# Alloys not been cleaned in years HELP



## fraz101 (Feb 28, 2012)

Just bought myself a Citroen C3

The wheels are in an awful mess.

It was an old lady who had it for the last 8 years and hasn't seen a wheel brush in it's life i think

What is the best product to shift baked on brake dust?

Autosmart Smartwheels?

*UPDATE*

I spent 2 hours the other night cleaning them with this stuff

http://carproductstested.com/exterior-product-reviews/carplan-wonder-wheels-u/

I gotta say it's absolutely useless stuff and didn't shift much if anything at all off them.

The wheels on the car are an absolute pain in the ass to clean too.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/owners-reviews/citroen/c3/hatchback-2002/review/5226/

Thats the colour of the car and the wheels. As you can see a real pain in the ass


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## mechrepairs (Aug 11, 2008)

May sound back but brick acid if they are real bad, spray on leave it 30 seconds and wash off, amazing stuff but I wouldn't use it too often.

Carl


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## CaptainKirk95 (Jun 27, 2013)

I rate this stuff and its worth considering

http://www.powermaxed.com/clean-your-car/alloy-wheel-cleaner-stain-remover


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Wonder Wheels Super Alloy Wheel Cleaner; You might not want to use it on decent new wheels, but it is great at cleaning up old wheels with really baked on crud.

Make sure to get the one in the silver bottle, NOT the purple "Hot Wheels" as that is not as strong. Shop around too, you often find it cheaper in supermarkets like Wilkos.

http://www.halfords.com/motoring-tr...wonder-wheels-super-alloy-wheel-cleaner-500ml


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## OvEr_KiLL (Mar 2, 2015)

bilt hamber autowheel, enough said 
spray it on, leave it 5 mins while it changes purple then wash off


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## Kimo (Jun 7, 2013)

mechrepairs said:


> May sound back but brick acid if they are real bad, spray on leave it 30 seconds and wash off, amazing stuff but I wouldn't use it too often.
> 
> Carl


It's only what the hand car washes use daily :lol:


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## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

All depends how bad they are, I posted a thread not that long ago with what I found quite useful for me.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=359552&highlight=Coma

Hope it helps


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## SamUK (Aug 30, 2010)

Sonax wheel cleaner with iron x...works great..


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Personally i would use what you have (if you already have smart wheels). Then assess how they come up.

Would certainly be worth going over with Tardis and Fallout remover afterwards. if that doesnt get them to a suitable position, then try something stronger like wonder wheels.


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## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

^^ These wise words. :thumb:


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## Foxhound (May 5, 2011)

Dodo Juice Melow Yelow or Supernatural are my choice!!


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## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

Smart wheels is pretty strong if you use it neat, itll strip anything off if used neat.


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

Foxhound said:


> Dodo Juice Melow Yelow or Supernatural are my choice!!


Nice wheel cleaners to use but not really any good for really bad stubborn brake dust. 
Gonz.


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## Yellow Dave (Apr 5, 2011)

To start with use what ever general wheel cleaner, all purpose cleaner (APC) you have to get rid of the worst of the grime and dirt. This way what ever you use next is directed straight at the baked on grime and brake dust and not softer loose debris

Then try following up with a iron and fallout remover. But being realistic if they're that bad there isn't much option but for a one off attack with an acid based cleaner. Wonder wheels in the silver bottle with brush from halfords is as good as many industrial or bulk product I've tried. It's also better than the wheel cleaner used by the metropolitan traffic police


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## bilt-hamber kid (Dec 4, 2007)

Best Alloy Wheel Cleaner for the last 3 years running!

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/63754/best-alloy-wheel-cleaner

auto-wheel will not disappoint!


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## Shug (Jul 13, 2007)

I used megs wheel brightener on 14 year old alloys that hadn't been cleaned properly for god knows how long (many years)
When I ran out after 2 wheels, I switched to bilt hamber auto wheel. Came up just as well.


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## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

Korrosol or Autowheel, either will leave them spotless. A second blast should take everything off but kerb marks  fantastic stuff and recently used the Korrosol on my dads barbecue, took all the rust/ingrained dirt off a face of it, he doesn't bother with all the car cleaning stuff but was impressed with how it cleaned up his barby


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## Carshine (Nov 11, 2009)

Autowheel (Since Autowheel already has Surfex+Korrosol in it) and a brush and claybar.

I have also found that on real stubborn baked on wheeldust, Meguiars Wheel Brightener does a steady job.


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## kabs (Apr 14, 2014)

fraz101 said:


> Just bought myself a Citroen C3
> 
> The wheels are in an awful mess.
> 
> ...


You tried any of the recommended products and did they work. If not, probably time to use unconventional products like oven cleaner or baking soda which is cheap.

A stiff brush to make a break in the surface layer will help, once done I think you will make steady progress with most products. A steamer can help also.


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## fraz101 (Feb 28, 2012)

Just to update 

I managed to get them clean by using Autoglym Clean Wheels and some elbow grease!


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## MainerZ (May 21, 2015)

Good stuff, I generally find that most the crap they sell at Halfords is just that, Simoniz, Carplan, other questionable random brands etc. Just cheap and cheerful stuff. I do find that the Autoglym stuff works pretty well. 

I do have a set of BMW E36 Bottlecaps that have never EVER been cleaned properly, so I'm looking into some sort of acid for that extreme case. And though it does come off, it is a lot of effort and the cleaner does barely anything to help, even as a lubricant to scrape with the wheel brush or scouring pad.


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