Schoolboy error. Cleaning BBS wheels. Advice?

[Danith]

Sheer laziness and idiocy I took my 328 sport down to a hand car wash and it seems they've used an acidic wheel cleaner on the wheels and my once shiny rims now look fish scaly like this.

Are these wrecked now? Or can they be polished out? I have 2 spare ones so I need to know whether i should cancel the ebay auction on them that ends tonight!

Ta

DSC_0305 by foodbeast04, on Flickr

 

[Danith]

Anyone? Where's all the detailing peeps?!

 

[Joe#]

I'd buy some metal polish and give that a try first. Is the surface rough?

 

[Yellow Dave]

No idea never used anything as aggressive as they use. My friend used them regularly and they tarnished the wheels on his Seat Leon .

Have you got any mild polishing compounds to try and see it it's just residue on the surface?

 

[Scrooge]

Can't see properly but I reckon that's fucked the the lacquer. It's probably lifted it from the metal.

 

[Danith]

I immediately got some liquid metal polish (brasso type stuff) and gave them a couple of goes by hand. That's the pic AFTER doing that tho!

I've cancelled the listing for my spares now so I'm just gonna have to get them on and get a polishing head for my drill and try that.

Just google searched and it seems they can be recovered but will take some elbow grease!

I'm not a car detailer so I've got nothing with me except my brasso and Autoglym wheel sealant which is not much use now. Bummer. You live and learn.

 

[Danith]

I'd buy some metal polish and give that a try first. Is the surface rough?

where the affected areas are it does feel rougher yeah.

 

[Danith]

Just remembered I bought a dremel style multitool for something ages ago. It's got a load of polishing stones and stuff.

But anyone who could provide me with some links or pointers as to what products to use to machine polish the rims, I'd be super grateful

ta

 

[Yellow Dave]

What is the finish on the wheels. Is it bare metal or are they clear coated / lacquered over the top?

 

[Danith]

Looks like bare metal on the rim and painted/lacquered spokes (but they aren't affected).

 

[Yellow Dave]

If its bare metal that's affected, get some metal polish. Halfords should sell autosol and try working that before you go at it with drills and dremels etc. The least abrasive the better

 

[Danith]

Yeah maybe the shite I bought (brasso style) isn't up to it. Will get a tube of autosol on it (the paste stuff in a tube?)

cheers chum. Might give the rears a go too - think they're brand spankers and look more of a brushed aluminium rather than polished like the fronts.

 

[Danith]

Well I tried the Meguiars 'metal polysh' (yes correct spelling!) that was suggested on e36coupe.com and I opened it up and wasn't that impressed to be honest, smelt and felt more like hair wax than a metal polish, but had a gift card to use up so thought what the hell, it's the most expensive one at Halfords.


OH MY GOD!!!! It's brilliant!!!! The second it hit the metal I saw instant results. I'm gonna need a LOT more cloths/paper towels, the brand new cloth I bought is completely black from 10-15 minutes on one wheel. There are some stubborn areas that will need some more attention and I'll probably need to get a machine to get to the fiddly areas, but I am SO impressed with this product. How could I ever doubt Meguiars.
I'm so impressed I'm thinking of taking my brand new (still clear coated) rears off and polishing up my spares and fitting a pair of rainsports and putting them on.
The polished finish looks brilliant.


Anyway, a lot of elbow grease to come this weekend, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and massive thanks to all that chipped in.


Will post some pics up when finished. Looks like the bodywork detail will need bringing forward.

 

[Yellow Dave]

Happy times:cheers:

And no need for drills and other aggressive instruments

 

[Danith]

Very happy! Polished rims looks amazing. Just got my dremel tool that I bought once and hardly used and it's got polishing compound and pads all there untouched! Bonus!

 

[matt_132]

Glad it worked out mate. I use Belgom Alu for the wheels but may give the megs stuff a go now!

 

[l33th3tr33]

Does the megs polish last any longer than autosol? I used to use it on a few bits on my old motorbike and after a couple days it would be dull again and need another polish.

 

[Yellow Dave]

It provides no protection afaik, just a polish so how long the finish lasts is dependant on how you protect it

 

[l33th3tr33]

Fair enough, is there a product you'd recommend?

 

[Danith]

That belgom stuff sounds slightly better from what I've read.
Gonna seal the wheels once done with autoglym alloy wheel seal.
Finally found a use for this Halfords Xmas gift card!

 

[Danith]

Can I use it on the painted face of the alloy as well as the polished rim? Doesn't say you can't on the tub but I'm scared now.

 

[Yellow Dave]

Do you mean the metal polish? If so I wouldn't recommend it as its meant for bare metal. Completely different to a painted surface

 

[Danith]

Yeah thought might be wrong so left it.

Just a decent polish then?

 

[Bluebeard]

this is what happens when you take your car to the eastern Europeans for a wash.

Everything cheap is cheap for a reason.

 

[Danith]

Asian bro's this time with snazzy sunglasses. But yes. Lesson learnt.

 

[Bluebeard]

I get it all the time.

''How much for just a wash mate''

£10.

''Nah man f**k that, I'll take it to the polaks, they're only a fiver''

Good bye. *mutters under breath* good luck with your rusty calipers and stained wheels you f**king penniless cretin.

 

[Danith]

I can't wash it at my flat cos it's in an underground car park.

invested in a jumbo sponge so I can just use the jetwash and shampoo/wax at Sainsburys.

 

[Bluebeard]

Can't you find a detailer locally that offers a safe wash?

Taking cars (That belong to enthusiasts) is a disaster waiting to happen. My dads car gets 'washed' by them every 3/4 days up in london and i'm not s**tting you, it looks absolutely fcuked. His once blingy big calipers are rusty piles of s**t, whis wheels have no shine left and I won't even start on the swirls on the paint! Never seen anything like it!

 

[Danith]

Yeah there's actually a place right over the road from my flat! I was just in a very unsociable mood and wanted to get home to watch the Liverpool game. ERROR.

It's going over there next month for a proper detail. Called 'Polish and Glow' if any fellow Northerners are aware of it. Get some funky motors in there. Think a few car meets too. I know peeps off the CTR forum did a shoot there. I almost got on the promotional video with my e36 but the silly sausage dropped the DSLR (?) camera when trying to attach it to the rig. I was choked.