Are these wheels ruined?

S

s.o.m.SS

New member
Bought the car Friday evening and there was no hints to the wheels being in this bad of shape. I went to finish paper work and I guess they had it "cleaned". I go to give it a once over on Saturday morning and this is what I see. Don't know what caused it or if it can be polished out. Sorry for the cell phone pictures. All I can do since I am in the process of moving. Thanks.

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Er...I thought I just responded to this...but it didn't show up.



If that car is new, I'd take it right back and complain. If it's used...are those wheels chrome or the GM "high polish" clear? If they are chrome, they may polish out, if they are clear, I'm less hopeful, but it's kinda hard to tell from the pics.



BTW, nice garage floor, I wish mine looked like that.
 
Are all the wheels like that? It's kind of hard to tell from the pictures if that's just some gunk from the backs of the wheel that ran onto the fronts when they cleaned them or if the plating is actually damaged. What did you use when you "tried a little by hand"?
 
i would be pissed if i bought an 06 z06 and the wheels looked like that... hopefully they didnt use a harsh degreaser / wheel cleaner.....



maybe some flitz metal polish and some #0000 steel wool.....are these wheels plated or solid chrome ??



try posting on a vette forum too !!!
 
chrome plated aluminum would be " solid chrome... i guess i wasnt sure how to describe what my mind was thinking...



i have had experience with grand cherokees and grand ams ( for sure examples ) that have an aluminum rim and a plastic like "covering" in the shape / design of the rim....therefore you wouldnt want to use the steel wool



a friend used the steel wool on his harley and i used it on a set of headlights with the flitz.... came out ok.
 
Oh...that plastic cap crap, yeah they are terrible. I just have an aversion to using steel wool on things that are supposed to be shiny, I know people here advocate it on hard surfaces like glass and chrome (although auto glass doesn't seem to be hard anymore), but I just can't bring myself to do it.
 
i agree with you. sect. hey when you feel them does it feel rough? im also not sure but it could be overspray that could be clayed off. if it does not feel smooth it could be but if it is smooth and looks like that i would also try the mothers power ball and some meguiars all metal polish.
 
its mainly the last pic that looks like overspray but the others looks weird to me. im not sure hopefully you can get them looking good again
 
gav'spurplez said:
hopefully they didnt use a harsh degreaser / wheel cleaner.....
Click to expand...
....that's exactly what it looks like they did. It appears they sprayed some sort of wheel acid on the wheels (probably let it dwell for a bit) and then rinsed them off. There is still residue of brake dust/grime you could tell was loosened and running down some of the surfaces, but obviously wasn't agitated or wiped clean before setting again. .....typical that they would use harsh spray & rinse solutions like that at a dealership.
 
Man, that's bad...at least it looks bad on the computer.



Was this the result of inappropriate wheel cleaner or the like?
 
tom p. said:
Man, that's bad...at least it looks bad on the computer.



Was this the result of inappropriate wheel cleaner or the like?
Click to expand...



Like Kean said, I think it's a result from the dealship using a harsh chemical to clean the wheels. It is smooth to the touch. I have a good feeling it's done for. I guess we will see once I get all my products unpacked. Hopefully something works out.
 
Kean said:
....that's exactly what it looks like they did. It appears they sprayed some sort of wheel acid on the wheels (probably let it dwell for a bit) and then rinsed them off. There is still residue of brake dust/grime you could tell was loosened and running down some of the surfaces, but obviously wasn't agitated or wiped clean before setting again. .....typical that they would use harsh spray & rinse solutions like that at a dealership.
Click to expand...



x2



The dealerships is my area have a terrible habit of using hydrochloric acid on wheels, and to me it looks like that is what has been done. Take it back, show it to the used car manager, assuming there is one, and request them to cover the polishing by an experienced detailer or replacement.
 
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