cleaning Fuchs wheels

[llangston1]

Does anyone know of a magic cleaner that will remove 23 years or brake dust and road grime from the backside of my Fuchs wheels. I doubt these have ever been cleaned before. I have tried purple cleaner, brake cleaner, 3M adhesive remover, diesel and carb cleaner with little effect. They are still a nasty gray/black. I am not even sure what the backsides should look like when properly cleaned. Does anyone have a good picture of the backside of a well cleaned Fuchs wheel?

[PabloX]

Pressure washer?

[Red Clubbie]

Have you tried Iron X?

Cheers,

Geoff.

[porschenut]

This is what a brand new Fuchs wheel looks like from the factory. The back side is painted black also:



I've used a lot of different wheel cleaners and there are only 2 that I can recommend to handle that job:

1. Meguiars Wheel Brightener - this is acidic and can damage the aluminum wheels if you keep it on too long. Use with caution but this stuff is the strongest wheel cleaner you can buy according to all my research and experience.

2. Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner - this is safe for all types of wheels but is astoundingly good. 2nd best wheel cleaner out there.

Honestly, I doubt that either of my suggestions will get those wheels perfectly clean, and from the looks of them, they're missing a lot of paint. My recommendation would be to bead blast them and repaint them with Wurth satin black spray paint. Or, take them to a refinisher and have them professionally restored.

[WPOZZZ]

Wet sand with 300 grit.

[Caferacer]

I just used some Meguiars All Wheel cleaner yesterday and left it on the recommended 15 seconds and still had some of the "silver" come off at the outer rim. Not the end of the world since they will need refinishing anyway but use caution as porschenut suggests. Just my two cents.

[Garnetredcoupe]

We used Oil Flo on the the back side of our 928 wheels to remove 10 years of brake dust. It worked really well and did not damage the surface of the wheel.

Oil-Flo

[dtxscott]

In addition to your favorite cleaner, I usually use 0000 grain steel wool to help. It will remove a little loose paint, but will get the grime off.

['78 SC]

P21S Wheel Cleaner removed decades of build up from these 33 year old wheels:




Pricy, but worthwhile for a major cleaning. I haven't tried the gel, but it sounds like a good solution to caked on crud that requires a good soak. Pelican Parts.com - P21S Wheel Cleaners

Fuchs are easily damaged by abrasives or alkali cleaners, especially if you let them soak too long.

[Por_sha911]

P21S Gel is great. Specially formulated to remove brake dust (worthless on oil/grease). I use it on white wheels. PH balanced so it won't destroy the paint or anodizing on your wheel. Spray it on a dry wheel, let sit for a minute, gently brush it-no need to scrub and then rinse.
I use an old plastic shower puff that I stole from my wife:

[Canada Kev]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

I use an old plastic shower puff that I stole from my wife:

Uh huh, from your wife...

[suprxman]

I just used Eagle 1 safe for Aluminum cleaner and a soft brush. 2 applications and they were spotless. Cleaned them for new tire install. Before cleaning they looked like they had never been cleaned before. I bought another bottle.

[MMiller]

I cleaned mine up with Simple Green.....I was surprised how well it did.

[PabloX]

Originally Posted by Panerai

I cleaned mine up with Simple Green.....I was surprised how well it did.

One thing with Simple Green is that it corrodes aluminum. My understanding is it has to be on the aluminum for a long time for that to happen, and the Fuchs are anodized, but I'd wash with dish soap afterwards.

[MMiller]

Originally Posted by PabloX

One thing with Simple Green is that it corrodes aluminum. My understanding is it has to be on the aluminum for a long time for that to happen, and the Fuchs are anodized, but I'd wash with dish soap afterwards.

Was not aware of that.....It was not on there long and was well rinsed afterwards but still nice to know.

Simple Green and Aluminum Frequently Asked Questions

And are no longer are anodized.

[PabloX]

Originally Posted by Panerai

Was not aware of that.....It was not on there long and was well rinsed afterwards but still nice to know.

Simple Green and Aluminum Frequently Asked Questions

And are no longer are anodized.

That wheel looks very nice.

I cycle a fair bit and I've used Simple Green on my bikes, which have lots of aluminum on them, and I've never had a problem. As you say though, it's good to be aware of it.

If the item has a lot of cracks/crevices, those are the places to be concerned with. Rinse well and/or consider a final wash with dish soap and I'm sure you'll be fine. On the off chance a wheel gets corroded from Simple Green, it'll be a long, long time before it's anything more than a cosmetic concern.