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Don't use brake cleaner and a scouring pad on barrels of chrome wheels
The barrels of the chrome wheels are not bare metal. They have a single-stage silver paint. I incorrectly assumed they were bare unpolished cast aluminum. The silver painted wheels have a gloss clear on the entire wheel which is more durable. I have spot cleaned wheel barrels with brake cleaner for years, but it removes the paint on the chrome wheel back sides.
No polish or sealant yet...
1 pass of Adam's #1
Barrels wiped with WD-40 and denatured alcohol. Need to paint cleaner and seal.
Whoops... brake cleaner and a green scouring pad takes the silver off. Didn't harm my silver painted wheels at all.
Never have tried brake cleaner and a scouring pad on any of the wheels I have owned. Sorry about the damage to your wheel.
These hadn't been cleaned in 45k miles by the prior owner... lots to get off the barrels. Would only use it on the barrels. Thought they were raw metal, but nope... silver single-stage matte paint.
Yea the chrome is a plating. The barrels are chromed as well then painted silver.
Polishing chrome shouldn't be done with abrasives.
Neither should paint, dunno how your older wheels managed.
I use Adams metal polish on the chrome and it works great. I only used brake cleaner and scotch-brite to spot clean really stubborn areas. I thought the barrels were raw metal! The silver wheels survived because of the clear coat!
EDIT - The whole point of this post is to inform that the barrels of the chrome wheels are not bare metal and that they have a single-stage silver paint. I incorrectly assumed they were bare unpolished cast aluminum. The silver painted wheels have a gloss clear on the entire wheel which is more durable.
Looks like they are now.
What kind of brake cleaner did you use? Non-chlorinated brake cleaner = very effective paint remover. The older style, chlorinated type is pretty safe for painted surfaces, though I still wouldn't use it with a scouring pad.
For the barrels of alloy wheels, a scrub brush or a Scotch Brite™ pad with soapy water or "wheel cleaner" spray is the best approach.
What kind of brake cleaner did you use? Non-chlorinated brake cleaner = very effective paint remover. The older style, chlorinated type is pretty safe for painted surfaces, though I still wouldn't use it with a scouring pad.
For the barrels of alloy wheels, a scrub brush or a Scotch Brite™ pad with soapy water or "wheel cleaner" spray is the best approach.
Huh? Only one small spot on the back of a spoke came off... the rest is fine.
Im very familiar with how to clean wheels... I used Sonax first (see pics of wheels in purple). I used brake cleaner and a scrub pad because I thought the flat silver paint was bare cast metal.
Originally Posted by dmaxx3500
so,go find a silver color close and repaint them
Again... only one spot came off.
Last edited by Steve Garrett; 06-13-2018 at 08:48 PM.
Reason: Merged Posts
For the wheel cleaning novices out there (like me) what's the recommended method to clean the wheel barrels? Between brake dust and what looks like spatters of tar, it takes me a while and quite a bit of elbow grease to get them 'mostly' clean.
I spray painted the barrels of the chrome wheels gloss black. The black paint hides the brake dust better and makes the barrels easier to clean.
The gloss black sets off the chrome wheels much better than the silver paint.
I did the same thing on the chrome wheels on my C6 / 427 Convertible, only I used Satin Black, rather than Gloss. Think I'm going to do the same on my '17 Z06 Chrome Wheels
For the wheel cleaning novices out there (like me) what's the recommended method to clean the wheel barrels? Between brake dust and what looks like spatters of tar, it takes me a while and quite a bit of elbow grease to get them 'mostly' clean.
Clean with a good wheel cleaner like Sonax, then I used WD40 with great success on all the tar. Some stains won't come off as the satin paint stains more readily than clear coat paint.
Originally Posted by Keppler
I spray painted the barrels of the chrome wheels gloss black. The black paint hides the brake dust better and makes the barrels easier to clean.
The gloss black sets off the chrome wheels much better than the silver paint.
04-01-2018, 08:22 PM
Don't use brake cleaner and a scouring pad on barrels of chrome wheels
