Spring break started last friday. When I returned home, my step dad greeted me with a free set of Cavalier LS Sport wheels with decent summer tires on them. Money's tight right now, so i'll take what I can get. Instead of switching the tires over to my Z24 wheels, I decided to leave the LS Sport tires on and see how they looked. They look nice, but there's one major problem. They're extremely dirty. Covered in all kinds of mud, dirt, brake dust and God knows what else. I whipped out the hose and a rag and went at it. 15 Minutes later, the progress I had made was hardly noticeable. Ive never encountered a wheel so dirty, I went into the garage and considered several cleaners, but they all warned that they'd be harsh enough to strip paint off or ruin polished Aluminum. Now, I'm assuming that these wheels are Aluminum and either chrome painted or polished to look like chrome, So I don't know what kind of cleaner to use (and the proper brush) to take all this crap off without hurting the wheels.
Any suggestions? (I'm in Florida on break now, I'll take pictures when I can).
Thanks in advance,
Alcolawl
Try some super strong degreaser and dilute it down some. Spray it on and let it sit for a few minutes then go to town on those bishes.
Unfortunately a lot of it probably isn't going to come off. My LSS rims sat for a long time with dirt on them and they stained and pitted. Planning on plastidip or painting them asap.
"In Oldskool we trust"
LA's Totally Awesome, straight up, not diluted.
I have 3-4 bottles in my garage, it works on everything!
I love it!!!!!
You probably wont even have to scrub, it the best!!!!!
I use Mothers foaming wheel and tire cleaner. Let it soak and spray it off for tough dirt use a soft brush.
When I got my white Koseis they were really nasty. Heres what I did. A good bucket wash with something like Dawn dish soap to knock off all of the grease and dirt and loose junk. Then some aluminum wheel cleaner. It was NOT recommended for painted wheels (the painted wheel cleaner is the same stuff but just diluted) but my Koseis were. I sprayed it on a rag and tried it on an inconspicuous on the back of the wheel to make sure it was going to mess anything up. I used the wheel cleaner on a rag and not directly on the wheel to take off the brake dust. Then some good bug and tar remover for any tar and crap. Then I did a hand cut and buff with some rubbing and polishing compound. Lastly and most importantly since theyre painted is a good coat of wax to protect the paint. It also helps the crap to clean off easier the next time around. I had an hour at least in each wheel but they turned out really really nice.
well to start of with, do you have the "chrome" LSS wheels or the ones that the faces of the spokes look like brushed aluminum and in between the spokes looks like grey powder coating?
on my chrome LSS wheels i used a brillo pad and lots of water in between the spokes but not on the polished faces, this is because im postive it will scratch the chrome and i wanted that mirror look, in between the spokes is chrome to but its textured so the soft brillo pad didnt hurt it any, just gota be gentall
but as always id suggest what the guys already ha ve only use my way as a LAST resort
John Lenko wrote: It is bad. Stop. Now. Bad. Bad bad. Bad bad bad.
...j
Tyler Howland wrote:well to start of with, do you have the "chrome" LSS wheels or the ones that the faces of the spokes look like brushed aluminum and in between the spokes looks like grey powder coating?
on my chrome LSS wheels i used a brillo pad and lots of water in between the spokes but not on the polished faces, this is because im postive it will scratch the chrome and i wanted that mirror look, in between the spokes is chrome to but its textured so the soft brillo pad didnt hurt it any, just gota be gentall
but as always id suggest what the guys already ha ve only use my way as a LAST resort
My wheels are that style LS Sport rim (not actual picture, just got this from google). I'm afraid to use anything abrasive on the "chrome" parts obviously. I'm hearing good things about Mother's and Blue Magic, but this stuff is really on there. :/
yes i have the same wheels
id try starting with blue magic or mothers chrome polish, iv used both and they are very good, just when u apply it let is dry then rub the @!#$ out of it till its all off, id try that first, steel wool WILL scratch the mirror finished parts, try polishes and degreasers
HONESTLY, gettin a pic of your actual wheels would help, hopefully you dont have pitting and fading starting that would suck really bad..... i have some fading starting on my RR wheel, trying to figure out how ima adress that... -_-
John Lenko wrote: It is bad. Stop. Now. Bad. Bad bad. Bad bad bad.
...j
Tyler Howland wrote:yes i have the same wheels
id try starting with blue magic or mothers chrome polish, iv used both and they are very good, just when u apply it let is dry then rub the @!#$ out of it till its all off, id try that first, steel wool WILL scratch the mirror finished parts, try polishes and degreasers
HONESTLY, gettin a pic of your actual wheels would help, hopefully you dont have pitting and fading starting that would suck really bad..... i have some fading starting on my RR wheel, trying to figure out how ima adress that... -_-
Done and Done. I finally got some free time to myself today and went out and bought Mother's Wheel Cleaner and a firm yet soft feeling brush for my wheels:
I was underwhelmed to be honest. After identifying that these wheels are indeed chrome, I remembered that I had Turtle Wax Chrome Polish inside and grabbed that with a few rags and went to work:
They certainly look better, but they're far from perfect. Despite my hardest efforts (and many hand cramps later) some of that brown @!#$ simply refuses to come off.. I'm not sure what else I can do without ruining the finish.
here i tested the "brillo" brand brillo pad idea i told u about, i ONLY used it on the spokes, heres a trial pic and a finished pic, they came up like brand new, and yes my rears were as bad as yours.
John Lenko wrote: It is bad. Stop. Now. Bad. Bad bad. Bad bad bad.
...j
these are my favorite stock j wheels.
i used mothers wheel cleaner and let them sit for like 10 mins then scrubbed each wheel for 5 mins and finished them off with a good pressure wash. this was on powder coated white wheels. i bought them off some chick who never washed them and had layers of brake dust caked on them. worked well till the car was totaled 3 days later.
take a look into good metal polishes. I use brasso, worked in the marines, works now. get the kind that s in a tin not a bottle, the fabric impregnated version works well. you can work it in then hit it with a buffer.
Neva dull in a can will work just as god if not btter than the brasso in a can if u can't find the brasso that will work also
I use Technician's Choice 'Tuff Stuff' wheel acid designed for chrome rims. That stuff is STRONG smelling, but is incredible at cleaning chrome.
Never Dull is the ish! If I knew how to put pictures up, I would show you before and afters of my chrome LS'
Before:
After:
Here are my american racing wheels I have had since 1994 brand new.I only use blue magic metal polish cream.They do sell it in paste or liquid and by far walks over most of the typical wheel polishes and I have used many driving a big truck with aluminum wheels that brought them back from super nasty to lustering new.This is sold at napa,advance,auto zone etc and where latex gloves bc it will turn black as it breaks down the residue and get on you so kind of fierce in the dirty dept.Not only will this polish clean aluminum,but stainless,gold,silver and even bathroom fixtures literally.I am a clean fanatic and this is my recommend.If you take the whl off and hand apply and maybe use a cordless drill with a buffer helps speed up the intensity of getting the grit out.
Here are my american racing wheels I have had since 1994 brand new.I only use blue magic metal polish cream.They do sell it in paste or liquid and by far walks over most of the typical wheel polishes and I have used many driving a big truck with aluminum wheels that brought them back from super nasty to lustering new.This is sold at napa,advance,auto zone etc and where latex gloves bc it will turn black as it breaks down the residue and get on you so kind of fierce in the dirty dept.Not only will this polish clean aluminum,but stainless,gold,silver and even bathroom fixtures literally.I am a clean fanatic and this is my recommend.If you take the whl off and hand apply and maybe use a cordless drill with a buffer helps speed up the intensity of getting the grit out.
