I'm curious what y'all would use to clean up this wheel? I tried two brands of wheel cleaner,..no go.

I'm trying not to damage anything with stronger chemicals.

 

I'm curious what y'all would use to clean up this wheel? I tried two brands of wheel cleaner,..no go.

I'm trying not to damage anything with stronger chemicals.

 

Meguiare's Hot Rims All Wheel cleaner

 

Maybe some brake dust pro or ironx could help with this, not sure about that though. That looks pretty rough.

 

If you cannot find a wheel cleaner that works, the next step would be to use a paint polish. It's very lightly abrasive which may be what is necessary to remove what is on the wheel.

 

Do you mean rubbing compound?

 

I tried a few things in my arsenal. KABOOM! kitchen and bath cleaner did the trick. This wheel is on my winter car. An 04 CR-V. The XF sleeps through the
long Vt. winter. The Honda is a FAR CRY from the XF, but I don't let the XF see the snow/salt around here.

 

WOW! That did the trick and looks great! Aren't you missing a couple lugs though?

 

I should have said, this is the spare on the back of the CRV.

 

From what I can find on the Kaboom website (assuming I'm looking at the correct product) it looks like this cleaner is a high alkaline cleaner (pH of 12), which isn't all that different from Meguiar's Hot Rims All Wheel & Tire Cleaner. Out of curiosity, you said you tried two different wheel cleaners before Kaboom but neither worked - care to share what those two wheel cleaners were? Also, was this accumulated and embedded dirt just in that bottom section of the wheel after sitting on the back of the CR-V for a few years?

 

Mike, I tried Armor all, and Mothers. They didn't touch it. I tried the Kaboom only because the Honda is not quite as rare as the XF, lol. The crud on this wheel was the same all around. But ONLY on the spare. Maybe the P.O cleaned the wheels on the ground, but never touched the spare? Maybe the spare had the cover on it for years, and never dried out? The P.O was pretty meticulous about things. The engine compartment looks like brand new.

 

This one works the best of all that I have tried.

 

Guys, if you have baked on brake dust I've found that non of the commercially available cleaners work well. I recommend Poor Boy's World brake dust cleaner. It really works wonders. Just spray it on, and hose it off. I let it sit for a few minutes, and I did use a brush, but when I sprayed it off with water, it all melted away.

http://www.poorboysworld.com/spray-rinse.htm

 

Guess you can't buy that stuff retail...

 

For the heavily caked on dust that nothing else seems to touch, try Easy Off Oven cleaner. Sprays on and wipes right off. Just make sure there's plenty of ventilation!
Then to get that final clean use a clay bar made for wheel rims. A thorough waxing and you're good to go.

 

But is it safe to use on SRT6 clearcoated rims?

 

Why Sowtenly. I used it on mine. Just don't leave on for any great length of time and rinse off thoroughly. The wash bay boys at the dealerships use acid (yes, acid) to clean extremely caked rims. They just make sure to rinse them immediately, and then soap down and rinse again. The lye in the oven cleaner isn't quite as harsh as the acid wash. But neither seems to harm the clearcoats.

 

Here's how you can make your own wheel cleaner for 10 cents / qt.

Mix 32 oz water and 1-2 tablespoons of Bar Keeper's Friend (the powdered stuff you get at Wal-mart, like Comet & Ajax)...you can store this in an empty spray bottle. Use as needed and apply with a wheel brush to maximize cleaning efficiency. Many wheel cleaners contain Oxalic acid, which is the active ingredient found in Bar Keeper's Friend and is very much safer then the Hydrofluoric acid used by dealers. Even does a nice job cleaning & clearing hazy headlight lens and removing stubborn spots on windshields. Now you don't have to get ripped off by paying $5-6 for a bottle of wheel cleaner!