Cleaning Alloy Wheels

[scoobydont]

I have a set of Inovit DTM's that came with my car. They have some pitting and a brown almost like tarnish to them. I am nit an allot person, I dont know if these are polished alloys, chromed, etc. Does anyone know if these can be cleaned up? I have tried a little auto sol and also Mers metal polish but they didn't seem to do anything. It's hard to see in the pics but you can see some dark spots and a brown tint on the rims.

 

[BMBabe]

Nice wheels

 

[Brian4]

@Russell O what do you think is it just burnt on brake dust and tar spots?

 

[Russell O]

Bit of a mix of Brake dust and Tar,

Iron X will sort the brake dust

A little tip........

Try some White spirit on a Microfibre towel/Cloth and work it into the stains.
Might be worth trying the inside of the wheel first as I can't tell if they are Lacquered or not. They look like they are but unsure by the pic alone.

If it does work on the cloth then spray a section of the wheel at a time and let it dwell for a few minutes then wipe down with a cloth.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[billz]

Recommend that once you have them all cleaned up then seal them 3 or 4 times with a good wheel sealer. I use Poorboys and find they wash really easy. I used to have these on my Z3 when i had it, Maurice the Martian now has them on his Z4

 

[Antm72]

Looks like heavy brake dust to me between the chrome and painted surface not the easiest place to get in to on a wash.
Nice wheels btw

 

[scoobydont]

Cheers folks, nothing on tomorrow so it look like I am going shopping for Iron X and white spirit

Already have the poorboys sealant, agreed, its excellent. Just dont want to seal this grime in.

 

[5harp3y]

You need fallout remover like ironx etc

 

[scoobydont]

Bought some Dragons Breath, arrived today. I will list some photos showing the process, the stuff stinks but does a very very good job. Unfortunately I have still have the marks. I have been able to get a better picture

Here is the process though, highly recommended as it cleaned the spokes amazingly!

Back and front wheel before and cleaning:

Dragons breath sprayed on, left for 2 or 3 mins, you see the dirt and iron turning red as it is dissolved in the cleaner:

 

[Russell O]

Did you agitate with a brush mate.
Never used dragons breath but most need agitating and maybe doing twice. Have you used the White spirit in case it's tar?

 

[scoobydont]

Next I agitated the cleaner with the supplied detailing brush and left it for another 2 or 3 minutes:

Wheels then rinsed with the power washer:

Looking a lot better but can still see the marks on the rim (ignore the dent!):

Finished off with a polish, 2 coats of poor boys and the tyre walls given a coat of Meguiars tyre gel (highly recommended as well!)

Probably as good as I am going to get them. I think some one has had a bash at cleaning them before and used something really abrasive that has damaged the metal. The rims are smooth to the touch, the marks seem to be underneath. I am not confident about attacking them with a dremmel or any sort of abrasive compound in fear of making it worse.

Having said that I am delighted with the results and would never have looked out a product like Dragons Breath if something similar had not been recommended on here. It's definitely a keeper in the cleaning products I use.

 

[scoobydont]

Did you agitate with a brush mate.
Never used dragons breath but most need agitating and maybe doing twice. Have you used the White spirit in case it's tar?

Your too quick to reply , see my next post.

Gave one side 2 lots of Dragons Breath, agitated both times, no improvement second time round, so only did 1 application on the other side. The black marks are under the surface if that makes sense? White spirit wouldn't touch the marks.

I looked at Iron X and Dragons Breath came up as well as an equal contender. I believe they both do the same job. Only went for the Dragons Breath as it came with the detailing brush to agitate it.

 

[Russell O]

White spirit will only remove Tar marks dude.
If underneath laquear then no chance anyway but if your happy then your a winner.

May'be get them refurbed sometime in the future,

Certainly worth it as they are very nice wheels.

Glad you found the recommendations useful.

Nice to see you looking after your Zed...............

 

[scoobydont]

White spirit will only remove Tar marks dude.
If underneath laquear then no chance anyway but if your happy then your a winner.

May'be get them refurbed sometime in the future,

Certainly worth it as they are very nice wheels.

Glad you found the recommendations useful.

Nice to see you looking after your Zed...............

A refurb is on the cards along with the sills getting the rust removed and painted. I have to admit, would never have thought about having a z3 but I knew the history on this one (I know the last 2 owners) and took a punt on it. I love it, lol. That's coming from someone that has owned a LOT of cars in the past, from a 1972 beetle, BMW 540, Alfa 166 v6 and a crap load of cars in between. If it had been a 1.9 I think I would have been disappointed but a 2.8 and a stainless exhaust is so addictive. The quicker ones must be smiles for miles.

 

[Tracy Dee]

Bilthamber is one of the best non acid alloy wheel cleaners for really dirty wheels .
Iron X fallout usually does the trick bilthamber might bring something else to the party
You can also try an old piece of clay bar after the wheel cleaner.
But if water has got under the lacquer leaving stains it's a refurb
Regards.
Cliff.

 

[Russell O]

A refurb is on the cards along with the sills getting the rust removed and painted. I have to admit, would never have thought about having a z3 but I knew the history on this one (I know the last 2 owners) and took a punt on it. I love it, lol. That's coming from someone that has owned a LOT of cars in the past, from a 1972 beetle, BMW 540, Alfa 166 v6 and a crap load of cars in between. If it had been a 1.9 I think I would have been disappointed but a 2.8 and a stainless exhaust is so addictive. The quicker ones must be smiles for miles.

Absolutely agree mate,
Although I have a 2.2 it's still a straight 6 and the note is yummy.
Same as me bud, I can't stop driving my Zed, 2 Mercs on the drive at home, one quite new, Can't be bothered with it. It's just a car. A to B that's it.
Z = plenty of fun, Shake rattle & roll......

 

[scoobydont]

Bilthamber is one of the best non acid alloy wheel cleaners for really dirty wheels .
Iron X fallout usually does the trick bilthamber might bring something else to the party
You can also try an old piece of clay bar after the wheel cleaner.
But if water has got under the lacquer leaving stains it's a refurb
Regards.
Cliff.

I did try the clay bar before posting initially, but as the surface was already smooth, it did nothing. Whatever it is, it is underneath. There are a few scuffs, the worst being shown in one of the pics, so confirms my thoughts of a refurb in the winter.

From a distance you would never know but, I do, lol.

 

[Russell O]

I did try the clay bar before posting initially, but as the surface was already smooth, it did nothing. Whatever it is, it is underneath. There are a few scuffs, the worst being shown in one of the pics, so confirms my thoughts of a refurb in the winter.

From a distance you would never know but, I do, lol.

Good for the summer though. Refurb in the winter or you could swap with my wheels lol....

 

[Tracy Dee]

Ok cool clay is good for decontamination as you have done that all good.
Finishkare 1000p high temp wax is a good wheel sealant to stop them getting worse till refurb time.
Cheers
Cliff.

 

[billz]

You may struggle on the refurb as the Stainless inners are pressed on. You may have to take it to a specialist refurber who can handle these sort of wheels as i took mine to a few just to have curbing marks removed and they all said they would not do a full refurb unless spraying the rim as well which then makes the wheels look s--t as i had this done to a set of Cades Tyres Deep Dish