Emergency!!!!!--Help with wheels!!!!!

B

Beach15

New member
I have a customers van outside that I'm detailing, and stupid me, I decided to try some Eagle One wheel cleaner on the rims. Now there's a milky white coating that seems to be etched into the wheel clearcoat, and I can't get it off!!!! Tried polish, still trying polishing compund. What the heck can I do??!!!!!!!



I at least need to get them to a level where it's not noticable, if I can't get it all off! Please help!



It's a 95' Dodge Caravan with machined aluminum wheels that I'm failry sure are clearcoated.
 
oh sh!t......



go to autozone and pick up some Meguiar's Cool Rims cleaner, and some Mother's Mag Aluminum Polish (just incase) - hopefully you have a dremmel tool or else be ready to make your arms fall off.





First thing is try the Cool Rims - spray it on, scrub it in with a soft bristled toothbrush. Let it sit for a minute, then rinse it off thouroughly. If this doesnt do it, clean the wheels again with some all purpose cleaner (even simple green will do at this point - the clearcoat is gonna have to be polished off.)



make sure the wheel is dry (dry it with a towel)



get the metal cleaner out, and if you have a dremmel tool, use the foam head attachment to apply the metal polish stuff to the wheel at a medium-high speed. Buff off with an old cotton sock (they're what I use) and hopefully this took care of it, but now the rim has no clearcoat so you may need to respray the clear on the wheel or seal it in really well with some AIO/SG/Platinum.



Good luck - God I hate it when stuff like this happens. :scared
 
webviper said:
Shiny Lil Detlr, you mean Meguiars Hot Rims, right?



Don't want Beach15 running around and looking for the wrong name. :D
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hot rims, cool rims, its all about the rims, eh?? :o :wavey
 
First off, you need to se eif the wheels are in fact clear coated. Put your head close to the wheel, lick it and if it tastes mettalic there is no clear coat. Just joking. Seriously, take some metal polish and wipe with a clean cloth. If black starts to come off then they aren't clear coated and the stain will remove with some polishing.



If you do show black streaks I can send you some metal polish to take care of the stains. You can also buy a buffing wheel from places like home depot. Stick one of these on your drill and use some metal polish. However, if they are clear coated, message me and I will see what I can do to help out.



Joe
 
Well, all's done. I flew like a bat out of you know where down to Parts Plus, ran to the car care supplies and grabbed some Eagle One mag wheel polish. Had to rub quite a lot, and it worked well in getting rid of the milky/cloudy white stains on the back wheels, only a little success on the front. Doesn't look all that bad for a minivan with 90k miles on it, depending on how the sun hits it.



I know the cloudiness was NOT there before I used the wheel cleaner, as I looked all around the van beforehand, no white marks on the wheels, just a few minor curd scrapes on one or two. Not only did the acidic crap do that to the wheels, but I think it did something to the tires too, as I could see and feel a difference (and not for the better) in the spots where there was some overspray.



Read the label several times, sprayed it on, waited exactly 30 seconds and hosed it off. Didn't notice the milky stains until after the wheels had started to dry, with it wiping off with my finger in the beginning before etching into the clearcoat.



When we delivered the van to the owner this afternoon, I showed her the marks, describing it as "some oxidation in the clearcoat that I discovered while washing & couldn't get off". She could have cared less and told me it was probably from when she scraped the curbs a few times. Okay, that one works for me!!
 
I had this happen to my on my e46 wheels.

I tried many things to get rid of it.

I used mothers mag polish and it would hide it, but the next time I washed them or just sprayed them with water you could easily see the white again.

When I began using the p21s wheel cleaner it took it away immediately.

Another thing that may work is dawn washing it because what I think it is is just a film left by the cleaner and not actual etching in the clearcoat.
 
The milkiness is quite common from using too harsh a wheel cleaner on a coated wheel, or from applying a cleaner to a hot wheel.



We make a product (Clear Coat Wheel Polish, part # 05108) which does a decent job at removing the milkiness in the clear.



You might want to keep a bottle laying around - e-mail me an address and I'll send you one for emergencies.
 
Beach: Which wheel cleaner did you use: A2Z?



E36 & Forrest: Is this an etching of the clear coat or a surface contaminant? If it's an etching, I assume the wheel polish removes the offending layers of coating.
 
Yes, I used Eagle One A2Z, thinking it was a good wheel cleaner to buy. Maybe it still is, but it has me scared to ever use it again.



Here's what's weird. When I first sprayed it on, sprayed it off, and then it started to dry, the wheels looked like they had a milky film on them, that would wipe away with my finger. Not being too worried about it, I continued on with my routine, but it only seemed to get worse, and would not come off with anything, which is why I flew like a nut to the auto parts store.



When I hosed them, the milkiness wasn't visible, but re-appeared as they air dried again. I washed with Dawn and a wheel brush, nothing. Then I washed with a sponge and Dawn, nothing. Then I used some TW wheel cleaner I've use before, nothing. It seemed to have made whatever clearcoat there was cloudy, and it was clearly from the wheel cleaner because the milky spots were mainly in lines that looked like the cleaner had run and then dried.



We went over to their house tonight because I needed "after" pics for my site, and the van looked good, but when the sun hit it a certain way, you could see the messed up front wheels.



Thank god neither of them cared! I guess everything else just looked so good with it having 90k miles, they just didn't notice.



I'll post a pic here tonight sometime.
 
OpticalBrad - it is a minor etching of the clear coat on the wheel. The plasticized urethane on wheels is very soft and easily marked.



A fine polish ( a polymer in our case) will remove the texture from the area, in effect removing the damage.



This damage can occur for several reasons:



product left on too long

too aggressive a cleaner used

cleaner applied to a hot wheel



Since the clear coat is so soft, it's actually quite easy to fix, assuming a proper product is used.



Hope this helps.
 
I haven't had problems with wheel cleaners or my A2Z, but the first thing I wondered about too was if the wheels were hot and the cleaner dried on them a bit, causing damage. Like any chemical in solution, if it dries out it becomes super-concentrated, which can be bad news for strong things like wheel cleaner. I have the new (non-acidic) orange bottle A2Z and find it's hard to wash off your fingers if you get any on them. Much like spilling a strong base on them in a lab, it takes a lot of flushing with water to remove it. I always make sure my wheels are cool and to rinse them very very thoroughly with tons of water. Sometimes I also leave them less than 30 seconds if I'm worried about drying. Hope this helps in some way.
 
If you do show black streaks I can send you some metal polish to take care of the stains
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This is a real timely thread for me, but Im about to introduce a strange twist...This problem in this thread was milky etching on clearcoated rims. Ive got Fikse Wheels on a bMW, and these rims are uncoated aluminum billet. My dealer's carwash guy did something to these heretofore mirror polished rims so that they had milky stains all over them...As someone said, you could see where the stuff had run after he applied it, and probably let it run off and dry, before trying to wash off.



AT first I thought a cleaner might take care of it, but nothing...So, on to my P21S Multi Finish Restorer....With alot of rubbing, and loads of black goop, Ive gotten most of it out...To finish it off, Ive ordered a wheel buffing kit from Eastwood, including 1 loose and 1 spiral buffing wheels, a couple of arbors, a tapered buffing attachent, and 2 different hard compounds. I have a variable drill that spins from 0-2250 rpms, and Im pretty sure this kit will do a good job at putting them back to their pristine conditions.



But, I find it interesing, and i dont understand, how it is that my polished uncoated Fikses achieved what sounds to be the identical condition as the topic of this thread, which had clear coated wheels. Why did the acid react the same to the very different surfaces? I believe in my case, both an acid and a base would cause the same condition, as a chemical reaction...But with the clear, it would be an entirely different reaction causing it.



Also, can someone tell me, what is it that turns the buffing cloth a gloppy black when an aluminum polish is applied to the billet rims? Can I continue to polish with the black applicator? If not its going to be very difficult....If you use a wheel on a drill, it will get immediately black...It seems to continue working, but you just need to clean off the goop from the work in order to gage your progress.
 
paul e - the black from an aluminum polish is the chemical reaction of one of the polish's components to the nickel (I believe it is) that's present in aluminum alloy. In the case of your Fikse rims, I'm guessing he sprayed a cleaner on them while hot, shocking the surface and leaving a stain, or allowed the cleaner to dry like you stated.



It happens more times than I care to think about.



The stain can be removed with buffing, and a quality polish. Considering the high quality finish, you might want to try a high end product like our new Billet Metal Polish after you get the stain off, to bring the wheel back to a perfect finish.



You can continue to use the applicator after it turns black. I usually use one mf towel per wheel for polishing, then a second to remove the residue and finish the wheel up on my billet wheels.
 
You can continue to use the applicator after it turns black. I usually use one mf towel per wheel for polishing, then a second to remove the residue and finish the wheel up on my billet wheels.
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Ah, Forest, just the info I was looking for...thanks much....After you use the MF for applying, and its all coated in black gook, are you able to successfully bring it back to life in the washing machine, or does the substance require stronger action?



Oh, and where do I find this billet metal polish? Any better than a kit like Eastwood's which includes the 2 buffing wheels (spiral and loose) and arbors for drill use along with tripoli and white compounds, or Eagle One mag-chrome-aluminum polish?
 
paul e said:




Ah, Forest, just the info I was looking for...thanks much....After you use the MF for applying, and its all coated in black gook, are you able to successfully bring it back to life in the washing machine, or does the substance require stronger action?



Oh, and where do I find this billet metal polish? Any better than a kit like Eastwood's which includes the 2 buffing wheels (spiral and loose) and arbors for drill use along with tripoli and white compounds, or Eagle One mag-chrome-aluminum polish?
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I have a pile of mf's dedicated to wheels. I wash them separate from the ones I use on paint, after washing the paint-use ones. My wife never knows.



Some retailers stock the billet. LMK what city you're in and I'll see who's around. There are several on-line e-tailers, too. PM me and I'll give you some choices.
 
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