Best cleaner for white wheels?

[SHOVNST]

Although the wheels I’m looking to clean aren’t the old white SHO slicers, these made me think of them. These are some rad and gnarly wheels off a mid-80s Honda Prelude. I had a white ‘92 SHO with white wheels but never let them get dirty enough to need a cleaner stronger than car wash soap. Long story short... I’m looking for suggestions regarding a good/strong wheel cleaner. Something that will clean discoloring inside the corners withOUT damaging the white paint. I’m trying to restore these bad boys as best as possible.

Any help with this is much appreciated!




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[Jbeck]

Try Mean Green by rustoleum.....it is a very powerful cleaner that will sometimes remove pigment from colored paints...white has no pigment, and I used it on my white Team Dynamics on my white 90 SHO...worked with almost no effort at all.

https://www.rustoleum.com/pages/mean-green/heritage/

 

[Irish Pride]

Tub-O-Towels. Those things clean off a lot of stuff. Safe for your hands, should be safe for paint.

 

[Jbeck]

Tub-O-Towels. Those things clean off a lot of stuff. Safe for your hands, should be safe for paint.

gotta watch out for the scrubbies though, they have abrasive bits on them

 

[SHOVNST]

gotta watch out for the scrubbies though, they have abrasive bits on them

Yes, I definitely don’t want to scratch the surfaces. The white paint or clearcoat. I already spent a decent amount of time scrubbing these by hand with a medium strength bristle brush. However I only used soap or diluted simple green degreaser.


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[Jbeck]

Yes, I definitely don’t want to scratch the surfaces. The white paint or clearcoat. I already spent a decent amount of time scrubbing these by hand with a medium strength bristle brush. However I only used soap or diluted simple green degreaser.


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to start if you go the mean green route, i would probably mix it 50/50 with water because the paint on wheels is not known. try one spot and wait...if painted area feels sticky then dont use it because it is softening the finish...my TDs were powder coated white so I know that mean green is fine on powder coated finishes but it should be ok...it works really well.

Irish suggested the Tub-O-Towels route...you can get a couple of them and squeeze the liquid onto a soft towel and use it that way also...that tub o towel solution is no joke either, that stuff will clean anything

 

[rubydist]

In my experience, if simple green and a bunch of elbow grease won't take it off, the paint itself is discolored and/or corroded and it won't come off unless you take the paint off. From the way the photo looks to me, you are not going to get those dark spots off without repainting.

 

[Tomuza64]

White paint... Bleach white tire cleaner on a rag and/or a toothbrush.

 

[SHOMON]

Paint Thinner on a rag very gently. Try to make sure the rag is white. Other dyed ones might run and require more cleaning.

 

[NoSlo]

The wheels are probably long since cleaned, but...

The trick here is to treat paint like paint. Don't use wheel chemicals.

Consider the contaminant - metallic carbon brake dust, road tar, oils.

1. Solvent that will destroy tarballs and grease but not bother paint: diesel fuel. If you want to pay more per gallon, you can get naptha, other petroleum solvents. Try not to wipe grit, scratching paint, instead soak, dab, and pressure wash before it evaporates.

2. Iron dust: Meguiar's iron-removing spray clay. This is an acid that targets embedded iron particles ("rail dust"), it turns purple when it's dissolving rust particles deep in the paint. Dab it on sealed painted surfaces; avoid getting it on aluminum where it can also etch.

3. More embedded dirt: clay bar

4. Then finish like paint. Rotary buffing + stages of compound from medium cut to swirl remover. Since you can't use a 7" disc in the wheels, instead little buffing wheels in a high-speed drill or dremel.

There's still some crusty crud that hides on the back side of slicers after years that takes a bronze wire wheel to cut through...