Wheel Acid

Jimmy Buffit said:
David, I'm not starting an argument... I just want to emphasize, especially to newbies, the very real health hazards associated with Hydrofluoric Acid.



Again, not allowed in my Shop. And, wheels go out clean, trust me. Just takes a little time.



JB
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No biggie Jimmy and I totally understand your view. It's dangerous stuff and in the hands of someone without the proper training it can be deadly. Not worth the risk for some I'd imagine.



Regardless of how well non-acid cleaners work, they still won't clean the really bad wheels. They just can't break down the rusty build up on certain unfriendly cleanable wheels. Having a shop in the metro-Detroit area back in the day, this breeded a select group of deadbeat car owners who wouldn't service their brakes until their wheels locked up. Not only the wheels, but the entire rockers and rear bodies of these vehicles would be rust colored from all the metal particles deeply embedded into the finish. I was never able to remove this problem w/o the help of acid. Thank God this isn't the case these days with my clients because I'd be weary of reaching for the wheel acid moving forward.
 
David Fermani said:
No biggie Jimmy and I totally understand your view. It's dangerous stuff and in the hands of someone without the proper training it can be deadly. Not worth the risk for some I'd imagine.



Regardless of how well non-acid cleaners work, they still won't clean the really bad wheels. They just can't break down the rusty build up on certain unfriendly cleanable wheels. Having a shop in the metro-Detroit area back in the day, this breeded a select group of deadbeat car owners who wouldn't service their brakes until their wheels locked up. Not only the wheels, but the entire rockers and rear bodies of these vehicles would be rust colored from all the metal particles deeply embedded into the finish. I was never able to remove this problem w/o the help of acid. Thank God this isn't the case these days with my clients because I'd be weary of reaching for the wheel acid moving forward.
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Exactly, you did dealership reconditioning, so it would be Important for you to remove built up brake dust. Honestly, I would rather not work on a customer's car who cares so little, that they let the dust build up to that point. Removing brake light dust is a simple as using a damp MF towel; no reason why it should build up so heavily.
 
I did dealer and non dealer work and saw this problem Brad. When you cater to dealers, you take what they send you if you want to operate a successful business.



The car I maintain now (even my own) need some kind of cleaner to clean wheels. I wish I could get away with just a quick rinse.



If you're planing doing fallout / raildust / acid rain removal at the dealer or OEM level, using an Acidic product is required most of the time. There's multiple TSB's specifically mapping out the use of decon washes in order to service a contaminated vehicle. Clay and non-acid cleaners won't cut the mustard.
 
I use an acid to remove hard mineral deposits that come from parking concrete parking garages. It does not contain HF or ABF. On the cars you maintain try rinsing with a pressure washer and drying with a few MF towels. It amazes me how much cleaning power a MF has when combined with water.
 
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