[SubieFinn]

HELP!!!

My commuter car, a '90 Legacy sedan just got a new/old set of '90 Legacy 14" aluminum rims!

They have what appears of 14 yrs of grime/dust on them. So far I used the local pressure washer, brake cleaner and even oven cleaner(on the inside) and only minimumal success.

Next is to get a wire brush and ? to get off, first I'll try a plastic bristle brush and scrub, scrub, scrub.

I am not concerned with surface appearance now, my plans are to polish them so the would be smoothed out. I don't want the asbestos dust flying out (I'm already on an asbestos program with the Navy) while woking on them.

 

[bheinz57]

If there aren't any tires on them yet, get them powdercoated. It's not that expensive if you pick a color the shop has set up already. Brian

 

[SubieFinn]

Powder coating ... sounds good. Can powder coating be used on polished surfaces? I really want to polish these rims!

 

[bheinz57]

Yeah, powdercoating will 'coat' anything. It is an electrostatic process I believe and it will cover anything. Brian

 

[Crunch]

Got the dust off mine using a staneles steel wire brush, very lightly! and an aluminum wheel cleaner spray. worked nicely, but there are still some "pits" of dust embedded in the wheel.

Plan to just keep lightly cleaning it the same way... with a fiber brush, now that I have all the thick stuff off.

 

[SubieDoobieDoo]

PUT DOWN THE BRUSH!

Your wheels may be clearcoated...and still have the clear, even after all the grime is baked on. I'd buy a tube of a very light metal polish called "Wenol" if you can find it. I picked some up at a bike swap meet years ago and have stuck with it since. Great stuff!

I used it to remove crud from the wheels of a Fiero I bought off of eBay (Sight unseen! There's some big ones for ya! lol!) and it took the brake dust/road grime stains off with minimal elbow grease.

I do give a conditional thumbs-up to eventual powdercoating...just be careful, as a lot of the material used is not very UV resistant. And unless you have a tire guy that knows what "static balancing" is (the weights on the inside of the rim only) you're begging for goobers in the finish.

I'm old school...all the wheels on the rods I did either were chrome, or polished then clearcoated...

 

[El Capitano]

Not sure if you can get it in the US, but in the UK we have a product called "Wonder Wheels", link to their website:

http://www.carplan.co.uk/index.cfm?category=60

Basically, this is an acid, that you put on with a paintbrush and it removes the brake dust. For heavily contaminated wheels, it's more effective to use an old toothbrush with this.

I swear by it. When I got the H6, the wheels where quite badly pitted with brake dust and it took a couple of applications of this to remove it, but I got there in the end.

Also be aware, that you will need to wear protective clothing when using this.

 

[Hooray]

Not sure if you can get it in the US, but in the UK we have a product called "Wonder Wheels", link to their website:

http://www.carplan.co.uk/index.cfm?category=60

Basically, this is an acid, that you put on with a paintbrush and it removes the brake dust. For heavily contaminated wheels, it's more effective to use an old toothbrush with this.

I swear by it. When I got the H6, the wheels where quite badly pitted with brake dust and it took a couple of applications of this to remove it, but I got there in the end.

Also be aware, that you will need to wear protective clothing when using this.

i worked at an audi dealer that used a similar style cleaner. qft on protective clothing...that stuff does not feel good when it splashed back in your face and you can taste the acidity. the worst it trying to wash it off your hands...its a pain in the ass!

however, it works like agent orange on fresh foliage

 

[mweg76]

I use some diluted Simple Green and a soft towel for tougher spots. I'm not to keen on acidic wheel cleaners. I finish up with American Racing's "Wheel Wax" once a month or so. I think the only big difference between that and regular wax is a more aggressive cleaner.