Grease and Oxidation(?????) buildup on recently purchased wheels

A

Archy88

New member
Good Evening,
I've finally made the leap and purchased factory 2003 SVT Cobra CHROME wheels off of a Cobra. Unfortunately this deal went down online, and although the face of the wheels are in great condition...the backside & lugnut holes are another story.

There seems to be an EXCESS buildup of...grease, dust, & dirt. Once that is cleaned off, the chrome has a ROUGH and cloudy finish to it...which I am assuming might be some sort of oxidation?

I did a bit of reading through the various forums and 90% of people recommended #0000 and a chrome polish to remove any blemishes on chrome wheels.

With this procedure in mind, I went to work. I managed to get the lugnut locations 98% clean and back to the chrome finish. The backside of the wheels are surely taking MUCH longer. I've tried using Meguiars Chrome Wheel Cleaner and also WD-40...with no huge improvement.

Are there any store bought products that would make my life easier? Or should I stick with what I've been using. I have the next 3 days off, and would hate to wait for a product to arrive(However, I will definitely take recommendations for future use). I WILL be ordering a bottle of Opti-Seal in the morning that will be applied later next week.


I apologize for the amount of pictures, but I wanted to provide a visual reference.:thanks

This was definitely the easiest way to attack my problem(don't mind the SVE centercap...they're temporary)
DSC05027.jpg


Lug Nut hole before..
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After..
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At the top you can see the grime, while towards the right seems to be the oxidation
DSC05029.jpg


After 2 hours I've gotten the wheel to this point...with small spots of oxidation left and the other half untouched
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I wouldnt think twice about using an acid based wheel cleaner on them. The wheels are chrome so the acid wouldnt hurt them a bit. The best over the counter acid I know of is Eagle One A to Z wheel cleaner but Im sure there are others. If they were mine (and I wish they were) I wouldnt waste my time trying to scrub all that stuff off when acid and a pressure washer (the car wash if nothing else) would have them looking new in minutes rather than hours.
 
To on the inside part of the rims you haven't removed all the built up brake dust that's why its taking so long to remove it with polish.

How did you wash the rims and what did you use?


For me I would get some good wheel cleaner, wet the rim and spray on cleaner, let dwell for a few minutes then with a stiff plastic brush scrub the rims inside part repeat and that should start to lift what's on the surface.
 
I appreciate all of the helpful responses. Yesterday was day 2 of working on the car...and I have one wheel and wheelwell detailed.:surrender

Your tips about using a more aggressive cleaner AND letting the wheel cleaner(Meguiars Chrome Cleaner in my case) worked great at removing the brake dust and grease. The oxidation is still taking a LONG time to remove with #0000 steel wool. I tried using a scotch brite pad but it was far too aggressive.

No offense taken, but I believe I'm still going to stick with Opti-Seal...only for the fact that it can be used on with my paint and on my windows. Otherwise I would go with PB as I've heard nothing but great things.

...Here is a lesson to all, NEVER buy used wheels online

DSC05033.jpg


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:wall
 
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