This is my truck's first winter here in Colorado, and I'm having trouble getting it clean. The past few months I have taken it to these auto washes to get it cleaned up, and of course they only do a so-so job to begin with.

Today I've degreased the engine, washed outside and inside, but my wheels are caked in whatever mag chloride, brake dust, dirt, and everything else. I cannot get that stuff off. I'm not sure what to do about it.

Anyone have any tips for cleaning and polishing the wheels? I'm at my wits end here.

 

What are the wheels made of? Is there a plating? Is there a clear coat on them? How you procede depends on what you have.

 

Parts of the wheels are polished. So I need a cleaner that is safe enough not to destroy it.

 

Polished aluminum? If they are not coated, try mothers polished aluminum polish with a mother powerball. That thing works great. If they are coated, mothers makes and clear coat wheel polish. Polish differs from a wax. A polish tends to clean and shine. Where the wax just protects.

If you get them all clean up and looking perfect, you might think about clear powder coating them so you never have to worry about them ever again. Just clean up with soap and water. Just make sure you find the right guy who can power caot polished aluminum. It is a challenge but it can be done. I just had my Ford racing SVT polsihed aluminum wheels done at a local shop. Cost $300 for the set of four. Just caoting and no prep.

 

In the past couple of years or so the city here in Alaska ( Anchorage ) has been using Calcium cloride at intersections. Runway deicing fluid as its been translated to me by a close old friend in the supplier industry. The stuff softens black top to the point that in the right conditions , the components of the road become air-born (? - DEC ) . We have had lots of complaints voiced about the practice since inception. But , the coating on your rims and such is removable. The whole outer surface of your rig may be evected by this road spray. I've found that using a good quality wax and grease remover from the automotive refinishing industy dose wonders in spring. The drawback is that you must rewax and protect anything it touches. The film on your rims is several times worse than the buildup on the doors, fenders, guarter panels but the tail gates and bumpers colelect alot. As always, check in a inconspic spot first with remover. No real preasure should be used because the stuff your removing is full of micro rocks. Clean and wax the door jambs and aply a good sillicon to the seals . The stock aloy rims have a clear coat on them to retard oxidation , it should'nt be softened by wax and grease remover . Some bug and tar removers may . If anyones Had such exsperiance I need to know, myself . Just purchased an 04 SD with stock alloys

 

Yeah I checked earlier at Wal-mart for the Mother's powerball, but they were out of stock. I guess a few other folks had the same idea.

 

WAIT WINTER IS OVERWITH SOMEWHERE!!!

Here is what we use for the road grime at work.

WD-40 first to get the big chuncks.
Purple Degreaser to elimnate the WD-40.
Wax Job - Pass it on to the rookier.

 

I went up to Canada in mine a couple weeks ago. I had a caked on mix of salt and sand that was two inches thick. I must have had a couple hundred pounds of it total. It started "pooping" layers of the stuff when it got above freezing and I had to shovel it off the driveway. All I did was take it to one of the local do-it-yourself car washes and pay $6. It looks great now. You gotta of one those in Parker. The other thing you could do is take over to the detail wash across from Park Meadows on County Line and have them do it. I little pricey, but they will do it until you like it.

 

Just a word of warning concerning the use of power washer type devices to clean road salts and chemicals. The water presure will drive some of the the matter deep into every crack, crevice and seam.

I would suggest the use of a strong solution of Simple Green or even Dawn dish soap rinsed well with a garden hose and sprayer. Polish, if needed, and a good wax job.

Of course I'm no expert and this is just my $.02

 

Well, I have a pressure washer at home, and that wasn't working. Also that car wash by Park Meadows mall is called Suds Factory Car Wash, and that's where I've been taking my truck all winter, lol I'm kinda upset because the last two times I took my truck over there, they didn't do a good job. The bad thing is I was in a hurry both times, and didn't have the time to make them wash it again.

I tried that as well, and it still wouldn't come off.

 

If your wheels are not coated like Boxcar mentioned, they may be toast. I tried every type of polish I could to remove the road salt pitting but nothing worked. The best stuff I found was this:

http://www.heavymetalpolish.com

It was the best by far but it didn't totally remove the pitting. You may have to take them into a professional and see if they can polish them up. It can be a pain though if your truck is your daily driver because any wheel polisher is going to want the rims with no tires on them. Then get them powder coated clear like Boxcar did.

I have a lot of diamond plate on my trailer and this stuff did an incredible job:

http://www.metalwax.com/DIAMOND%20PLATE.htm

I have not tried this stuff on my old, pitted wheels as I bought new ones.

 

Flitz is a good polish for the rims.

re the paint: take the light plastic wrapping from a box of cigs, put your fingers in the plastic and run over your hood. Feel all the crap embedded in your paint? Before polish/wax you have to use clay to get this stuff out. Its avail from detail supply shops and maybe even some good auto parts stores. Use a spray-on type wax as a lubricant for the clay. Then a light polish (clearcoat cleaner) followed by wax and try the plastic finger test again. You will be amazed at the results.

Give yourself 1/2 day to complete the job with special emphasis on the hood and roof where the most stuff is embedded.

A porter-cable random orbital sander w/ foam bonnet attachment is also worth its weight in gold. Just make sure to lube the bonnet to sander bolt if its alluminum to prevent galling (or better yet find a bolt thats steel). Detail supply websites should have all this.

good luck