Wheel Brightener on UnCoated Aluminum Wheels :-(

[LeMarque]

So I turned my back and my helper grabed Megs Wheel Brightener and sprayed down the wheels on the 95 Benz:


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http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab317/highdesertdetailing/MB_Wheels/P1030230_zpsddd6f024.jpg (`http://s875.photobucket.com/user/highdesertdetailing/media/MB_Wheels/P1030230_zpsddd6f024.jpg.html`)


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Tried buffing with 105; no luck. I`ve got Mothers PowerMetal Scratch Removing Polish coming in Tuesday. I sure could use some recommendatios on how to bring these wheels back :unsure:

[Alfisti]

You sure they`re not coated?

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[Meticulous]

Are you sure Megs WB did that? Are they the original 18 yr old wheels?

[togwt]

There` is a TOGWT article on how to remove acidic staining from alum wheels - hate to say this but you`ll have to do a search, all my hyperlinks to TOGWT articles were invalidated when the forum software was updated

[tom p.]

MB alloys are certainly coated.` It kinda looks like the clear is shot on those wheels and perhaps the WB worsened the appearance.

[Jean-Claude]

Those look coated.

[David Fermani]

MB alloys are certainly coated.` It kinda looks like the clear is shot on those wheels and perhaps the WB worsened the appearance.



X2.`

[LeMarque]

Thanks everyone.


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It`s like this; it`s the devils MB. At least for me. The fellow bought it off a Dealer lot and considers it a prize. Came from Fla. and has been repainted. Scratched, swirled, etc. Showed up with one of my best customers and got talked into paint correction by the customer. My fault. I was slammed with work and didn`t evaluate the car carefully.


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Had my helper wash and clay and when I saw the wheelss I freaked. Have pics of everything but them. I assumed the streaking and discoloration was from WB. I generally use either sonax or the like. I`m probably over-reacting but I`m now trying to buffout the plastic cladding on the lower body panels and it`s gumming up like I`ve never seen before. By the time I`m done I`ll be lucky not to lose money on the job. But that`s another story.


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So the question remains, anyway to correct the steaking?

[Meticulous]

Give the Mothers Metal Polish with a powerball or Megs Dynacone a shot.

[imported_WhyteWizard]

First, are you even sure your guy did that? `Did you look at the run pattern on the wheels before you moved the car? ` In the picture it`s not straight down.


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Meguiars wheel brightener is safe for coated wheels and those are definitely coated. `I bet you`re not getting black off them when you hit them with metal polish.


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So, here`s what happened - before the car got to you someone sprayed some sort of greasy coating on the wheels which covered the damage. ` Lots of tire treatments will do this. ` Your guy cleaned off their product and revealed the real condition of the wheels. `


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That coating is just paint so that`s how you correct it. `If it were me, I`d pull the wheels, put them on a table and get out my polisher - the rotary not a random entertainer - and buff them out using whatever combination of pad and polish got the job done. `Then, I`d get out my Makita BO6040 and cut out the swirls and be done with it. `


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You should have charged more to do this in the first place but since - as you said - you didn`t evaluate as deeply as you could, here you are.


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Robert


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[bunkeroo26]

Your initial response, to blame the helper, is what scares me

about scaling my business. Let`s face it. There are very many easy

ways to screw up a detail. You are responsible for all of your helpers.


Whyte`s accounting sounds most plausible


I still would worry about blaming very thing on the helper.

He would be an easy scapegoat.

[LeMarque]

Guess I had a bad day. The rear wheels looked great and I came upon the helper just as he was about to spray the rears. So I`m guilty of the old saying about `assume`. Unless I see painted and clear coated wheels I avoid WB. And even then on certain make with center caps where I`ve seen product collect, I`m concerned about not getting them thouroughly rinsed of WB.


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And low and behold, I did get pics of the wheels and the fronts looked trashed.


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As for:


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Your initial response, to blame the helper, is what scares me

about scaling my business. Let`s face it. There are very many easy

ways to screw up a detail. You are responsible for all of your helpers.


Whyte`s accounting sounds most plausible


I still would worry about blaming very thing on the helper.

He would be an easy scapegoat.



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Don`t see where I scapegoated my employee. Not my style.


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I did jump to conclusions comparing the fronts to the rears tho. You learn something every day.


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Thanks to everyone for the virtual Valium :mellow: Much appreciated.

[LeMarque]

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You should have charged more to do this in the first place but since - as you said - you didn`t evaluate as deeply as you could, here you are.


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Robert


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About evaluation. I will never ever quote a repaint ever again without a test spot, or two, first.


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From now on the same holds true for ANY correction.

[bunkeroo26]

I didn`t really mean that you scapegoated the helper.

This is what I would be worried about though.

I personally would assume that it was the helper that made the mistake.

Probably easier for me to stay the solo employee as it is

cheaper without workman`s comp insurance anyways.