Wheeling & dealing with Wheel Brightener

[TLMitchell]

I recently received a PM with suggestions for cleaning wheels in response to a post I made. Huh? Oh! That post! Posted two years ago I was looking for suggestions on cleaning the inner barrels of the wheels on my 2004 GMC Sierra.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-university/17662-cleaning-inner-wheel-barrels.html

Moot point, I recently swapped the vehicle for a 2008 Silverado. As for trying some of the suggestions offered in response to my post, I never got a round tuit as it was a DD and it's kinda tough to pull the wheels when you're driving it every day.

I had some time off work and had to pull the wheels on the Silverado to install mud flaps and running boards and upon seeing the inside of the wheel barrels it's deja vu all over again. Time to try out some of the suggestions offered almost 2 years ago to the day.

The patient

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/tlmitchell99/2008%20Silverado%20wheels/IMG_0525Small.jpg

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/tlmitchell99/2008%20Silverado%20wheels/IMG_0524Small.jpg

Actually crummier than the other set. As the previous wheels were, it appears the insides are uncoated aluminum, possibly coated but if so certainly not the quality of coating found on the polished exterior.

Out of the many suggestions it appeared Wheel Brightener might do the trick. So here we go...

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/tlmitchell99/2008%20Silverado%20wheels/IMG_0527Small.jpg

I sprayed WB 4:1 on and let it dwell for a couple of minutes then started scrubbing with a firm-bristled wheel brush. And.... not much. So I sprayed the wheel with undiluted WB and let it dwell for a few minutes before scrubbing for 9 or 10 minutes. Result, some improvement.

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/tlmitchell99/2008%20Silverado%20wheels/IMG_0528Small.jpg

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/tlmitchell99/2008%20Silverado%20wheels/IMG_0529Small.jpg

Not exactly what I had in mind though.

So I'm thinking maybe some compounding might be in order. Break out the old original formula M105, Power Gloss and every other stout compound I have and an old wool 8" cutting pad and the Flex 3403. Result? Made a big mess with a lot of splatter and the inner barrel remained unchanged. Not even worth taking a picture.

So I was getting kinda cranky so I layed on the straight WB again and set about installing the mud flaps and touching up some of the exposed frame rails and kinda forgot about the wheel for almost an hour. I gave it another mist of WB and set to work with a coarser bristled smaller brush and worked my kiester off for over 15 minutes. Result? Better but no cigar.

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/tlmitchell99/2008%20Silverado%20wheels/IMG_0533Small.jpg

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/tlmitchell99/2008%20Silverado%20wheels/IMG_0534Small.jpg

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/tlmitchell99/2008%20Silverado%20wheels/IMG_0535Small.jpg

I've concluded that the crud is baked and etched into the aluminum and it isn't going to clean up no way, no how and the results aren't even worth the effort to do the other 3 wheels.

The inner barrels on these rascals aren't particularly visible anyway. I suppose if I really want sparkling clean wheel barrels I'll be replacing these. Don' theenk so. Not for a daily driver that gets exposed to long, hard winters. That's what a 4x4 is for anyway.

Oh well... at least the rest of the truck cleaned up well thanks to the new Meg's MF System.

http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/tlmitchell99/Silverado%201st%20Megs%20MF%20detail/IMG_0536Medium.jpg


Hmmm, anybody think I may be in a rut vehicle-wise? The old and the new:


http://i730.photobucket.com/albums/ww304/tlmitchell99/Silverado%201st%20Megs%20MF%20detail/Old-New.jpg

TL

[Dr Oldz]

Kudos for posting such an informative thread even tho your outcome wasn't what you expected! I often wondered how WB would work on wheels like yours!

[Shane731]

Did you happen to try WB combined with steel wool? Maybe #00 - #0000? You can find a bag of steel wool at Wal-Mart for a couple of bucks.

[C. Charles Hahn]

You may well be in a rut when it comes to white extended cab trucks.... but why did you trade down to a Chevy? :poke:

:joking:

Interesting that the wheel barrels got THAT badly etched so fast... I have an '08 Sierra and my wheel's barrels still clean up like new. Of course it might have something to do with the particular wheels on my truck with the "All Terrain" package.

I'm assuming your truck has drum brakes in the rear since I don't see "VortecMAX" on the door.... how do those ones look as compared to the front?

[TLMitchell]

Did you happen to try WB combined with steel wool? Maybe #00 - #0000? You can find a bag of steel wool at Wal-Mart for a couple of bucks.

Yep, that's what produced the final result.

TL

[Setec Astronomy]

I have the exact same problem with my GM wheels, as well as on a Honda product. The aluminum is all pitted on the barrels from having no/really thin paint, while the fronts are fine. I've basically given up and just plan to have the wheels repainted sometime in the future if that works out. The bad part is that with today's big wheels and open spoke styling, you can really see the barrel when they are on the car.

[TLMitchell]

You may well be in a rut when it comes to white extended cab trucks.... but why did you trade down to a Chevy? :poke:

I looked in the mirror one morning and decided I just wasn't "professional grade" anymore. I figured I better do something before someone turned me in for masquerading. :surrender:

Actually, I was looking at GMC lease returns when this one popped up priced right with a 12/12 Certified warranty. Other than the grill and stoopid bowtie on the tailgate (which is now gone) they're virtually indistinguishable these days. Plus I had to do something pronto, I needed new tires! :rolleyes:


Interesting that the wheel barrels got THAT badly etched so fast... I have an '08 Sierra and my wheel's barrels still clean up like new. Of course it might have something to do with the particular wheels on my truck with the "All Terrain" package.

It might have something to do with your wheels getting cleaned properly for the last 3 years. Despite outward appearance differences all the inner wheels appear the same that I've seen.


I'm assuming your truck has drum brakes in the rear since I don't see "VortecMAX" on the door.... how do those ones look as compared to the front?

Same, maintenance history showed regular rotations every 6k so they spent equal time on front and back. As you might expect leased vehicles usually don't get the same care as a personally-owned vehicle. And wheel barrels aren't on the top of the list for many that do keep things relatively clean. :doh:

TL

[XLNTShine]

One thing I have found that works well on wheels that look beyond saving is NAPA Aluminum Brightner. I have used this on 4 wheelers, diamond plated aluminum, and old wheels. I have never used a wheel brightner like this one and it seems pretty strong. When you spray it on I remember the directions saying that there may be a reaction while the chemical does its work. Well let me say this, I sprayed it on the foot pad of the 4 wheeler and then used it on the tool box and this stuff produced a exothermic reaction producing heat and steam. You could hear the chemical hissing while it worked. This product did a great job removing oxidation and stains that were in the poors of the metal. It did leave the wheels looking hazed and almost like the top surface was etched or oxidized. After washing this nasty stuff of I then use some aluminum cleaner I had laying arround, might have been Mothers? This removed the hazed etched look and I was able to clean them quite nice. I dont know how this compairs to other products people on AGO are using but it worked for me! For a last resort, I used to work at a place that polished the big aluminum tank trailers for trucking company's. We used muriatic acid to strip and clean the tanks, just wear protective clothing and something over your eyes, face, and hands!! It makes you itch if you get in the way of the overspray!

[XLNTShine]

Took a quick look at the MSDS for this product and it contains HYDROFLUORIC & PHOSPHORIC ACID! No wonder it works. Keep away from paint?!?!?!

[Setec Astronomy]

Took a quick look at the MSDS for this product and it contains HYDROFLUORIC & PHOSPHORIC ACID! No wonder it works. Keep away from paint?!?!?!

Are you talking about your NAPA product or the WB?

[XLNTShine]

Sorry.. this is the NAPA product.

[Setec Astronomy]

Well, the WB is HF too.

[TLMitchell]

Well, the WB is HF too.

But it smells kinda grapey. How bad could it be? :rolleyes:

TL <--- it doesn't taste grapey at all :::ptooey:::