How to Get Rid of Stains

KoolinNSX

KoolinNSX

Contributing Member
Joined
26 October 2005
Messages
180
Location
Houston
Today was a frustrating day. Took my car to the car wash and I ended up with stains on all 4 of my wheels.:eek: I saw them sprayed some kind of green solution to wash other wheels on other cars. I'm not sure if they used it on my car. I tried washing it off with regular carwashing soup and chrome polisher without any success.:frown: Can someone tell me what it is and how to get rid off it? Thanks!

BTW. The lip part is chrome and it's the only area that is stained.
 

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Yes. It etched the finish on your wheels.
Ask Mike of Detailing Dynamics, he frequents NSXPRIME, what to do to fix them.
 
Try Mother's Wheel Polish. I used Rim Juice on my rims when I couldn't get brake dust off just by washing. The RJ caused my wheels to look pretty weird, so I dried them off and polished them Mother's. It was really time consuming, but they look fine now. It was a scary time when I thought at first that the brake dust wasn't going to come off and then when the RJ did whatever it did...
 
Do your lips have a clear coat on them or are they polished? I have to agree with Mingus, I think you have to have them refinished if there is a clear coat on them. If they're polished, just get some mothers and have fun polishing them.
 
I know some people just do not have the time to wash their own cars......but then this kind of stuff happens. I hope you get the stains off your wheels.
 
Cairo94507 said:
I know some people just do not have the time to wash their own cars......but then this kind of stuff happens. I hope you get the stains off your wheels.
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You're right. I don't really have the time to wash my car. If I do, It's just too hot at this time of year to do anything physical outside. Especially down here in Houston. With all that said, I wished I had washed my own car. :redface:
 
Veleno said:
Do your lips have a clear coat on them or are they polished? I have to agree with Mingus, I think you have to have them refinished if there is a clear coat on them. If they're polished, just get some mothers and have fun polishing them.
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The lip part is Chrome and I've already tried using a wheel polisher to get rid of it. I understand Mother is a great product and members are recommeding it. Will Mother have any difference affect as suppose to a regular wheel polisher in this case?:confused: BTW. only the lip part is stained.
 
Are you sure it's chrome and not a very high polish? I have polished rims and I used Wheel Wash from Top Of The Line and it did the exact same thing to my rims. LIke a dumbnuts I didn't read the lable which specifically said not to use the stuff on polished aluminum. The only way to restore the wheels was by polishing them.

Now I know everyone has their favorite polish BUT the BEST metal polish on the face of this planet is De Nova Metal. It is available here from Tocco Magico Auto Detailing Supply. This stuff will make aluminum look like chrome. Don't hesitate, just buy it immediately. In case your wheels are chromed, it is safe to use and will produce amazing results.

About a year a ago I tried a new local car wash that did hand washes. The result was that the painted centers of my HRE wheels developed streaks after a few days. I later found out that tey used a degreaser on the wheels which damaged them. This is permanent and the thcenters will need to be re-paintred or powder coated. Your situtation will only require a bit of elbow grease.
 
Hugh said:
Are you sure it's chrome and not a very high polish? I have polished rims and I used Wheel Wash from Top Of The Line and it did the exact same thing to my rims. LIke a dumbnuts I didn't read the lable which specifically said not to use the stuff on polished aluminum. The only way to restore the wheels was by polishing them.

Now I know everyone has their favorite polish BUT the BEST metal polish on the face of this planet is De Nova Metal. It is available here from Tocco Magico Auto Detailing Supply. This stuff will make aluminum look like chrome. Don't hesitate, just buy it immediately. In case your wheels are chromed, it is safe to use and will produce amazing results.

About a year a ago I tried a new local car wash that did hand washes. The result was that the painted centers of my HRE wheels developed streaks after a few days. I later found out that tey used a degreaser on the wheels which damaged them. This is permanent and the thcenters will need to be re-paintred or powder coated. Your situtation will only require a bit of elbow grease.
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Okay...I have to admit to my lack of experince. I cannot tell the differences between chrome and high polished aluminum. :redface: What I have are Volk Racing SF-Challenge standard silver. When you said all I have to do is by polishing it, do you mean by "do it yourself" polishing or for an expert to do it? (I don't know of such services\repair). Again, only the lip is stained and I've tried polishing on a small area with Nano-Polish and it didn't work. I don't really have a choice so I will try the polisher that you recommended
 
Can't tell without actually seeing the wheels but if your near the Champions area in Northwest Houston, give me a call (832) 717-0083 and we can try some stuff that I have here.

Norm
94 Red
 
KoolinNSX said:
Okay...I have to admit to my lack of experince. I cannot tell the differences between chrome and high polished aluminum. :redface: What I have are Volk Racing SF-Challenge standard silver. When you said all I have to do is by polishing it, do you mean by "do it yourself" polishing or for an expert to do it? (I don't know of such services\repair). Again, only the lip is stained and I've tried polishing on a small area with Nano-Polish and it didn't work. I don't really have a choice so I will try the polisher that you recommended
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They're polished aluminum. You need a metal polish. The Nano Polish is for your car's finish. A real metal poish is applied by hand or machine and will actually turn black almost immediately indicating that it is working. If you don't want to wait to order the De Nova go to any auto supply store and get a jar of Mother's Billet Metal Polish or a can of Eagle One Nevr-Dull wadding polish. Follow the directions o the can and with a moderate amount of elbox grease your wheels will loko as good as new. I promise.
 
Aren't the wheels clear coated? I have Volk Le28's and was wondering if this stuff would work on them...I've only used Zaino car polish on them because I didn't want to screw up the clear coat.:confused:
 
The lip is not chrome, it is polished, but it has a clear coat over it. So no aluminum or chrome polish is going to help, because you're not actually polishing metal, you're polishing a clear coat. Most likely the chemicals had some sort of acid in it and it stained the clear coat. I would think some of the better wheel refinishing shops would be able to refinish the lips for you. Poor Volks.
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808NA1 said:
The lip is not chrome, it is polished, but it has a clear coat over it. So no aluminum or chrome polish is going to help, because you're not actually polishing metal, you're polishing a clear coat. Most likely the chemicals had some sort of acid in it and it stained the clear coat. I would think some of the better wheel refinishing shops would be able to refinish the lips for you. Poor Volks.
icon9.gif
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I'm biggining to belive this is probably the case. I've tried using a wheel metal polisher (Nano-Polish) and it didn't help at all. I'm going to try use another brand praying for miracles. Does anyone know the consequances of refinishing the lip only? Do they have to take the wheel apart and if they do, will the wheels be less then perfect? :frown:
 
rickysals said:
Can the carwash place be held responsible for that sort of thing??

good luck :(
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*sigh* They barely spoke a word of English how am I going to convince them it's their fault? Can't beat $10 Hand Wash! I was trying to save a lousy $30. Probably going to end up spending 20 times more.
 
KoolinNSX said:
*sigh* They barely spoke a word of English how am I going to convince them it's their fault? Can't beat $10 Hand Wash! I was trying to save a lousy $30. Probably going to end up spending 20 times more.
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No you're not. Follow my advice in my previous post and get one of the metal poliches I suggested and follow the instructions on the cans. The chemical at the car wash disintegrated the clear coat and the polish will take car of whats left of it and get your wheels back to a mirror finish. Once they're all nice and shiny give them a coat of wax.

This is turning into a mountain out of a molehill. :)
 
I believe that the process most Japanese wheels use on their lips is to have them "clear anodized" not "clear coated."

In any case if its what happened to my friends Volks, that "stained" anodized layer needs to be stripped/removed and repolished. You'll probably have to hand repolish the lips every few days/weeks to keep the wheel shiny since the protective coating will be missing (it prevents the bare aluminum from oxidizing giving it that hazy finish).

For future reference: only clean those types of wheels with a mild soap and water.
 
Unfotunately, the metal polisher did not work. I'm going to take it to a wheel shop to have it repolish. Hopefully it won't cost me much. I'll keep you guys inform of the out come. Thanks everyone for the support. :smile:
 
What Hapa88 said is right. I guess I meant to say that, but I just worded it lazily and said "clear coated". But yes, its actually more of an anodized coating, since it is more durable than a regular automotive clearcoat. I would advise against stripping the coating and then polishing the bare aluminum lip. Granted, the lip will be much shinier than it was before without the coating, but it will always need much maintenance to keep it shiny. If you dont mind polishing all the time, then I guess its okay, but with a multi piece wheel like you have, you wont be able to really get into the crevices. Just take it to a reputable wheel refinishing/repair shop, they should be able to take care of you. Good luck.
 
They used a caustic wheel cleaner. It's great for them as it removes brake dust with little elbow grease, but on a hot wheel that is coated it will ruin the finish.
 

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