Wheel Finish Faded - Restoring / Streaks?

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cray54

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I have wheels with a faded / damaged finish. I noticed they look great when wet; but when dry they look faded and have some streaks. So, I thought I would see if they could be improved before considering refinishing. I'd like to know if anyone can provide advice or has any ideas for how to maintain a good result; or if anyone can explain why the finishes end up cloudy or splotchy. At this point I may just be wasting time, but I'm mentally invested enough that I would really like to know why I'm not seeing good results.

Test 1 (Turtle Wax Paste Wax):
I tried waxing a section with some old Turtle Wax paste wax one evening, after cleaning. The waxed section looks fantastic, so I completed the wheel. The following day, however the surface turned cloudy. I tried again during the day and it looked fantastic for a few hours before turning cloudy. I've never had this wax turn cloudy before, but I haven't used this wax in a few years so I thought I'd try something else.
View attachment 74668 View attachment 74667

Test 2 (Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax):
This is my first time using Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax. I put on what felt like a very thin layer on a section, and gently buffed it off. It looked fantastic for 10-15 minutes. Then, turned more cloudy than the Turtle Wax.

Test 3 (Meguiar's Ultimate Compound):
This time, I tried Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on a wheel by hand. I followed the instructions . I didn't spend much time at all, and it looked fantastic when complete considering the previous appearance. I don't expect this result to last, so I expected to need a wax / sealant.
View attachment 74666

Test 4 (Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax after Compound):
I tried Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax on the wheel after Ultimate Compound. It has about the same results as the Second Test. It looked fantastic, then turned very cloudy.
View attachment 74665

Test 5 (Meguiar's Ultimate Compound applied with Drill):
This time, I took one of the wheels off the car and brought it to the basement thinking the warmer temperature may help. I made a drill attachment with a slit dowel, cloth, and a rubber band. I used the Ultimate Compound on the whole wheel with what seemed like excellent results. However, the following day, there was some splotching visible that was not visible the night before.

The bottom line is that what I used a wax / sealant, the end result was cloudy and not usable. I also had some issues with the compound, but it generally looked very nice when I started working with it.

Any suggestions about how to avoid the cloudy wax, or how to improve the final result [Without refinishing]?

Thank you, Chris
 
You definitely have to go the route of your test #5....cut polish and a wheel.
The question is what is making the oxidation come back so fast...

maybe get a heavy foam pad with a metal polish like "Flitz"
And then seal it with a SIO2 ceramic spay
 
Bosko said:
You definitely have to go the route of your test #5....cut polish and a wheel.

...And then seal it with a SIO2 ceramic spay
Click to expand...

I understand the SiO2 ceramic sprays are quite durable. Before compounding too much, I'd consider trying a bit in a small section that I've already compounded. If it results in the same fading, will I have trouble working through it?
 
can you post up a close up photo of the issue you are having?

My guess based on the age/wear of the wheels, you won't get the results you are looking for.
It might be a well traveled road to go ahead and have them refinished
 
I did an indoor test with pictures. I tried to keep them consistent, but the lighting is quite poor.

1. Before Picture (This is multiple days after Meguair's Ultimate Compound)
View attachment 74669

2. After Picture - I ran Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on this section (Not the far spoke), and it looks excellent
View attachment 74670

3. Much After Picture - This is 5 hours after the After Picture. You can see spotting.
View attachment 74671

I didn't see the Ultimate Compound results previously fading like this, but I was outside and not looking quite as closely. If I apply Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax, it goes cloudy within minutes.

[A separate question - Is there a way to upload higher resolution images? The system shrinks these down quite small.]

Thank you, Chris
 
My opinion... The finish is deteriorated beyond the point of no return. The finish has become too porous.

The improvement that you see immediately following a product application is from the oils in the product penetrating that porosity. The oils temporarily improve the appearance but dissipate over time.

Refinishing is probably your only option at this point. If the cost of a professional refinishing is more than you want to spend, you could try scuffing the entire wheel with scothbrite and spraying a 2k clearcoat on them.

Other than that, the only other thing I could suggest is to wipe the wheels with a silicone oil or "oily" protectant. They will brighten the finish and should last longer than what you are experiencing now. Maybe a week or two. Then continue to repeat the application as necessary.
 
Bosko said:
...
And then seal it with a SIO2 ceramic spay
Click to expand...

I picked up some Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax this morning hoping the different product would be somehow better. It didn't work (It appeared "faded" within minutes).
 
craziest thing I have ever heard/seen....again go with an oil based product, although your cleaning and reapplication will quadruple....IMO
 
I was expecting to have to get these refinished, but when I noticed how good they look when wet I thought I should at least try to find a method to get them shining or at least not splotchy. I could clear spray them myself, but it won't be warm enough to do that for another 4 months; and I probably can't get them refinished for another 3 weeks.

I don't think I will try the oil based shining ideas since they involve more on-going maintenance. I need the solution to last a longer amount of time if it works.

In the meantime, if anyone has any other suggestions, I'm open to trying them in case they work!
 
for sure the maintenance would drive you crazy....
 
A new development:

I was messing around again, and tried removing something I previously missed from the finish with my finger-nail. Not only did it remove the spot, it shined the area. I went a bit further and found it cleaned up nicely. I used the edge of a credit card and that worked almost as well.

I tested the SiO2 Ceramic wax on that area, and it did not fade afterward! [I have not yet tried the Ultimate Liquid Wax, but I will.]

All that said, it seems that this "fading" might be a residue on top of the paint rather than damage in the paint. Is that at all possible, or is it more likely that I'm just smoothing the surface?

Any ideas what to try if there is some coating or residue that my previous applications of Ultimate Compound didn't remove?
 
I'm not sure how rubbing your finger on it did a better job then a wheel and polish?
 
Bosko said:
I'm not sure how rubbing your finger on it did a better job then a wheel and polish?
Click to expand...

It was scraping with a finger-nail fairly aggressively (Not just rubbing with a finger). I used the same Ultimate Compound / Ultimate Liquid Wax on a beat up lawnmower hood with the kids, and it came out looking great; so I don't think I'm doing something fundamentally wrong.
 
Outside of wet sanding I think you just need more elbow grease or harder cut compound ...and more time.....lots!
 
Well, I wet-sanded a section with 2000 grit paper. Then, I tried Hybrid Ceramic, Ultimate Compound + Hybrid Ceramic, and Turtle wax (each in their own smaller piece). They all turned out looking very nice!

I don't want to wet-sand the whole thing... so I will try some different techniques with the Ultimate Compound to see if I am just not using it sufficiently.
 
My "drill and pad" setup is homemade and apparently insufficient. I started doing all of the work by hand. I did not think that I needed to work Ultimate Compound very hard because the "results" from the hand rubbed compound looked so nice and I didn't want to overdo anything / rub through paint.

So, I made a roll on a stick. An old paintbrush handle with a slot cut in it. Put a section of wool sock in the slot, wrapped it, and put a rubber band at the top. This made it very easy to get what appeared to be good results without removing a lot of material.
View attachment 74716 View attachment 74717 View attachment 74715

In the last picture, you can see a red pad. This is something I made for repairing / polishing CDs. It is a 2" Rolloc pad with 2 layers of wool sock for padding and 2 layers of knit cotton. This works nicely for CD repair.

Tonight, I tried your original suggestion (I should probably have tried it right away) to work it harder. I used the red on the face of one of the spokes. I applied more pressure and used more compound. That worked! I now have one spoke that actually looks like I expected it to stay when I first started and would otherwise experience fading results.
View attachment 74718 View attachment 74719

[I have found that wiping the section with IPA after compound quickly reveals the long-term appearance. So, now I can work a section and then see if it is actually resolved or not. It remains frustrating to not know where to rub or how much during the process or after wiping without IPA.]

Now that I understand that I need more buffing time and pressure, I can't seem to get enough firm contact with the original wool cone between the spokes. I'm trying to figure that one out.

Separately, since I can "scrape" off the cloudiness with a finger nail, I figured I would try a chemical effort. I used Goof Off on another spoke by hand and experienced very favorable results:
View attachment 74720


So, I am now of the opinion that my finish is not actually damaged beyond repair, however I remain uncertain about what the best path forward is. I'm debating whether to try Goof Off on the wool cone, or if that is really asking for trouble.

I might just try the wool cone more aggressively. I'm debating about getting some Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound to try a more aggressive product as suggested. Any other suggestions?
 
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