drscottsmith

All -

As I am preparing my list of to do's when Copper goes into the garage for long term, extensive interior/exterior restoration this weekend, I have a wheel question.

I have 16x7 polished manholes all around - the front face is ruined from wheel cleaner, and one day I may get them reandonized. In the meantime though, what is the recommended method for getting the backside of the wheel to factory new appearance?

-scott

Rob Edwards

P21S wheel cleaner on a dry wheel, dwell a minute or two, nylon scrub brush and a pressure washer. Rinse, lather, repeat.

dr bob

^^^ What Rob said. ^^^ There are a few great wheel cleaners in this category, including P21S and Sonax, maybe others, that go to work on iron-based deposits (brake dust...) without disturbing the aluminum at all. Follow the directions on the container. I add a couple soft brushes to the process for the "agitate" steps, including a fingernail brush and a used toothbrush. Wear gloves as you work, and avoid some interesting stains on skin. At first I was a little put off by the seemingly high cost, but I'm happy to report that this is a duty where there is huge value in using the right stuff.

Use the same wheel cleaner on wheelwells, undercarriage and suspension pieces that are gathering spots for whatever your brakes shed plus whatever the cars driving in front of you might be sharing. Once everything is pristine again, use some of your favorite paint sealant or wax to help make the next cleanup faster and easier.

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I have a 4x/yr "subscription" to a couple bottles of the Sonax wheel cleaner via Amazon. I ran a little low (down to half a bottle!) in the fall before a brown truck arrived just in time to restore the supply. I'd previously discovered as many do that Simple Green is a little too harsh on finished aluminum surfaces. Some of the milder detergents, including an ammonia-free spray window-cleaner concentrate, do some of the work but won't do any of the tough stuff. Zep "orange cleaner" is OK on some greasy stuff but does nothing for dried/baked brake dust. Caustic "Purple Degreaser" products never get near aluminum, and do nothing for brake dust anyway.

Jim M.

I've also found that Griots "Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner" does a good job.

drscottsmith

Thanks all -

-scott

jpitman2

My book says something about Vaseline to keep the back clean.....
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

danglerb

Chrome wheels on my wife's 99 Lincoln have been through a few car washes, but never specifically cleaned, now at 165k miles. I was driving around one day checking out all the detail stores and met a real detail guru and he is telling me about how great some of the wheel cleaners are, and I mention I doubt they touch the wheels on our Lincoln. He decides to prove me wrong and takes a few different bottles of stuff out to the parking lot to prove it, and nada, nothing, no visible change on any of the nasty bits. I'm thinking of trying some kind of cleanser from the kitchen like Bar Keepers with little soft scrubbing particles.

dr bob

The "bar keepers" cleansers are a little more gentle than Comet and Ajax, since no chlorine bleach, but otherwise you are abrading the deposits to get them off. Give it a try and see what happens, but be very careful as the bar keeper's friend still has pumice that will scratch the chrome. The P21S and Sonax -may- help on chromed steel wheels, but are really targeted at non-ferrous wheels to react with the iron in the brake dust. On a steel wheel the whole wheel is a target for the cleaner. Should work well on a chromed aluminum wheel though.

Resist the temptation to rush ahead of the reaction process. You need to keep the surface from drying out as it works by fogging on more cleaner if it starts to dry out. Get what you can off first with conventional car-wash stuff, then let the wheels dry completely. Cool wheels, in the shade, and let the stuff work. Takes 15-20 mins per cycle. The second application goes on after the first rinse has dried. Again, let it work and add some brushing for stubborn deposits. A third treatment will be needed for any baked-on deposits or remaining stains on the aluminum. Patience and persistence will be rewarded.

gazfish

Internet says the same !

G.P.

I've had a quick look through the workshop manual and couldn't find the wheel cleaning info, but I'm sure the glove box book says to use Vaseline to polish the anodised surface.
I will check tonight.

dr bob

Vaseline isn't to polish the surface. The recommendation is to add a film of Vaseline to protect the finished surfaces from deposits and reactive materials.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I use the pressure washer to blast away the majority of dirt and brake dust in the back of the wheels before I spend time with wheel cleaning chemicals and the brushes. My pressure washer gets a pretty good workout these days, with cinders and de-icer on our winter roads. If I get that stuff off early there's less remedial work to do in the spring. Ditto on the wheels -- the more and the earlier the wheels are cleaned, the smaller the chance of corrosive stuff attacking the aluminum.

danglerb

I wonder if the P21S is chemically similar to Evaporust?