How to Remove "Water Stains" from Fuchs Wheels?

[wrxnofx]

I posted this in the Cleaning, Detailing, and Polishing forum, but no one ever seems to visit that one.

Anyway, I am finally at the point of being able to think about detailing aspects of my '87 Coupe that I picked up last summer. Here is a pic of one of my wheels:


I cannot get this "staining" off the silver part of the wheel. I've tried rubbing compound, metal polish, scotch brite pads, and none of it touches it.

Is the anodizing etched? Is it ruined, or does someone have a suggestion of how to get these spots off?

[GH85Carrera]

That really looks like damage from a wheel cleaner with the wrong PH. It really looks like your anodizing may be damaged. Take a wheel off and look at it with a magnifying glass. See if the surface has a different texture to the finish.

[javadog]

You'll have to refinish the wheels to fix that. You might try rubbing in a little Vaseline to make them look better in the meantime.

JR

[Trackrash]

Originally Posted by javadog

You'll have to refinish the wheels to fix that. You might try rubbing in a little Vaseline to make them look better in the meantime.

JR

+1

I have had some luck with liquid car wax. NOT polish.

[aoncurly]

Did you use a degreaser, like Simple Green? Some degreasers will cause staining. It looks like some was sprayed on and sat for awhile and stained the anodizing.

Won't come out unless you refinish.

[wrxnofx]

Thanks for quick responses, everyone. You confirmed what I was fearing.

I'll try some liquid wax and see if that makes it look a little more tolerable.

Originally Posted by aoncurly

Did you use a degreaser, like Simple Green? Some degreasers will cause staining.

Previous owner, unfortunately.

[Cooper911SC]

I agree 100% with javadog.

Really unfortunate to see that. Always a bummer to have to tell clients "sorry I can't do much"

The Vaseline is no joke either. The petroleum jelly will will soak in to the anodize and cause it to become slightly less opaque looking.

You can also wax the wheels with a synthetic like Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax. You will have to apply often. Similar effect as Vaseline but less messy.

Cooper

[herr_oberst]

Vaseline, for sure, is where to start.

[Jonny042]

I would not give up on those wheels and send them to be refinished quite yet.....The finest (white?) 3M scotchbrite pad, used wet, is worth a try. The abrasives in the pad are basically the same or equal hardness to the anodizing and will have some effect. The eventual finish might not be quite a glossy as the original, but even a coat of glaze will help that.

Would be interested to know the result. FYI I tried this using a grey 3M pad on a wheel in worse shape than yours and was pleased with the results but had already stripped the anodizing off the other three wheels so didn't pursue it.

I think it's worth a try, at least. If you like I can try it on a spare wheel and post the results later.

[Rich Gas]

+123 Really, try the Vaseline as mentioned above first...cheap and works...

[Fabspeed Motorsport]

ive seen people us WD-40 on those

[steve84]

What brand of rubbing compound / metal Polish did you try? My Fuchs wheels looked just like yours. A few months ago, I tried Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish and Wenol (blue tube). I started with the Mother's and went through several applications and removal, and finished with the Wenol. I was stunned by the transformation. Well worth the effort.

[hbkramer]

I dismount and mount my own tires. Leaving the tire lube on the wheels can cause the same effect to the anodizing ;(

[wrxnofx]

Originally Posted by steve84

What brand of rubbing compound / metal Polish did you try? My Fuchs wheels looked just like yours. A few months ago, I tried Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish and Wenol (blue tube). I started with the Mother's and went through several applications and removal, and finished with the Wenol. I was stunned by the transformation. Well worth the effort.

Well, I gave the Mother's polish a shot. I have to say, it seems to have helped. I don't know if it's temporary or not, however. The one wheel is pretty bad, worse than the other 3, so I might try the scotch brite pad on it.

Anyway, here is the result on one of the wheels. At minimum, it does look way better than it did in the past.

[Jerome74911S]

If that's the same wheel as the one pictured in the first post, it's a remarkable improvement. I'm gonna try it.

[wrxnofx]

Originally Posted by Jerome74911S

If that's the same wheel as the one pictured in the first post, it's a remarkable improvement. I'm gonna try it.

That's a different wheel. Here is a pic of the same wheel as in the first pic. By chance (I've driven the car numerous times since), the wheel is in approximately the same orientation.

You can clearly see the "staining" is still there, but it's a lot more subtle, and in certain light (outdoors, for example), you can't really see it. Not sure what the metal polish is doing, as it's not technically polishing anything (the rag doesn't turn black so there is no chemical reaction going on with any metal, which makes sense since this is anodizing).

[Jerome74911S]

Thanks. Still an improvement.

[wrxnofx]

Originally Posted by Jerome74911S

Thanks. Still an improvement.

No worries. I just didn't want to get your hopes up too much, that's all.