Rusted Wheels On SUV

[crobinso]

I went to the grocery store yesterday, and parked next to an SUV that was in otherwise good condition. But the wheels! The wheels were rusted something awful. The outer rims had pitted rust, and the inner rims (how in heaven's name to clean THOSE?) were completely rusted. I wish I'd had my camera, I'd have taken a pic.

I found a pic to use as an example:

Note the right hand side, on the inside? On the SUV in question, that area was rusted all the way around, on all rims.

If you received a customer who had wheels that bad, could you get them clean? What would you do? Personally, I think these rims were beyond cleaning, and needed to be rechromed.

Charles

 

[tubafeak]

Well, if they're chromed then you're screwed. If they're polished and only the insides are rusted then you can wetsand the rust/metal to get everything nice again and then seal. This is VERY labor intensive, if it's for a customer then it's going to be a substantial charge above a standard detail.

 

[crobinso]

Well, if they're chromed then you're screwed.

Perhaps I shouldn't have said rechromed. Because the rims I saw looked like they were brushed aluminum. (Do they still make mag wheels?)

Charles

 

[CharlesW]

If they were aluminum, they weren't rusted.
Chances are they were chromed steel if you saw that much rust.
You can do a lot more with some of them than you might expect. Some chrome polish, (I happen to use Mother's because it's easy to find), and some 0000 steel wool and a bunch of time will often bring back chrome.
As with paint, there is a time when nothing will help. The finish is destroyed.

Don't ever quote a price until you have tried an area. As was stated by Tubafreak, it can be very labor intensive.

Charles

 

[crobinso]

If they were aluminum, they weren't rusted.
Chances are they were chromed steel if you saw that much rust.

Then I saw rust, so the rims were chromed steel. They were awful.

As with paint, there is a time when nothing will help. The finish is destroyed.

Don't ever quote a price until you have tried an area. As was stated by Tubafreak, it can be very labor intensive.

Charles

Then the finish on these rims was destroyed. Too bad. As I said, the SUV had a decent white finish on it. All it needed was a detailing. Oh well.

Charles

 

[CharlesW]

All it needed was a detailing. Oh well.

Charles

And a new set of wheels.
A used car lot might very well just throw on a set of cheap wheel covers.
I would also be concerned about the air sealing quality of wheels that have that much rust.

Charles

 

[01WJLimited]

My rims are pitted in the corners, and are stained from the pitted areas. With some elbow grease, I can make the rims look good, but nothing can do anything about the pitting.