since I had to fight anything like that, because...wheel coating/ceramic pads/thorough cleaning every rotation.
 
BTW....the long river place has Adams wheel cleaner right now at one hell of a price
 
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