What's the best cleaner to use on powder coated wheels?

[Eldorado2k]

A buddy of mine has these wheels that came off a BMW M6 he used to own.. They've just been sitting in his garage and he says they're pretty expensive [8k when new]
I'm thinking why not clean them up for fun.



My question is, would these wheels be sensitive to acid or alkaline based wheel cleaners? Or can I throw anything at them?

These wheels aren't going to be used on this car, just set them to give an idea of what he'd like the car to sort of look like when it's done. 1934 Chevy.

[FUNX650]

I use either one of these wheel cleaners:
P21S or its first cousin S100.


Bob

[AGOatemywallet]

Those look like they may have already been damaged by wheel cleaner

Did you take any close-up photos?

Cleaner wax can, sometimes, clean up and even out the finish on damaged wheels like these, but the effects are often temporary.

[Eldorado2k]

Those look like they may have already been damaged by wheel cleaner

Yea they're pretty beat to crap.. It's a shame considering how expensive they are/were... That wheel in the 1st pic actually has a bit of white spray paint on it, and 1 of the 4 has heavy scratches caused by curb rash. He says they need to be re powder coated. Either that or have them chromed so he can put them on a 1960 Chevy Impala he recently acquired.

I just want to see if I can make them look good in the meantime, because I've got a bit of OCD whenever I see a set of dirty wheels just sitting in a garage. The world would be a better place if they were a set of Clean wheels sitting in a garage. Lol.

[BrutalNoodle]

Did you catch my reply in the other post regarding D114?

You might be surprised how well it lifts dirt and brake dust right off.

I've been experimenting and found 1:24 to be the sweet spot for my powder coated BBS & Brembos. Just the right amount of cleaning power and foaming action. I haven't used APC and other wheel cleaners since I've started doing this.

Try mixing a small batch and test it on crappy wheels. Spray. Agitate with small brush. Spray down with the same solution after agitation and watch crap slide off wheel. Wipe dry. Done.

That's pretty much my routine between heavy cleaning.

It's a great alternative to nasty smelling chemical, not to mention dirt cheap. Another plus is I don't have to worry about overspray drying on the paint, unlike most cleaners. Give it a shot.

[AGOatemywallet]

BrutalNoob

Did you look at the picture of the wheel in question?

It's is gonna take more than D114!



1:24 is a huge waste of money with D114.


.

[BrutalNoodle]

Haha, yeah...it does sound like a waste of product, but it's been working extremely for me as a maintenance/spray & wipe routine. I could have used plain water or a 1:256 solution to rinse the wheel afterward, but that's just laziness on my part.

[Eldorado2k]

I got around to cleaning these wheels last night...







I just used Brown Royal.



All the nasty came right off. 1 application and done.



After:

[asianisafish]

If it's powder coated, you can use anything man.

You can scrub hard too

[AGOatemywallet]

Ric,

Your posts deserve better than these tiny thumbnails