Stains on wheel won't come off..

V

VoiD

New member
I went through a carwash today and when I got to work, I noticed all these watermarks on the wheel surface.. I tried to clean it with a cloth but the surface is all smooth.. How do I get these stains off?

I heard it might be from the armor-all carwash place use on the tires..

anyways this is just too ugly. I tired some mother's metal polish and it did brighten up a little, but stuff is not going away..

any tips will be appreciated. Wheel is a VOlk GT-7 and i heard it has a clear coat on it.





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If you have water spots, try a cleaner like Klasse AIO to get the spots off. If the wheel is clearcoated, use a polish made for paint, not a metal polish.
 
Try a strong acid-based wheel cleaner like Poorboy's World Spray + Rinse. Its not strong enough to damage the rim, but if it doesn't get the spots out, I'd be very surprised.
 
Are those water spots though? I have never seen anything like it before. It's on all 4 of the wheels.
 
Interesting, depends on if the stain is under the clearcoat. I mention this cause I had this problem on my old truck that I traded in a couple of years ago. The surface was smooth, but it had stains underneath the clearcoat that I could never get to. I think this can happen easier on wheels cause of the heat and stress they are under.



Hopefully this isn't the problem, but check to see if it is the case. Cause if it is under the clearcoat, that is big trouble, all it would need is a small hole in the clearcoat to get underneath it.
 
It's staining from someone using too strong of a wheel cleaner on polished lips. My client just had this deal when BMW washed his car and acid-bathed his rims after servicing it.



You need to polish the lips out with a metal polish. I used Flitz with #0000 Steel Wool.
 
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here is a bigger picture.

I'll try the wheel cleaner and stop by the car wash place first thing tomorrow and see what they have to say.
 
GSRstilez said:




You need to polish the lips out with a metal polish. I used Flitz with #0000 Steel Wool.
Click to expand...



But I was told the wheel has a clear coat on it.. Is metal polish still okay?
 
You can use metal polish, but you will have to be delicate cause you will probably take off a little clearcoat with it. But you might need to take some clear off in order to remove the stain.



It does look weird though, hopefully you can get it out. Looking at it, if that surface is indeed smooth, I don't know how that is a surface imperfection. Just make sure you go with the least aggressive product first, before going to anything too abrasive.
 
I have tried everything and seems like it's the clear coat that is failing. I have talked to the carwash guy and he is denying any of their product can cause such damage. He said none of his cleaners are acid-based which is a little hard to believe..

Anyways, talked to the wheel repair place and it is going to be expensive, such that it might be cheaper to buy a new set.

Dunno what to do. will have to stop by the carwash place again and demand a replacement.

My last option would be the wet sand the clear coat off, polish and polish all my life. =P

:nixweiss
 
Well it might not be acid-based cleaners, it could be a VERY strong alkaline too. I don't doubt that a rim cleaner could cause that sort of failure, I've done some real damage with Meg's Hot Rims in my younger days, and that product claims to be all wheel safe.
 
Looks to me like they sprayed a very incorrect wheel cleaner on your wheels and it started to eat the clear, or etch it. I would return and ask what product touched your tires. At first reading I thought it was cleaner staining the clear and a paint cleaner should be used just like White95Max stated. However, in looking at that picture, I think it looks like they sprayed your wheels while they were hot/warm and the product was too strong.



I hope you take it back and ask some questions.



Rob
 
themightytimmah said:
Well it might not be acid-based cleaners, it could be a VERY strong alkaline too. I don't doubt that a rim cleaner could cause that sort of failure, I've done some real damage with Meg's Hot Rims in my younger days, and that product claims to be all wheel safe.
Click to expand...



Yeah, I think that stuff is responsible for the stains under the clearcoat on my wheels. Grrr. :angry I warned my father-in-law not to spray that stuff on his BMW wheels. I won't buy it again, and probably am lucky I didn't kill my wife's wheels on her new CR-V.
 
Yeah, this is what I was afraid of in my first post, like I said it happened on a truck I used to own. This reminded me of that situation. Don't know how it happened either, but now all I use is soap and water to clean my wheels for this reason.



Clearcoats on wheels can be rather delicate with all that they go through. These clearcoats can be compromised by hitting a curb, flying debris, etc. All this stress and heat has a major effect on the clearcoat, as most older cars with the same rims on them are subject to have at least one imperfection on the wheel. I would rather use the most delicate thing possible when dealing with something like this, which in my mind is soap and water.



As for what to do now, all I can see is that you can learn from this mistake, I did. Good luck in your decision on what you want to do about it.
 
I have the same problem with my wheels. I've tried the mothers powerball with the billet metal polish but still have some stains left. Any other suggestions?
 
rick216 said:
I have the same problem with my wheels. I've tried the mothers powerball with the billet metal polish but still have some stains left. Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...



Does your wheels have clear coat on it?

I ended up sending the wheels to get them refinished. They repolished the lips and sprayed new clear coat over it.. The car wash payed for it though so wasn't too bad..
 
VoiD said:
Does your wheels have clear coat on it?

I ended up sending the wheels to get them refinished. They repolished the lips and sprayed new clear coat over it.. The car wash payed for it though so wasn't too bad..
Click to expand...

My wheels aren't clear coated.
 
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