Got caught with a minor and freak snowfall around Halloween and as such the salt trucks insisted on doing their thing! I should have washed them down, but I switched to my winter rims/tires and never thought much about it. Ok...spare me the lectures...I've LEARNED! Anyone know how to get rid of the ugly spots on the aluminum?

Cheers!

Krusty.

 

Pic please so we know what you have to deal with?

 

I don't have any pics to post. They're white splotches on the aluminum and won't come off with anything I've tried. Can anyone recommend a product for removing/restoring my once shiny rims?

 

if the damage is under the clearcoat , i would think that you need to strip off the rest of the clearcoat , and then start polishing. then you could clearcoat them again. someone else may have a better remedy , but i doubt if there is a magic fix. you may also check at your local rim dealers to see if they have a fix , or will fix them.

 

Rubbing WD-40 on the wheels with a cloth will possibly restore the shine, but of course it is a temporary fix. I have used it several times and had good results. It has to be reapplied each time you wash the wheels. Unless you want to have the wheels refinished, this is a band-aid.

 

sound as if the clear is etched.

You need to use a good clear safe cleaner polish.

Start with a less agressive polish and if needed go to a more agressive if needed.

Clear coat is like a clear on your paint. Treat it just as if it were paint.

As long as the damage is on the surface it should be able to be removed with the polish. Now if it is lifting the polish there is not much you can do. I would expect it is only surface damage only as salt will etch.

If it is very bad a light 3000 grit wet sanding and light buffing will remove it but I would not recomned this unless you know what your doing as you can burn through every easy.

I wish I had them here as I would bet I could get them out. But if your uncomfortable on doing this a detailer should be able to restore them cheaper than replacing or reclearing.

 

WD 40 will bake paint/clear coat

 

Yes I would not use WD 40 unless your just removing tar or the like and then washing it off. Leaving it on has no benefit. It is like Armor All on your paint. Not recomended.

Also always clean and polish your wheels cold. Heat and cleaners can and will do horrible things to some wheel surfaces.

When used cold the cleaners will be less likley to damage the surface.

 

GM's clear on the rims is garbage, if you end up stripping the rim id look into a clear powercoat.

 

Don't know how many miles you have on your car but I had a set that got corrosion on them and the dealer replaced them !