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Ray 911s's Avatar
 
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Cleaning 3 Piece Wheels?

How to? The areas between the fasteners, and the fasteners themselves, are very tough to get to. Any chemical or tool hints?




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Old 06-01-2011, 05:43 PM
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Get one of those polishing balls......or a Q tip and alcohol.....
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Old 06-01-2011, 05:52 PM
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So far I have tried metal polish, chrome polish, wadding, various cleaning waxes - even carb cleaner. Unless some leverage can be brought to bear, or someone invents a small enough foam wheel ball or cone (nothing I've seen yet is small enough to get between the wheel rim and fasteners), I may have to disassemble the wheels. That seems like a ridiculously costly way to go.
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Old 06-01-2011, 06:03 PM
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This may sound stupid but i use a firm toothbrush to clean the brake dust around the fasteners on my wheels ...

Cheers!
Phil
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Old 06-01-2011, 06:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Bob View Post
Get one of those polishing balls......or a Q tip and alcohol.....
This ^^^^

Get a Mothers Power Ball, the foam is soft enough where it will reach those areas, I'd also suggest using masking tape to protect the painted centers from the polish removing the paint. You can use enough pressure on the drill and power ball to clean then polish around even the smallest bolts. This works well, I've done it many times on these types of wheels...

Whatever you do don't use carb cleaner, again
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Old 06-01-2011, 06:35 PM
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the bolting won't respond to the balls. i use a large bristle overgrown tooth brush. first polish, wash & dry, then wax. you have to stay on top of the dirt/oxidation. i think the torque setting for the bolting is 17 ft lbs. get spare nut/bolts before you need them. neglecting the torque checking can have consequences. i have kinesis.
Old 06-01-2011, 06:49 PM
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I use the Mothers Polishing Cone. Works great!

GL!
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Old 06-01-2011, 07:19 PM
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Long time no see Ray!

Just have to be careful around the bolts with the polishing ball because the edges of the 12 pt. head can catch the ball and tear it up. Agreed the cone is the way to go in order to get the smaller tip in between the bolts.
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Old 06-02-2011, 01:27 PM
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I got 1/2" or 3/8" od pvc and cut it to a 6" length. Insert a wad of NevrDull on one end and twist. It cleans the area, but you are left with shiny circles around the fasteners. lol
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Old 06-02-2011, 06:48 PM
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I use a dremel tool with an assortment of small polishing bits. Works well for the exposed bolts on my 3 piece wheels.
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Old 06-02-2011, 07:24 PM
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Take it apart, sand it with 600 grit, then go up to 1000 grit and polish it with your powerball and mothers billet polish.

It will be much easier to keep clean once you have a fresh start.
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Old 06-03-2011, 03:34 AM
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Quote:
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Take it apart, sand it with 600 grit, then go up to 1000 grit and polish it with your powerball and mothers billet polish.

It will be much easier to keep clean once you have a fresh start.
Agreed... Take them apart. Sand with 600, then 1000, finish with 1500 then 2000 grit. Use aluminum polish ( Jeweler's rouge) and buff to a perfect finish. Once the wheel is back together, take care of them.

To me, all other ways are band aids. In order to fix the problem, you must not take short cuts.....
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Old 06-03-2011, 08:07 AM
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You don't have to fully disassemble the wheels. Simply remove wheel. Deflated the tire. Remove several fasteners at a time a polish the local area around the removed fasteners. I agree that the correct method is full disassembly and polish but it's a time consuming project. I had 40 hours in polishing on mine.
Old 06-03-2011, 08:52 AM
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I have a better suggestion - go to Uhaul and buy two of their 18 x 18 x 24 boxes.

Pad the sides of the boxes with cardboard.

Ship the wheels to Al and Diane Reed.

Go have a cocktail and search Pelican for the upgrade to your car that you didn't even know you wanted to do yet.

Get wheels back from Al and Diane - get tires mounted - sit back and have another cocktail and admire their work.
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Old 06-03-2011, 09:13 AM
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Those wheels still appear to be clearcoated, so you have to clean the paint on both the centers and the lips. I've had BBS look like that and gotten them to look much better.

Once you clean, clean, clean with soap, then move on to polish or rubbing compound with lots of clean rags. That will remove the brake dust. Then you can do sealer/glaze, then a coat of wax. It's hours and hours of finger busting work.

The fasteners will still have the rust and corrosion on them though.

No offense, but based on the brake dust on the centers you haven't really cleaned these wheels yet. You have to touch every little part to get anywhere, no chemical will do it for you. The good news is once it's done they are easier to maintain.

And if cleaning isn't your thing, get rid of them...fuchs are much easier to keep clean.
Old 06-03-2011, 09:21 AM
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Al and Diane did these:


More choices in finish:


Bling bling baby!


Or send to memoryfab.com and have them turned into a nice set of 17" wheels

http://www.memoryfab.com/wheels/used/20100708180114
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Last edited by JeremyD; 06-03-2011 at 09:36 AM.. Reason: put in a link
Old 06-03-2011, 09:33 AM
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I had Memory Fab do my wheels, Awsome job!!! Built new lips to my requested spec and does it properly.
K

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Old 06-03-2011, 09:49 AM
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