How to Get Rid of Stains

[Hapa88]

Once you get your wheels looking pretty again, check this stuff out. It's called "Zoop Seal" and it's designed to keep polished aluminum from oxidizing and looking pretty for up to 2 years. I saw it used on the TV show "Trucks" on Spike TV. Good luck.

http://www.zoops.com/zoopseal.asp

DANG IT! I wish I had this when I had my old DPE wheels. I used to have to polish them like every 3 days to keep up the shine!

 

[Hapa88]

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:

The metal polisher won't work, because the stains are underneath the anodized coating. That coating needs to be removed to get to the stains. I hate to see you have to strip the coating, but I think that's the only way to get the shiny lip back.

 

[Hugh]

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 polish did you use? The right polish will easily cut right through any type of coating.

 

[nis350]

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.

Would the normal metal polish like Mothers work on the volk wheels?

 

[Hugh]

Mother's Billet Polish should work just fine. But the De Nova stuff that I posted about earlier in this thread is the best polish I've ever used.

 

[Hapa88]

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.

This is true if the aluminum is bare. There is an anodized coating on Volk wheels that will prevent the polish from getting down to the actual surface. I would have a professional strip the anodized coating and repolish them.

 

[KoolinNSX]

What polish did you use? The right polish will easily cut right through any type of coating.

I used Mother's Billets. :frown:

 

[johnny010]

My very expensive wheels are being redone over at Sabs here in Houston. I can't say that I recommend them. After much praise by several individuals on this forum, and others, I tried them out. Now I can tell you, I know the job is being done right, but it has been nearly 3 weeks, and going to cost double the original quoted amount.

Wheels America will do each wheel, mounted and balanced for $156.

Good luck with it....very frustrating situation indeed.

 

[nis350]

This is true if the aluminum is bare. There is an anodized coating on Volk wheels that will prevent the polish from getting down to the actual surface. I would have a professional strip the anodized coating and repolish them.

I used the Blue Magic Metal Polish a couple of times on the Volks and I ddin't see and black come off.

So you are right about the coating on the wheels.

Blue Magic said it is non-abrasive. I hope it is OK on the Volks.

 

[94BlkNSXinNC]

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.

He is exactly right. Not to beat a dead horse, but I used to detail cars in my college days and this is a textbook mistake. Anyone even hosing down a car should know better than to use caustic/degreaser cleaners on these rims.

I have the feeling they may have "selective" language barriers, not being sarcastic. I feel quite sure that they know they screwed up. If you could gain access to the chemical warning label, and you can find the warning stating not to use it on polished finishes you will have a case. A can of Mother's polish isn't worth small claims court, but I would think $800 worth of refinishing is! By the way, at $10 a car wash, I wouldn't be surprised if that "green liquid" is Simple Green degreaser...it's cheap, and it will eat through anything (unfortunately even anodized coatings). Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Good luck.

 

[KoolinNSX]

I went to the wheel shop and got a quote for $480 to repolish the wheels. So I went back to the car wash to get some principle into this situation. I spoke to the owner and he spent almost 45 mins trying to get the stains off with all sorts of polisher without any success. Then he went and had a private conversation with his staffs. To make the long story short, one of the worker started playing the blame game saying that I could of brought the car there with the damages already on the wheels and ask me if I saw who did it I had my argument proving that it wasn't. (I pointed at him claiming that he was the one) He walked away calling me crazy. I finally gave the owner an altimatum. He can either share the cost of fixing the wheel or give me 50 free car washes (He charges $10.00 per car wash) If not, I will report him to the BBB, INS, IRS NBC, ABC, CBS and Marvin Zinler. He gave me his card and asked me to call him at 10PM tonight. I hope he got good news. Either way, it is all frustration for me. Inaddition to all this crap, as I was turning in to the wheelshop, I scrap the bottom my front lip. It crack the paint and a small chunk came off. Then I felt a hesitation as I was accelerating. A coil pack problem??? (That's a whole new issue I'm going to post it on NSX OWNER DISCUSSION) OMG...when it is going to stop???:frown:

 

[Matt_337]

Sorry to hear about all of your troubles.

It will get better