Im impressed/amazed

[grumpyvette]

I don,t know about most of you guys/gals but I hate cleaning aluminum wheels, the crud, brake dust, crusted grime, oil, its baked on ground in and it usually takes about 1/2 hour per wheel to look showroom new and you usually need abarsive pollish and lots of elbow grease to get them looking right!
Id have taken before/after pics but ID never admit to letting the vettes wheels get into that condition

being lazy at times and open for suggestions I stopped at PUBLIX super market and was taking to a fellow, car nut at the magazine rack, the subject came up and he suggested
SUPERIOR FORMULA 23 HEAVY DUTY INDUSTRIAL CLEANER & DEGREASER
"BLACK BOTTLE/JUG, & YELLOW LETTERING"
a scotchbrite pad and hot water in a bucket and a stiff paint brush gets his wheels clean...........HMMMMM???
well I find the stuff in a gallon jug in the cleaner isle and I buy a dozen scotch brite pads thinking this ios going to be anouther 2-3 hour P.I.T.A. but IM willing to try new things......
WOW the brake dust an d caked on crud rubs off with almost no effort at all after I soaked the wheels down several times with strait solvent cleaner ....and worked---BARELY on it with a scotch brite pad and a constant stream of solvent spray...The hose removed about 90% after the first go round, the second time I really soaked the wheels and used a towel, the whole process took about 30-40 minutes and it looks like new!
DAMN IM KEEPING SOME IN THE SHOP FROM NOW ON!!!

[grumpyvette]

Grump, do those scotch brite pads not knock the finish down? does it hurt clear coat??

the answer to that depends on how hard you press and what wheels your useing,I don,t know if my wheels HAVE NOW or EVER HAD clear coat, on my wheels I barely press down and in 7 years I can,t see any degradation of the surfaces, at all, but then I try to pollish & wax them after cleaning
they are stock saw blade design wheels, they look better now than when I bought the car
they look like this (not my car but the wheels look the same)

[Mac]

You guessed my question right away. If you can use Scotchbrite, how about something less aggressive. I'm thinking nylon brush or similar.

-Mac

[grumpyvette]

IM sure it will work reasonably well with just a stiff brush, instead of scotchbrite pads, it just might take slightly more effort. on my wheels Ive always used the pads but not scrubbed , brushed the surface or just barely rubbed, scotch brite pads don,t get clogged with fine crud like brake dust

[mkapp7879]

Look in the kitchen supplies aisle of your local supermart for Brillo Scrub and Toss. Little cloth sheets with a soft plastic type of scrub surface. I've actually used these on the leading edge of the wife's Malibu hood to remove bug juice! Lubed up good with soapy water.