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Wheel cleaning tips needed

peanut

peanut

Active member
I haven't cleaned the inside of my Cup wheels for nearly 3x years .....I know I'm a disgrace.[:(]

A few months ago I partially cleaned one wheel through the spokes and was amazed how deep the rear Cups are and how the clean wheel enhanced the look of the car .

I'm determined to take them off the car and clean them all in the next few weeks . My question is what are the best products and method to remove 3x years of 1/4" rock hard crud ?
 
When I bought mine the inner part of the wheels hadn't been cleaned by the previous owner at all, I use Bilberry wheel cleaner and it came up brilliantly. You can use it neat or dilute it 1:1 with water, spray it on and leave it a few mins then pressure wash off. Then spray it on again and use a soft brush to remove anything left, repeat that if its really bad - dont get frustrated and scrub with a tough brush to speed thigns up as you'l remove the top layer of paint... I did this trying to remove waxoyl and god knows what else on the inside of mine, its not visible though luckily. Then I polished the wheels with Autoglyms Super Resin Polish, which I have loads of, then put on a few coats of wax, probably the autoglym stuff as well - it makes it very easy to clean later, just pressure wash then wipe with a towel! For cleaning the wheels normally you can dilute it right down to about 10:1. I bought 5l of Bilberry about 5 years ago and I still have some left - plus it smells great too! [:D]

I think I tend to go a bit further than most though... I also clay barred my wheels and clean/wax them almost every time I remove them....
 
Expect 3 years of encrusted brake dust to have etched itself well into the paint surface, its very corrosive to alloy wheels. If so they will never come up clean no matter how much elbow grease you put into it, and further brake dust will attach itself forever more. For circa £60 a wheel Lepsons could save you an awful lot of work and chemically dip and powdercoat back to new. Far easier keeping a polished and waxed smooth surface clean with a wipe over than rough corroded surface.

+1 on the Bilberry though. But don't expect miracles. Lots of time and effort required if the dust is baked on. However on good wheels a quick diluted spray and jet wash is all you need for weekly washing.
 
That wonder wheels stuff will get anything off but as its basic acid its not something I would be putting on a wheel on a regular basis. TBH I think I agree with the others, whilst you can clean off several years of crud I bet what is left will be pretty wrecked looking and require a refurb anyway.
 
As Carrera said, there is a pretty substantial amount of damage to the wheels, about 1/2" line where the brake discs sit inside that is permenantly damaged
 
thanks chaps. [;)]

If I can get the wheels refurbished for just £60.00 ea then it would be daft to do all the messy hard work myself. i expected it would be nearer £100 per wheel.

I might take one wheel off and clean it up and see how it comes up. If its reasonable I'll do the others and try to make it a weekly job to spray them clean with a jet wash.

Alex ...it sounds like you work really hard on your wheels. I don't even polish my car's bodywork lol![:D]
 
Just had mine done by Lepsons - bill was 254 all in including fitting new tyres I supplied and balancing.
Finish is great - theres a pic in the "what have you done..." thread.
 

ORIGINAL: DavidL

Just had mine done by Lepsons - bill was 254 all in including fitting new tyres I supplied and balancing.
Finish is great - theres a pic in the "what have you done..." thread.
Click to expand...

Correct. Mine were £57 each which included removing/re fitting tyres, valves and balancing. I've just removed and cleaned mine up inside and out after 8 months use and around 2000 miles. They were done weekly or so on the car but not the inner rim. It was a doddle. No cleaning product needed just car shampoo, mitt, lots of water. Just re coated with Carlack 68 and they look as good as when they were done last June
 
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