Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 14:56:45 GMT From: wwwnopsamus-technologies.com (Dean Malandris) Subject: Re: Wheel Clear-coat coming off
On Mon, 16 Aug 1999 11:26:41 GMT, just as I was about to see how much duct tape you REALLY need to stop a gerbil from exploding, Michael Ramos <Michael.Ramosnopsamonet.com.au> distracted me by babbling thusly: >Sick of the weekly chore of cleaning off the brake dust from the alloys >on my 97 900S, I decided to try Mother's Wheel Mist that is supposedly >OK for clear-coated wheels. Unfortunately, I think I left it on a >little too long and consequently it looks like some of the coating was >eaten off one of the wheels. > >Is there any quick and easy way to remedy this other than having the >whole wheel recoated? > >Thanks, > >Mike > I found that what it says on Mother's Wheel Mist and what it does are two separate things. I found out 15 years ago to avoid it for clear wheels. Luckily at the time I had an Alfa with very little clear coat on the rim of the mags (the bulk was made of spokes) so it didn't matter very much that a spot or two discoloured; but I avoided it after that. And I only left it on for 60 seconds, too. I really don't think it's safe for clear coated wheels at all, bugger what it says on the bottle. You'll need to respray the wheel, unfortunately. It's not a case of eating away the coating, I think, but a case of a chemical reaction with the lacquer itself. Either way, the lacquer is now stuffed. I have a 900 turbo cab with the clear-coated assymmetric wheels (the 3-port ones). These suffer the same fate of getting blackened with brake dust. I have found that "Black Knight Acid Free Wheel Cleaner" does a great job of removing the dust, and is totally harmless to the lacquer. You can get this stuff at Robbo's or similar.