im wanting to paint my black steel winter rims..but they require the usual prep of sanding and what not but was wondering what to do about grease since the car gets sprayed/undercoated for the winter and it gets on the rims.
I was wondering if brake cleaner would be ok to spray on them as a degreaser then sand them down a bit and spray paint (i got lots of these cans at home(
good idea ? or should i just buy an actual degreaser product?

will it strip the black paint off the rims? that would be a bonus and make sanding easier

 

I used brake cleaner , sanded the rims then washed with Dawn dish soap and three years later no issues with my stock steelies.

 

x2 on the brake cleaner but it likely won't strip the old paint. Just use a scuff pad or fine sandpaper to rough them up a bit.

 

If you have some hard to reach places,use some course steel wool. The only problem with brake cleaner is it dries soooo fast. If your wheels are really grungy you might want go with degreaser. Just a thought

 

I have had brake cleaner bubble paint up. I'd use purple/orange or whatever is your favorite color spray cleaner for grease.

 

If I have an especially grungy part, I will start with brake cleaner as a first step, before I prep the surface for paint (sanding and washing) before I continue with a dedicated paint prep cleaner that you can pick up at any auto body supply house, as a final step before primer