Help cleaning MT wheels

[RJB44]

I have a set of MT wheels which have a lot of hardened brake grime. off-the shelf wheel cleaner is not dissolving it, or at least removing it with any ease. What can you recommended that will remove this without disturbing the finish.

Thanks

 

[Randy92782]

I have a set of MT wheels which have a lot of hardened brake grime. off-the shelf wheel cleaner is not dissolving it, or at least removing it with any ease. What can you recommended that will remove this without disturbing the finish.

Thanks

subscribed because mine are FILTHY!!

 

[plumber mike]

Have you tried westleys bleech white tire cleaner or castrol super clean.I think both should be safe but do check the label.

 

[Randy92782]

I actually heard about a aluminum brightener from Napa now that i think about it. Can't remmeber the name though

 

[sweetk30]

m/t wheels are basicly junk for finish from what i have seen and read over the past few years. and i work at a tire store.

best option is sell them now. or dismount and have a pro polishing shop clean and polish them up. other wise its going to be tons of work to ever get them close to new finish.

 

[Big Blzn]

I understand that they are aluminum, right? If they don't have any clearcoat or are just bare aluminum you can use a very fine steelwool like "OOOO" and simple green/409 cleaner and scrub. Will dull the finish a bit but should polish right back up with some Mothers aluminum wheel polish. Been there done it. Worked for me, well. I also do the same on my furd factory chrome wheels because I don't wash the thing but once a month and the baked on / caked on brake dust get nasty and it still works on them too..

 

[Blue85]

Most aluminum wheels are clearcoated so you are essentially dealing with a painted finish. I would try a clay bar. After that you are looking at rubbing compounds.

If they are really bad, you'll have to strip the clear, polish them up and then re-clear. I have been meaning to try this on an old set of wheels I have. I think POR-15 sells a kit - I can't remember the price. Hey, can you get clear powdercoat?

I have MT Classic II's and the finish is not holding up as well as I would hope since I am pretty good about maintenance.

 

[CobraEatr]

I just cleaned my American Racking Bajas a few months ago. My wheels were in BAAAD shape; probably way worse than yours. Anyway, I used good 'ole Easy Off oven cleaner. This stuff will eat the clear right off your wheels but I didn't have any on mine to begin with. I sprayed it on and let it sit for about 10 minutes. WOW! They look brand new.

 

[thatK30guy]

Weld Racing wheels have a similar problem.

I used Simple Green to wash and scrub the wheels the best I could and quickly rinsed them off as SG can "stain" aluminum.

I let the wheels completely dry and then used a Flitz ball and polish to buff them shiny. Long and tedious work but still cheaper than having a pro do it.

 

[ryoken]

my welds where hammered on the inside... brake gack was an 1/8" thick.. they actually had a pebble-grain that I took out in the end...



upper left - back untouched..... upper right - front untouched....... lower riight - scrubbed with a scuffpad and detergent....... lower left - back polished after flap wheeling, wetsanding, buffer, etc...

I hate cleared rims.. I'd rather have the ability to polish em up whenever I want... little wetsanding, compound on a buffer.. good as new...

as mentioned, always prewet the rim with water, as many chemicals stain the al..