vassman
06-15-2011, 10:51 PM
So, I detailed my friends car for him and other than all the tree sap and bug guts, everything went fine...until I saw what I had done to the rims. I wasn`t too familiar with these rims, so I wasn`t sure how severe the problem was until I returned it to him.
I guess it all started with a tip that I got from a friend who told me that if I sprayed the rims with a citrus degreaser and let it sit, that it`d be a heck of a lot easier to remove the brake dust. I had worked on a similar set of rims (with a machined lip) that were neglected and severely covered in brake dust. So, with my past experience, and my new found knowledge, I took my friend`s advice and went ahead and sprayed the rims down with a 1:1 mix of degreaser.
The problem is, it seems that I let the degreaser sit for too long. The temperature was hot outside (23 and sunny), however, I was working in some shade. Before I knew it, the degreaser had foamed up, and baked itself onto the rims (the lip). That`s where the trouble starts. The degreaser rinsed off of the rest of the rim just fine.
When soapy water didn`t remove the baked degreaser (which I`ll call scum from now on--since it looks like soap scum), naturally, I decided to try using more degreaser to fight it off. Funny enough, the degreaser was unable to remove the scum whatsoever. Since then, I`ve tried a highly concentrated solution of OxiClean, Goo Gone (I don`t know why), Armor All`s Triple Action Rim Cleaner, and none have worked.
HOWEVER! I did use Mother`s Chrome Polish and a toothbrush later in the day, and it had some partially successful results. I say partially because: although it successfully removed the scum, it didn`t leave the chrome shiny. It now has a matte, almost brushed, looking finish rather than a shiny finish.
Enough talking, how about some pictures??
Here are what the rims should look like
http://mdl.sitesled.com/HELP2.jpg
Here are the BEFORE and AFTER pictures
http://mdl.sitesled.com/HELP.jpg
I need suggestions, or advice on how to restore the shiny chrome finish to the rims. Please help. I`ll be working on them tomorrow at 8pm EST
I guess it all started with a tip that I got from a friend who told me that if I sprayed the rims with a citrus degreaser and let it sit, that it`d be a heck of a lot easier to remove the brake dust. I had worked on a similar set of rims (with a machined lip) that were neglected and severely covered in brake dust. So, with my past experience, and my new found knowledge, I took my friend`s advice and went ahead and sprayed the rims down with a 1:1 mix of degreaser.
The problem is, it seems that I let the degreaser sit for too long. The temperature was hot outside (23 and sunny), however, I was working in some shade. Before I knew it, the degreaser had foamed up, and baked itself onto the rims (the lip). That`s where the trouble starts. The degreaser rinsed off of the rest of the rim just fine.
When soapy water didn`t remove the baked degreaser (which I`ll call scum from now on--since it looks like soap scum), naturally, I decided to try using more degreaser to fight it off. Funny enough, the degreaser was unable to remove the scum whatsoever. Since then, I`ve tried a highly concentrated solution of OxiClean, Goo Gone (I don`t know why), Armor All`s Triple Action Rim Cleaner, and none have worked.
HOWEVER! I did use Mother`s Chrome Polish and a toothbrush later in the day, and it had some partially successful results. I say partially because: although it successfully removed the scum, it didn`t leave the chrome shiny. It now has a matte, almost brushed, looking finish rather than a shiny finish.
Enough talking, how about some pictures??
Here are what the rims should look like
http://mdl.sitesled.com/HELP2.jpg
Here are the BEFORE and AFTER pictures
http://mdl.sitesled.com/HELP.jpg
I need suggestions, or advice on how to restore the shiny chrome finish to the rims. Please help. I`ll be working on them tomorrow at 8pm EST