Plan of attack for inner rims?

[nappyjim]

This stuff is CAKED on there. What do you guys think would work?



http://home.comcast.net/~JimAvila/rims1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~JimAvila/rims3.jpg

[Accumulator]

What do you guys think would work?





Heh heh, smart-[aleck] answer: A healthy dose of realism ;) Sorry, couldn`t resist :o



Sometmes you`ll be astounded at how well wheels like that clean up, other times you`ll just get frustrated. Hard to tell until you`ve worked on them for a few hours. FWIW, I`ve had it go both ways on wheels that looked both a lot better, and a lot worse, than that.



The pitted areas are gonna probably stay imperfect, short of having them refinished.



I`d approach it this way:



Acidic wheel cleaner, clay while dwelling; alkaline wheel cleaner, clay while dwelling. This might be a very long process and you`ll go through a lot of clay. Consider using aggressive (overspray) clay. When I last did this on some neglected wheels I spent well over an hour on each one (dunno if it was worth it). Inspect and see if you`re wasting your time.



Assuming they`re still pretty bad, repeat the acid/alkaline process, but scrub instead of clay, using the softest ScotchBrite pad you can find (as for nonstick cookware). Inspect.



Go after remaining stuff you can`t live with using a Dremel and their fiber-bristle brush (I think that`s what they`re called, they`re nylon or something, not metal). Get a bunch of the brushes as they wear down kinda fast. Yeah, they`ll do a little marring but not as much as you might think.



Then get AIO and SGxmany on there right away. I dunno how well it`ll turn out; if you`re not happy with it I`d consider having the back sides repainted, which isn`t all *that* big a job.

[imported_Bugman]

I think the dremmel is the only way you`ll get into those small areas.

For me, the toughest cleaner I`ve found is Poorboy`s wheel cleaner. For most wheels, you just spray on and rinse off -- but in this case, you`d need to spray on, leave on for 1 minute, then brush those areas with the liquid still on it. Then rinse off with water.

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

I think the dremmel is the only way you`ll get into those small areas.

For me, the toughest cleaner I`ve found is Poorboy`s wheel cleaner. For most wheels, you just spray on and rinse off -- but in this case, you`d need to spray on, leave on for 1 minute, then brush those areas with the liquid still on it. Then rinse off with water.



You would be smart to think about what your wheel cleaner is going to do to the visible side of your wheels while you leave it on for 1 minute. Personally, I would not recommend that type of chemical cleaning process.

[Accumulator]

You *do* have to be careful that products used on one side of the wheel don`t do something undesirable to the *other* side. I`ve been able to pull this sort of thing off with *almost* no problems, but "almost" isn`t the same as "absolutely" either ;)



A quick and *thick* coat of a heavy LSP (I`d probably use Collinite 476S and *NOT* buff it off) on the visible side oughta provide a fair amount of protection against such problems, but it won`t be 100% foolproof (hey, what is?)..

[imported_becks]

Looks like Mazda 3 rims. I did a process sort of like Accumlator mentioned on my stock 3 rims and it came out looking brand new. When you`re finished make sure you apply some wax to them in order to make the cleanup easier next time and better yet, get rid of those terrible dusting stock brake pads...lol

[Accumulator]

When you`re finished make sure you apply some wax to them in order to make the cleanup easier next time and better yet, get rid of those terrible dusting stock brake pads...lol





*MINOR* change to the above- I`d use multiple applications of a sealant like KSG instead of a wax ;) Sorry to nit-pick, especially if Becks was using "wax" in the generic sense...

[imported_becks]

*MINOR* change to the above- I`d use multiple applications of a sealant like KSG instead of a wax ;) Sorry to nit-pick, especially if Becks was using "wax" in the generic sense...



Good point Accumulator, I should have been more specific. I use either KSG or Poorboy`s wheel sealant

[Accumulator]

becks- I somehow figured you were using "wax" generically ;)