Help cleaning extremely dirty rims

[wahl954]

I recently came upon a really good deal to pick up some of the 20 inch limited rims for the expy. While cleaning them there were many spots that would not come off with car wash soap and a rag. I went to the store and picked up some eagle one, acid free, rim cleaner. This did not help at all. The previous owner did not clean these rims often and it appears that brake dust has bonded onto the rim.

Can anyone recommend a tip or product that will safely remove the brake dust? Remember these rims have a plastic shell coated in chrome so we have to be careful with what product we use. I attached some pictures showing where the brake dust has caked onto the rim.

 

[2007Limited]

You must have got an incredible deal to be seen in public with rims in that condition. Haha... seriously though, a guy I know said that used Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish on his old rims. He now has the same 20 Limited rims that you have however they are much cleaner and they clean up nice with water and soap. He tried the polish on the front emblem and it didn't damage the chrome.


Hope this helps.

 

[Stoned06]

Looks like corrosion spots, not brake dust. You should try the aluminum polish or chrome polish. I'm not 100% sure, but these rims might be plastic cladded chrome like most of Ford's current "Chrome" rims. Just be careful not to scrub too hard if they are.

 

[bd1980]

Finest steel wool you can buy, usually called 1000 and some chrome polish and use the least amount of pressure possible. You'll be surprised how well it works, just take your time and be patient. I wouldn't advice on doing this all the time but you can get away with it to clean them up once and then seal them with some chrome polish or wax and try to stay on top of them before they get bad again.

 

[08montana]

have you tried acetone? It's easy and won't damage your wheels contrary to what most people think. It evaporates so rapidly that it is never on any surface long enough to do anything harmful. It literally works wonders for getting things like what your picture showed off. You don't need a lot, just a little on a rag and scrub hard.

 

[Mangina]

Try some rim cleaner and some of that plastic steel wool. That's what got mine clean.

Regular steel wool works as well, but left some marks on mine.

Also those SOS pads might work too, but may also scratch a bit.

 

[GAINMOB]

Corrosion...try what they're saying...if it doesn't work...rechrome

Holy Rollerz Christian Car Club (HRC3)

 

[wahl954]

thanks for all the replies. I tried several things but I ended up using GoJo hand cleaner. I used a soft cloth and had to scrub the stains out. Some of them were very hard to remove. I did end up hazing the surface a little bit due to the gojo being a little abrasive. I cleaned them again and coated the rims with turtle wax polishing compound. I then buffed them out. The end result was excellent. See below.