# Horrible reaction has ruined my Polished Work wheels - help please!



## L16 JAY (Jul 28, 2011)

Hey guys,

I've got a brand new set of Work Wheels which have polished lips. I've literally only washed them 3 times since having them but at Japday yesterday, I had a horrible reaction. I used my handheld Venus bottle and sprayed them up and left for around 10 mins when I noticed a reaction. I quickly dried them and then spent the next 2 hours frantically trying to polish them, but nothing worked. They're sealed with CG Jet Seal which works really well and I've only ever used Auto Smart Ultra Mousse and Megs Ultimate Wash to clean them.

I've attached some photos below but the entire front wheels are terrible. I'm completely out of my depth here. I've got no idea what's happened and any advice would be welcomed 




























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## Tim662 (Aug 19, 2014)

What was in the spray bottle?


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## m4rkymark (Aug 17, 2014)

if the rims are polished aluminium then you can fix it, if they are chromed it may not be so easy.

if they are polished alumiumium I would just polish with a good metal polish like mother mag and aluminium - don't use autosol because its quite a rough polish - although autosol will polish them it will also leave them scratched and the shine will be dull. if mothers doesn't take it out you can use a fine wet and dry then repolish using mothers.

if your washing them again soap and water is all polished alumium needs, don't use chemicals on it.


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## REVERSiN (Sep 28, 2015)

Wheel brighter ? 
Seems something ate the clear or its a miniral caused spot.

Either way it a polishing job, get a ball or cone to polish it.

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## L16 JAY (Jul 28, 2011)

Thanks guys. The only things I've used on them is Auto Smart Ultra Mousse, Megs Hyper Wash and pat dry. I've tried mothers by hand and it simply won't budge. Do we recommend a machine polish? They're polished aluminium by the way


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## Jam* (Apr 24, 2016)

Its could be oxidation, Is it white powder-ish gunk ?


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

Were you aware that ultramousse is caustic? What dilution did you apply it?


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## L16 JAY (Jul 28, 2011)

fatdazza said:


> Were you aware that ultramousse is caustic? What dilution did you apply it?


I think the dilution is parts of the problems yes. I always use it in my snow foam lance with no problems but it was the first time using it in the pump sprayer and I think I've added too much detergent. Also, I think o may have left it to dry a little too much. What could I use to strip the Jet Seal and all products so I can start again?


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

I'd blame auto mousse 

As with a lot of auto smart stuff, it's cheap but effective because it's harsh cleaners


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## L16 JAY (Jul 28, 2011)

Kimo said:


> I'd blame auto mousse
> 
> As with a lot of auto smart stuff, it's cheap but effective because it's harsh cleaners


OK but does anyone actually know what's happened? I'm unaware if my Work Wheels have a "top coat" or what? It appears to be slightly shinier where the product has reacted. Do you think it's the sealant thats stripped?


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## m4rkymark (Aug 17, 2014)

the only people who will be able to tell you if it has some kind of top coat will be the people who make them.


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## euge07 (Jan 15, 2011)

off topic but judging from your username I think I remember it from the MLR Forum?

did you have/had a stunning grey evo 8?


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## tattoo2323 (May 6, 2016)

I had a similar problem a few years back with a set of custom aluminium wheels from the USA, the marks left were hard as nails and had a mineral type composition, I tried every product I could think of or get my hands on , cutting compounds, polishes, autosol etc and one product sorted it - cheap and cheerful meguiars metal polish from halfords, took it off perfectly and a couple of coats of wax and they were back to new again...

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## L16 JAY (Jul 28, 2011)

euge07 said:


> off topic but judging from your username I think I remember it from the MLR Forum?
> 
> did you have/had a stunning grey evo 8?


This one?

Untitled

Sold that a few years back and built this S14a over the last 2 years 

Photo 24-04-2016, 08 35 47

Photo 24-04-2016, 08 36 15


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## L16 JAY (Jul 28, 2011)

tattoo2323 said:


> I had a similar problem a few years back with a set of custom aluminium wheels from the USA, the marks left were hard as nails and had a mineral type composition, I tried every product I could think of or get my hands on , cutting compounds, polishes, autosol etc and one product sorted it - cheap and cheerful meguiars metal polish from halfords, took it off perfectly and a couple of coats of wax and they were back to new again...
> 
> Sent from my GT-P5210 using Tapatalk


That's great thanks man, I'll try that for the sake of £7


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## steelghost (Aug 20, 2015)

You've got polished aluminium wheels, possibly with a very light layer of lacquer on them. You've then applied a caustic cleaner which appears to have burnt through the lacquer and corroded the aluminium underneath. 

Fortunately the damage looks to be superficial so should be possible to polish out. The only problem is I don't know how you'd polish the bits around where the bolts heads are, maybe you could use a dremel and assorted polishing attachments to work around it - although then you risk serious damage if you slip up.
I also don't know if you could polish it out that way and get an "even" finish - I suspect to get them looking "as new" you'd need to dismantle the wheels, polish the lot and put them back together. Happy to be proven wrong on this latter point, and a mild metal polish like the one suggested above is certainly worth a go before you start taking things to bits.


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