Hi all .,

while cleaning my wheels yesterday, I was using a product called
" Bleche White " tire /wheel cleaner. It worked great on the letters
and black rubber of the tire.

HOWEVER ! - It caused havock with the aluminum rims....
I had all these lines that looked like someone had poured acid all over my rims ! I tried to get it off with Simple Green - no change !!!
I then read the back of the bottle of Bleche White -
it says CAUTION - DO NOT USE ON ALUMINUM RIMS AS IT MAY
CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE !!!
I panicked - in a big way - Im looking at the idea that I just destroyed $1000 worth of rims !!!

I pulled out the Mothers aluminum cleaner /polish and began
franticly rubbing..... very very hard....it was coming off but barely.
I could still see alot. It looked like someone had dripped paint all over the rims and it had run down in streaks.

Then I decided to concentrate on one 5 inch peice of rim to see if I could get it all off that one area. More Mothers and alot of rubbing later and the area was looking pretty good. The fingers on my right hand were killing me....but it was working.

I ended up working on the wheels for a couple hours - just rubbing very hard in small circles. I had to take a break every 5 minutes or so because my hand was really hurting - thats how hard I was rubbing.

In closing -

I looked at the rims again this morning and there is still some problems , but I think I can get it all off.

All I can say at this point is DONT do this to yourself. It has taken ALOT of work to get them where they are now, and they still arent
back to how they were before the incident.
maybe I can use that product on my other vehicle , but that stuff is never going near the Corvette again...

Absolutely , positively NOT fun.

Beware !

kevin

81 Dk Blue / Dk Blue

 

Damn.........sorry to hear that. i will make a note of that product!!

Good Luck with the rest of the rims

Rod :cool:

 

Rod -

Im keeping my fingers crossed.

Ya know , I see that product everywhere - buyer beware.
I suppose I should have read the label first :rolleyes:

Kevin

 

I use Wesley's Bleache White on my tires....however I do not have aluminum rims. I haven't seen any effect to the trim rings or beauty caps. I only spray the Bleache White on the tires. If I get any on the trim rings I wipe it off. Haven't had anything bad to say about it yet. Sorry to hear about your rims :(

 

I've used bleeche white years ago but now I use 409 and it seems to work just as well. 409 hasn't caused me any problems on my aluminum wheels.

 

Ouch! That smarts!

I guess we should read the directon before using any products, I know I am guilty of rushing things and not reading directions myself. I hope you can clean em up with streaks. I hope it doesn't turn out to be an expensive lesson.

 

Ouch :(
Some of those cleaners eat aluminum. The worst thing you can do afterwards is walk away to drown your sorrows, or whatever. What you've done, ie clean it off immediately, is the best action to take. I well know that numb, throbbing feeling from hours of polishing metal :yesnod: I've never used Mothers (don't think I've ever seen it) but use Solvol Autosol on alloy. It gives a good shine but is very slightly abrasive, so it's good for cleaning stains, small scratches, etc off. When done I use something like Peek, which is a really fine polish, to give a really good finish (usually just use the Solvol - it gives a good finish & by then my hand is aching too much to do the whole lot again with another polish). Keep at it & you should be OK.
A friend recently had the bright idea of cleaning his bike engine using spray on wheel cleaner (we warned him not to!). It has covered the entire engine in huge white streaks which no amount of cleaning will get off (polished alloy engine covers are wrecked but can probably be saved by hours of polishing, but the cast Ally cases look like they've been attacked by acid - no chance of cleaning them up). Makes you wonder what's in these cleaners?
:cheers:

 

ksems,

Next time try an SOS (loaded with soap steel wool) pad for your tires and white lettering. I've found that these work the best. I use up two pads on four tires and after the tires are rinsed thoroughly, the tires look brand new and they don't have that yuckky ArmorAll phony look.

 

I use it everytime I wash the vette. I just use an old towel or t-shirt to cover the area where I'm spraying. that way I don't get anything on the rims

 

The best way I've found to clean wheels and tires since I was 16 is to use carpet cleaner and a scrub brush on a wet tire. Do the tires first when you wash the car and scrub the tire with the brush and carpet cleaner, then wash the car and the wheels. I dry the wheels, dry the car and then dry the tires. Then I'll coat a rag with one of the tire wet products ( I keep trying new ones, haven't found a favorite yet) and wipe it on each of the tires. Then I'll go back with a rag soaked in Wesley's bleach white and clean each of the white letters and finally I'll polish the rims at the end. Yes, sometimes I'll wait until the next day to polish the rims. :D

 

Been there, done that, still sore from re-polishing all 4 rims. Man, that sucked :mad!!!! Keep working and they will shine again. Use Mothers and 0000 steel wool as the applicator. This will work better and produce more shine.

 

I did the same thing you are talking about on my truck. It was the first time to clean the new wheels and I was sooo pissed. I took the wheels back to Discount Tire and they have a polish that took it all out and made them shine really good. The stuff is in a little black container like a short fat jar. It is actually a long piece of fiber material (looks like cotton) and is soaked in the polish. You tear off a piece and rub in circles until the polish turns the area black. Then remove with a towel. Then keep doing this all over the wheels. It is somewhat laborous but nothing like what you are talking about.
Well, something to consider.

 

Sounds like "Nevr-Dull" to me. :yesnod:

 

I use Simple Green works good on tires and white letters. So far did a good job on rims. I have to polish these out and will spray with the clear coat from Eastwood. I hope this will keep me from having to polish them for a while anyway.
thanks for the heads up.
:seeya

 

I agree with 81VETTOM. Simple green works real well. Spray it on, let it sit for about 5 min., scrub tires with a brush. I also use it on the wifes Aurora. Cleans the brake dust from the front wheels very well. Spray on the Simple green, let sit about 5 min., use a sponge to wipe down wheels and then hose off with water.

 

I did the exact same thing that you did and used mothers to repolish the wheels and I have just about got all of the areas back to the original luster. I am with you that bleche White will never be used on any of my vehicles again!

 

Bad news man sorry to hear about that. I am getting ready to polish my wheels and have found a idea that may help you out. I found a place on I 55 in southeast mo that polishes wheels with a smooth surface like c-3s have. they look like chrome when he is done with them and the guy who does it is a vette owner. maybee a truck stop in your area could help you out. they are allways polishing tanks and things on the big rigs.
good luck

 

My brother inlaw told me about this stuff. I finally got it and haven't broken the seal yet. I was lucky enough to read the label first. It said it could damage aluminum rims and if you have a black top driveway it will turn that section white. I couldn't see why I would want to take the chance. Next time he visits I'll send him home with the bottle..

 

I would be careful with Simple Green too. We have had this discussion on aviation boards before about the corrosion problems with aluminum. The military no longer uses it on aluminum aircarft. Prolonged use may not be so good.

 

Sorry to hear that - :(

Whew - luckily I have steel rims.... :jester