well I went through a carwash today and when I got to work, I noticed all these watermarks on the wheel surface.. I tried to clean it with a cloth but the surface is all smooth.. How do I get these stains off?
I heard it might be from the armor-all carwash place use on the tires..
anyways this is just too ugly.
any tips will be appreciated.

 

two possibilities. One is that there is some wicked residue from the carwash on your wheels. If this is the case a good wheel cleaner should take it off with a bit of scrubbing at most (get a wheel brush if you dont already have one)

second option is much less pleasant. If your wheels are clearcoated those milky spots are actually the result of the acid many carwashes use to clean wheels reacting with the clear. This happened to my fathers car once. The lip of his wheels were similarly polished looking but they had a clearcoat over them. One trip to the wrong carwash and they turned a lovely shade of splotchy white very much like yours. Unfortunately the only solution i know of for that scenario is to strip the clearcoat and redo it. If you have any way of proving this happened from the carwash, you might want to get over there sooner rather than later and complain. Most have insurance in case of damage to vehicles and you might be able to get it taken care of if you dont wait too long.

With any luck its just residue and a good scrub with something like meguirs or similar wheel cleaner should do. Just make sure you get a cleaner designed to work with your particular finish. NOT ALL WHEEL CLEANERS ARE MEANT FOR ALL WHEELS!! read the label, if in doubt, buy a different one.

 

I immediately thought of option #2 from above when I saw your pictures... For your sake, I hope we are wrong!

You may also want to try to claybar the areas to see if it works... a bit of metal polish might be worth a try as well... paintwork cleanser if they are clearcoated.

Good luck!

 

Let's not use car washes anymore, folks. If you haven't been keeping up lately, there are precious few people who have come out of these places without damage, and it's just a matter of time for the rest.

Wheels seem to get the worst of it. Even places that hand-wash: do you ever wonder what gets picked up in those wash rags and dragged across your finish?

Not even the dealer is allowed to wash my MINI, though they offer every time I'm there...

Washing your car is the way guys bond with their cars. I suspect the same could be true for gals too...

 

I guess I'll stop by the car wash place first thing in the morning. They also do car detailing so they must know how to get rid of it.

I just hope it's not option #2. These wheels are less than a month old.

 

looks like clearcoat peel to me, although, the last time any of my cars wheel's clearcoat peeled was on a set of 25 year old alumium vette wheels. somethings wrong with these wheels.......

 

still need those washes for those chicago winters to get rid of the salt.

 

Ditto from here in the Northeast. You can't just go outside and wash your car to rid it of salt when its been well below zero for a couple of weeks!

I've had good luck with a touchless car wash in our area. The equipment is made by PDQ Manufacturing and is called the Laserwash 4000. Got to know the guy who runs the place (and about 6 other car washes) and had a discussion with him about the kind of solutions he uses. All are high-temperature detergents in softened water. None are acid-based and all have been tested for use on clearcoat paints. He also has a high-end detailing shop so he appears to be very conscientious about care care.

I have not noticed any ill effects from using his car wash, though I only frequent it in winter. I am sure that frequent use will break-down the layers of wax on the paint surface, so I put on several coats of wax in October.

FWIW,

Theo

 

stopped by the carwash this morning and they are saying it couldn't have been the carwash because they wash hundreds of cars and never seen it happen before. They tried some metal polish on it and it still won't come off..
they sprayed some cleaner that they use and it doesn't seem to be the source..
Now i am wondering if it is some kind of manufacturing defect.
what do you guys think?

 

Having worked at a carwash myself for a long time, they will NEVER admit to having done it. You unfortunately bear the burden of proof. If they used some of their wheel cleaner on your wheels and nothing happened, make sure its actually the stuff from the carwash and not some random bottle off the shelf. Also, dont let them get the wheels wet then wipe it off right away or nothing will have time to happen. If in fact it isnt their fault, it may be a bad clearcoat on the wheels to begin with (if they even are clearcoated. are they?) in which case, call whoever you got them from (still have the dated reciept?) and let them deal with it.

 

Yes they are clear coated.
But what are the chances of all 4 wheels having a bad clear coat?
I'm still waiting for the place I got the wheels from to open (they are located on the west).. Hopefully they are more helpful than the carwash people.

 

Look like the effect of a strong cleaner sprayed on a hot wheel to me.

 

I just spoke with a Volk wheel distributor and he is saying that these are caused by silicones in armor all.. Somehow they smeared into the clear coat and all I can do to fix it is to have it repolished. (strip off clear coat, polish, clear coat over) Anyone heard anything like this before?
what a bummer.. Now I need to go back to the carwash and hear what they have to say.

 

I use the same kind of touch-less car wash up here in the winter.At -30F it's kind of hard to wash the car when the water in the bucket freezes by the time you carry it out to the car

 

This is perhaps a good example of how ineffective/damaging silicone products can be. I no longer use (the typical brand) for this reason. There are other products, such as 303, which although they cost significantly more, offer better and more logical protection. There is lengthy material on their w/site which discusses the properties of silicone based products, and how they can actually harm/encourage staining of surfaces, and offer no protection from UV as they state that they do. I think the suggestion here made that this is silicone sprayed on hot tires is accurate-- (members on this site, once again, offer useful info!). When I drive by the local car wash, absolutely NO way am I gonna trust my car to guys using dirty rags to wipe down the cars afterward. I live in Fairfield, CT, last winter we ran below 10 degrees for weeks at a time. The moment it hit 34, I would wash - no matter how stupid it looked, I was out there with a watering can and my bucket; (treking in and out to refill can be a lot of exercise... ). I've gotten over my hesitation to look foolish long ago.

 

We can go months without going over 32F,touch-less lazer wash,or coin wand-wash is only way to wash the car.At the wand-wash I use my mitt to clean the car.Hot air blower to dry.

 

And I had never once thought of the East coast here as balmy, (but at least it thaws once in a while... ) ...this is about as bad as I can take! Obsessed with keeping the MINI clean, but on more than one occasion, when the water froze on the car (kind of leaving a strange, web like appearance!) before I could wipe it down, you just know that you're just gonna have to hold off for a while... !

 

It's all true! At least, that's certainly how I "bonded" with my gal!

Couldn't resist.

Cheers,
Matthew Z.

 

They're both much more tolerable after a good scrubdown.

 

Maybe your position with the car wash should simply be...

the wheels (rims) are ONLY (less than) 1 month old... and they are the only place you've had your car washed at. It had to happen there. Tell them what wheel people said. Then nicely let them know - that you are going to take them to small claims court - if you don't get them to agree to fix it.

Your BEST defense is that they are ONLY (less than) 1 month old. Bring your receipt and threaten to sue them for the orginal cost of the rims! The talk of small claims court WILL get the owner to act.

And if they don't take care of it... then TAKE THEM TO COURT!

The People's Court!

Good luck.

P.S. - In Small Claims bring a sworn statement from the wheel people, your orginal receipt, an estimate to get them re-finished... and YOU WILL WIN THE CASE!

 

Bummer, what I would do is go back to the carwash take pics of your wheels then run it through the wash and check for any changes (as in more stains). If happened there it should happen again if they haven't changed the chemicals that go in the wash. Best of luck.

 

Why give them ANY chance of getting out of it. Going back through the wash is a waste of time.

Go back, speak to the owner, small claims court.

Be nice, BUT firm... you'll get it resolved.

Best of luck.

 

Your right, they may have already changed the chemicals. Good heads up minimonkey .

 

Thanks for the tips.

I will try to talk to the owner tomorrow. today they were closed because of rain. hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow or I'll have to wait till monday.
I have inquired about refinishing the wheel and
1st place said it will end up costing more than the replacement wheel.
2nd place said they won't be able to clear coat it after it being polished as it will end up with small holes if any dust gets under it.
The rims are bought 1 months ago, but it was arrived and mounted just 2weeks ago and this was the first time it was cleaned. I'll try to ask for a replacement..

 

A wheel that new should be able to be washed the first time with most anything,and not look like that.I blame the wheels.