I am religious about washing the cars, but this February in Chicago was HORRIBLE and I was barely able to spray the car off 2 times throughout. As a result, I have discovered some major problems upon doing a full on cleaning today. One, my wheels are horribly stained, especially in the front. I am planning on ordering some Hawk HPS pads, but that won't help remove the mess I have now. I scrubbed them good using my wheel brush and simple green, but its not helping much...any ideas? Two, the dreaded egg mark left by punks weeks after purchase two years ago has started to rust from the center out. I am guessing I need to have this addressed professionally, but I am open to suggestions.

TJM

 

I'd try Castrol degreaser. Might even try sodium hydroxide. Get the former at an auto parts store and the latter at a good hardware store.

 

on the wheels, sounds like polishing them would be faster to clean at
that stage.... prima wheel sheild

 

wow. rust? 12 year warranty? remember that? talk to them first about it. You need to cut that area out in some manner. Jeez. Yeah wheels are best done by polishing first. I wonder if you can show photos. embarrassing and depressing as it is. Someone like octaneguy could tell you what you need to do.

 

On the same topic...

Cleaned my MINI for the first time since mid-October. Lots of grime came off, so its shiney once more

On the downside, my JCW side grill badges are showing corrosion They have some "sparks" in the finish. Worst of all, these being for the Cooper, I don't think I can get them replaced.

 

I've gotten some nasty-sticky stains off my wheels with WD40 and a cotton rag. That stuff breaks up almost anything. Bug and tar remover should work well, too.

Zip

 

WD-40 should be the ticket, but try some clay as well.

 

Simple Green and elbow grease did this.





Mark

 

And I thought I was the only one that chalked my tires for idenification


Last time I changed my brakes, my right rear brake ground all the way to the metal of the pad. So I have metal dust that seems baked into the wheel lip. WD-40 didn't work. Any other ideas?

 

Okay, maybe I'm missing something, but why wouldn't you try actual wheel cleaner? I've been using Eagle One A-Z wheel cleaner for years. Guru Reports rated it #1 for both cleaning wheels and cleaning tires. Very convenient.

I don't use it all the time. Just when the wheels are really bad, like after 5 months of winter. But I washed them 3-4 times with soap/water during the period.

Heather from DT says that it will work great as long as I rinse the wheels off real good.

 

I have prima wheel shield, and was planning on putting it on, but now this. Does wheel shield clean too? It was my understanding this was solely a protectant product.

I picked up some eagle 1 this morning...we shall see. As usual, thanks for the responses, more are welcome!

TJM

 

Polishing wheels to fix a stain only applies if you have polished rims. If they are painted or clearcoated then a wheel clean would be just the ticket, unless its a multipiece wheel, then car wash soap is all you can do.

Have you tried claying the stain? It might take 50 or 100 passes to see if if can help--that is a lot of times only tiny almost imperceptible amounts get removed leading you to believe it's not working--when it really is, just very slowly.

As for the egg shells, you better get this looked at ASAP. You can only fix egg shell damage with paint, and if it's rusting, you'll have another layer of difficulty ahead of you. Get it fixed.

Richard

 

I just used some Simple Green spray on wheel cleaner that I found on a shelf in my garage. Sprayed it on, left it there until it evapped, sprayed it on again, then scrubbed a bit with my plastic-lowers-only wash mitt. Did a pretty nice, if not perfect, job.

Zip

 

Thanks Richard. I am calling Ask MINI first thing tomorrow morning about the rust spot, and probably the dealer after that.

You know, it amazes me the crap brake pads that manufactuers put on their cars...you would think they could do some low dust ceramic jobs as stock and save their customers the headache!

TJM

 

I agree with OctaneGuy; polishing your painted rims will polish the paint right off. I've had great luck with clay, also with Griot's Wheel Cleaner, and Simple Green (with plenty of elbow grease) as well. From one fellow northerner to another, Lotsa luck!

 

Prima Wheel Shield is a protectant synthetic wax AND it has paint cleansers in it.

The paint cleansers in Wheel Shield may or may not do the trick, as you may need something more powerful. A clay step with some elbow-grease (read: clay for several minutes per spot) and/or a dedicated paint cleanser may do it. It's hard to say as you can tell from all the replies to your original post! Brake dust and the related grime buildup on wheels can really vary in its actual content, heat exposure, etc. and thus vary what will work or not. Trial and error is it!

Also, know that some of what you see can be etching/pitting, which looks alot like residual spotting from brake dust itself. These would have to be polished out (a full polishing out would remove your clearcoat or paint but then they can be left as polished/unpainted or re-cleared by a pro wheel guy).

Please do be careful with acid or alkaline wheel cleaners as they can etch in the same way your brake dust can (acids to a greater degree). Simple Green is alkaline and will etch some wheels if not used with care. However, if used with care then it can be effective due to its harshness. Just be careful.

I would also go to MINI and see what the warranty can do for you too. You have alot going on there and they may be able to cover something (which might end up fixing the combined issues).

-Heather

 

HM! that is interesting. I will have to buy some wd-40 for this. Would be a lot more enjoyable than 100 passes of claybar..... ack. I might have to do the claybar thing all the same but it seems like Wd40 has a lot of uses. I bet it removes carnauba from the car though.

How many people use DP's wheel wax on here and how long does it last you? there is really no way to tell on a wheel if theres wax left as it is such an abused, contaminated and harsh environment to notice water sheeting/beading.

 

Well, used some Eagle 1 and upped my simple green consentration and the wheels came clean. I promptly followed it with Prima Wheel Shield and they look pretty good. Also got an estimate today at Patrick's body shop. $360 to redo the entire hatch because of the tiny rust spot. I'd like to find the kid that threw the egg...

TJM

 

yeah, that's not bad of a price. Does he give it any warranty or something?

 

I do not think they are going to cover this under warranty. But everyone I talk to seems to have a different opinion on who would make the determination, so I am kind of at a loss and will just end up paying for it on my own.

 

What's your Comprehensive deductible ? Might be worth a try to turn in a claim to your insurance company.

Of course, the problem lies in your ability to prove it was the act of vandalism that caused the damage. If the body shop has the expertise, and is willing, to advise the insurance company this damage was created by the long-term effects of the egg, then you're in good shape.

 

From first hand experience; This is why you take pictures ASAP, call the police and file a police report as vandalism for insurance purposes.

 

^ Very good recommendation.

 

WD40 is amazing, in general. I don't even buy it in spray cans anymore. I buy it in gallon pour cans and put it into a Zep plastic spray bottle.

Zip

 

Ok, picked the car up at lunch today. Repaint looks pretty good, although I told them not to wash it, and despite it being pretty dirty inside and out, I am sure I will not regret it as I know how dealers/outfits wash cars...
Anyway, I would also not be surprised if it needed a good polishing, so my question: How long until I can safely wax/polish this new surface? My guy at the shop said 60 days, but didn't they already run something across it when it was done? 60 days seems excessive to me. I was hoping to get it all tip top within the next couple weeks as the whole car could use a once over this spring.

And yes Ken, I do have Hydro and am too very impressed!

TJM