Brake Fluid Leaked onto Wheel! Help!

[sahan23]

Hey everyone,

Been trying hard to clean my wheels to look nice and bright as they used to... A few weeks ago, my driver side caliper failed and leaked brake fluid all over my rim. It has a clear-coat finish on it. I should have taken a rag to it immediately but I left it there for a week or so. Now I can`t get that gunk off at all. It seems like anything I use, it just cleans on top of the brake fluid mess. I am at a loss of what to do or use. I`ve tried Armor All Wheel Cleaner and even WD-40 with a tooth brush... No Luck! Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I`d hate to have to buy a new rim to match the others... Thanks in advance.

[CharlesW]

It is often said that brake fluid is highly corrosive to paint, but I have never seen what damage it actually did. I would have guessed it would cause it to blister, not leave a residue on top of the paint.

Your wheels may very possibly have a clear powder coat that reacts differently than paint.
Since powder coat seems to be more durable than regular paint, the corrosion may just be on the surface.
You might be able to polish it off with an aggressive polish. If you do try that, do a very small area to see how it works so you don`t mess up anymore of the wheel than you have to.
I think I would stop by a place that refinishes/repairs wheels and get a price for having them fix it. They might even tell you and sell you something to use to clean it.
They also could probably completely refinish it for you for less money than buying a new wheel.

[sahan23]

Thanks Charles! I appreciate the feedback!