Dear all

Over the years my Octavia alloys have developed some rather nasty looking stains (mostly yellow/brown and on the inner crevices of the spokes).

Is there a good way to clean these up? I've power washed them, steamed, scrubbed and even begged them to be clean again, but to no avail!

Any tips?

Cheers

D

Wonder wheels has always worked quite well for me.

An acidic aggresive wheel cleaner should do the trick.

Wonder Wheels is good for brake dust stains (and readily available - Halfords etc.) but it is also good at removing the laquer if used too often!

Autoglym Clean Wheels gets my vote.

and mine

I'd recommend some bilberry wheel cleaner applied and aggitated then rinsed, then somthing such as tardis or another similar tar and glue remover, followed by a clay bar treatment with a nice soapy lube, some more wheel cleaner again and a final blast....should be good as new :love:

The brown staining is embedded metal that has rusted. You need to use something like Iron-X that will dissolve the particles. Try a google search to see what it does.

Silver, the picture you have used is the universal one which I don't think is as aggressive as the original wonder wheels as its safe to use on broken lacquer and chrome wheels.

Ah, I assumed they were the same.

This is the one I use (in a bottle rather than a spray) which I assume is the stronger version?

I thoroughly recommend Bilt Hamber Auto Wheels, just spray on, watch it turn purple as it does its stuff, then rinse off. If really badly stained, then agitate with a wheel brush. This can be used on polished, chromed, steel and plastic wheel trims.

I have also used Bilt Hamber Korrosol, though this is more of a bodywork 'fallout' remover it still did the trick.

And finally I used Angelwax Bilberry Wheel Cleaner, which was also good, and you can dilute it to suit the job in hand!

HTH

Fin

The brown staining is embedded metal that has rusted. You need to use something like Iron-X that will dissolve the particles. Try a google search to see what it does.

Another vote for Iron X, even if the smell might put you off.

There are similar products available. Wolf do one too, but not tried it.

Wonder Wheels gets my vote

Sometimes this can be discolouration of the laquer/clear coat.

Often caused when the wheels have had spot/local repairs by a chipsaway type company. They are often used by dealers to tidy cars up and alloys without having to have the wheel fully refurbed.

The clear coat used isn't that tough and becomes pitted/stained etc. and there isn't much you can do with it. Try some tiny test pieces first but even a very acidic wheel cleaner sometines will not touch it.

Sometimes this can be discolouration of the laquer/clear coat.

Often caused when the wheels have had spot/local repairs by a chipsaway type company. They are often used by dealers to tidy cars up and alloys without having to have the wheel fully refurbed.

The clear coat used isn't that tough and becomes pitted/stained etc. and there isn't much you can do with it. Try some tiny test pieces first but even a very acidic wheel cleaner sometines will not touch it.

Thanks for all the suggestions and knowledge shared guys. I'll take a photo close-up ASAP of the wheels to give you a better idea of what I'm facing.

Cheers

D

Forgot to take a picture of the wheels, but thought I would update you. I was describing the issue to a friend who is a motorcross enthusiast, and he suggested I try some of the cleaning agent they regularly use on their bikes. Wow! This stuff made a HUGE difference to the wheels and, with a bit of help from the good wife's toothbrush, had left me with some sparkling alloys!

It's called Rhino Goo. Anyone else used it before?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200889139034?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Rhino Goo? What a name!

I left my alloys a little too long between washes a few months ago. As a result the inner facing spokes of the alloys had a light yellow tinge / staining to them.

I've had a bad experience of Wonder Wheels before due to the acidity dulling the shine of the alloys.

Popped into Halfords and looked for the non-acidic wheel cleaners and got this one on their 'buy two get the third car cleaning product free' offer...

Was very impressed. Required very little elbow grease once it was left on to do its stuff for a minute or so. Well recommended.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_921569_langId_-1_categoryId_255235