Wheel Care

[CMLOKN]

I have the factory wheels on my car. When I clean my wheels, they dont come completely clean it is almost like they are stained with brake dust. Does anyone know what can remove this residue? If necessary I can take pictures and post them, if the description just doesn't cut it.

[bme107]

A picture might help narrow down the trouble area.

2 areas come to mind that I've seen before with your description of the stock wheels. The inner flat part of the rim that is opposite the tire tread or on the outside face near the wheel hub.

The inner flat part is most likely stained/etched with black/grey brake dust to the point that it'll never be cleaned away. The hot brake dust particles sling off the disk and melt through the finish on the wheel. Cleaning, scrubbing, polishing and clay bar will not get them clean. Your options are to clean it up as best possible and live with it or to have the wheels refinished and then to pay close attention to them (washing/waxing).

The outer face may be stained with a brown/rust color coating. In my case it appeared to be either dried on oil or grease combined with some rust. I scraped at with my fingernail and later the plastic end of a toothbrush to get most of it off. After that I followed up with a clay bar. The stain color was gone but there was a bit of ghosting in the finish where the stain had been.

[homeworld1031tx]

they have special degreasers that you can buy at autopart stores for cleaning both wheels and tires. you spray them on, leave them for 5 minutes, and then use a brush to wash out the grime and dirt. another option is claying them, although it's more labor intensive.

this is an indepth guide to doing it:
http://www.autopia.org/forum/guide-d...es-wheels.html

all you need to do is get the degreaser spray and a brush (or you could just use a cloth and scrub a lot, a sponge, or a toothbrush)

[dr0pSz]

I have the same problem.. here are my pics..





as mentioned above.. i'm basically screwed aren't I?

[bme107]

The outer portion of your wheels should be able to be cleaned up. But yes, the inner portion there is not much good you can do for <$100. You may be able to lighten the discoloration up a bit but that's about all.

The bottom pic looks like straight up rust, which is odd for a 4 year old car in TX.

[dr0pSz]

yeah the outside is just dirty

as far as the rust goes, i really don't know. i was told it could be from the fact that the car wasn't moved for a while and that it never got cleaned so... but it looks horrible =[ *sigh* oh well..