cleaning/polishing alloy wheels

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cleaning/polishing alloy wheels

Postby l1ttle_d3vil » Sun Nov 30, 2008 3:02 pm

I decided to give the rolla a wash today and came across these black specks on the wheels. I cleaned the wheels with a cloth and soap but these won't come out, seems like they're etched into the alloy or something. They only seem to be on the front wheels.

Is there anything I can use to get them out? Don't want to use anything too harsh and scratch the wheels :x

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Postby deaf_rattle » Sun Nov 30, 2008 3:24 pm

autosol is your friend...
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Postby l1ttle_d3vil » Sun Nov 30, 2008 4:49 pm

thought about that, it isn't too harsh though?
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Postby Bling » Sun Nov 30, 2008 5:45 pm

Could be a bit of pitting/corrosion on the alloy. Autosol will only do good things if its alloy. Depending on how deep the pits are though will depend how much the autosol will solve. It will however make the rims look like new. Autosol isn't very abrasive, its often used last when polishing wheels.

Once you've done a patch though the rest of the rim will look average as, so you'll want to do the rest :lol:
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Postby rollaholic » Sun Nov 30, 2008 5:47 pm

i would give autosol a try, the wheels look to have a bit of oxidisation on them too so dont be afraid to use a bit of elbow grease

failing that it will be time for wet and dry up to 2000grit, then more auto sol :D
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Postby MR2BOY23 » Sun Nov 30, 2008 5:50 pm

I used autosol on an alloy wheel with the a similar problem. It all came off fine and gave the wheel a nice shine. Just use a soft cloth with it.
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Postby Flannelman » Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:24 pm

its not tar by any chance?
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Postby soopachargen » Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:51 pm

Affroman wrote:its not tar by any chance?

thats what i was thinking? or stone chips? if its deep you may have to start with some sandpaper
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Postby l1ttle_d3vil » Sun Nov 30, 2008 6:55 pm

Affroman wrote:its not tar by any chance?


its hardly had any time on the road, so not likely. possibly something to do with the brake dust/grease (didn't have covers on the bearings when I got it = grease everywhere)

its not really on the surface, but only very slight pitting.
i'll give the autosol a go and see how it comes up.

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Postby Dell'Orto » Sun Nov 30, 2008 8:38 pm

It'll be from brake dust etching into the rims.
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Postby l1ttle_d3vil » Sun Nov 30, 2008 8:52 pm

is that because I left it on there too long? :lol:

any way to prevent it once I get it off this time?
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Postby Heylin » Sun Nov 30, 2008 9:08 pm

after restoring them polish them with some quality wax like meguiars or mothers, make sure you wash your rims weekly and apply wax evey month. the wax provides a protective barrier to stop oxidation and contaminants from sticking. works well on car paint as well :)
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Postby MR2BOY23 » Sun Nov 30, 2008 9:33 pm

Heylin wrote:after restoring them polish them with some quality wax like meguiars or mothers, make sure you wash your rims weekly and apply wax evey month. the wax provides a protective barrier to stop oxidation and contaminants from sticking. works well on car paint as well :)


Heylin= Car Care Guru
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Postby d1 mule » Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:01 pm

^^^ OCD??
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Postby MR2BOY23 » Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:27 pm

d1 mule wrote:^^^ OCD??


8O
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Postby Emperor » Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:51 pm

I used Meguiers Metal Polish on the ute's chromes that had brake dust etched into the chrome, and it took it all off and made it full chrome again..
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Postby l1ttle_d3vil » Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:52 pm

autosol is the shiz :lol:

set the girlfriend to work and this is the result after only 5 minutes (same spot as above)
gonna go all out and get a polisher, and some more autosol :P

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Postby AE86less » Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:55 pm

l1ttle_d3vil wrote:set the girlfriend to work


Best way to work on cars 8)
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Postby MR2BOY23 » Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:58 pm

Looks great. Try that mothers powerball polisher that attatches to your drill. Good for wheels yeah instead of trying to squeeze a big buffer between spokes lol
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Postby xsspeed » Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:59 pm

AE86less wrote:
l1ttle_d3vil wrote:set the girlfriend to work


Best way to work on cars 8)


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