ooze48

Hello everyone.

I did something silly over this past weekend and now need to perform some damage control. I bought Poorboys World Spray & Rinse Wheel Cleaner recently to use on my girlfriends car. She has an inexpensive set of chrome mag wheels that are tough to clean so I thought this spray might be easier than trying to do them by hand.

I helped her wash her car this weekend then did mine next. I'm not sure my head was (its dark in here) but I wasn't paying attention and just spayed this stuff on my semi-new Volk GTCs. I realized what I did a few seconds after I got done spraying the last wheel and scrambled to hose the stuff off.

This stuff works fast though and the damage was already done. The chrome looking lip around each wheel no longer shines like it did. It has a foggy type look to it now. I was able to use Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish to get some of the residue of but even that wouldn't bring my wheels back to life (as it has on other wheels I've had in the past).

Does anyone know of a product I might try on the Volks to restore the shiny, chrome-like finish to the lip?

Just to be clear, I'm talking about the section of the wheel from the edge of the lip to where it bolts to the base depicted by the doubled-headed arrow (volk gtc)

If not, does anyone at least know what the lip is made out of? Is it just polished aluminum or is it some sort of chrome finish or something else?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

-Bob

Porkipine

iTrader: (1)

I saw it on myth buster once that if you wash chrome with coke it can help clean the stuff. Other than that, I don't have much idea. good luck. Hopefully someone can help you out.

LoveMyTL-S

I also have the Volk GTC-s in Silver. Love'em. Try this thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...chrome+cleaner

Hope it helps.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

The lip is ruined...
The wheel is annodized forged aluminum, and the chemical reaction of the wheel cleaner on the annodization is what has caused the discolorations.

The only way to "fix it" is to dissassemble the wheel, strip, polish, and reannodize. I bought a used set of GT-7s that this happened too. I disassembled the wheels and had the barrel proffessionally repolished... It was not easy or cheap.

ooze48

Thanks, that is a good thread.

My GTC's are silver too and one of the best things I ever bought. I love the way they make my car look.

I just IM'd with the guy I bought them from and he suggested I try Meguiars SCRATCH X. If that doesn't work I might have to take it to a detailing shop and see if they can remove the clear coat and polish then re-clear them. Hopefully the damage hasn't gone too deep.

ooze48

I was hoping something like this wasn't the case. I'm willing to give it a try though because I'm guessing it has to be better/cheaper than buying new wheels and waiting the 3 months all over again.

I think I can handle disassembling the wheel as long as I can figure out the torque setting for 20 or so nuts that keep it together.

Who did the repolishing, a car detailer? Or is there some other type of company that's better to go to for this service?

I'm assuming you had the wheel re-annodized after the polishing. Do you have any tips on where I could go to have a wheel annodized. I mean, what type of company might provide such a service?

Thanks, I really appreciate it.

-Bob

LoveMyTL-S

Perhaps a rim repair place may be able to re-annodize the chrome. Just a thought. Hope you didn't spend a lot for those rims.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Actually, it was a VW restoration shop. Hand sanded, and polished. It was a bitch. I di not re-annodize... which is key. This will never happen again as the raw aluminum can be quickly polished out by hand, the lip is brighter that before too. The GT-Ss I currently run are more dull looking than this high polish lip. I may do the same procedure (removing the anno) to my GT-Ss over the winter.

I discuss most of the process here in the FS thread. Want some GT-7s to run while your getting your fixed up?
https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/sold-fs-volk-racing-gt-7-19x8-5-36-gunmetal-245-35-nitto-555s-367112/

ooze48

Thanks again for the tips Kennedy. I think I like the idea of not re-annodizing again if that means I can polish them myself without too much effort when I want them brighter.

The comment about the VW shop got me thinking that I've seen a couple auto restoration shops around here. I think I'll try those places first as opposed to looking for an auto detailer to do the job.

And yes, that thread is helpful. I think it's enough to get me through this process assuming I can find someone to do the restoration related work. I'll disassemble/reassemble the wheels myself but will check with mackin first too just to be sure of the torque settings.

I'm not sure if I should be buying the GT-7's at this point since I'll be able to use that money to help pay for the restoration.

You mentioned that it wasn't cheap. Would you mind giving me a rough idea of the cost just so I have a number to compare to what other shops around here quote me?

Thanks.

csmeance

I would try some never dull polish wads, they can really get a good shine to come out, it is pretty strong. They work on any type of metal and might be able to polish it out.

LoveMyTL-S

I use the Never Dull on my exhaust tips......... Good stuff!

Mokos23

i laughed when i saw this thread title. nice parody of that old lady in that commercial.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

I PM'd you the procedure...
Never Dull won't strip that annodization. I tried everything from oven cleaner to jewlers rouge and a dremel... nada.

You have to use sandpaper to bust the altetred annodization off, then polish.
Once you get the mirror polish back, the ONLY polish I reccomend id Mother's BILLET polish. I tried never dull, and it did more to dull the finish that to polish it.

ex2k4

have you tried peanut butter?

I don't know how that works with chrome/polished area.. but there was another member who used peanut butter on his gold volks to bring back all of original color... it worked like magic?

i say try it on small area first... who knows? it might work?

ooze48

Kennedy, I plan on following your sanding/polishing method. I'm assuming that is wet sanding.

I was talking to a guy in FL (I'm from PA) and he mentioned putting the wheel on a balancer and spinning it to do the sanding. I'm not sure about that because I'm not in the mood to loose a finger. Also, it sounded like your VW guy did it by hand 100%. If that's the case and you got great results, I think I want to try to duplicate your processes as closely as possible.

I'm not even sure I can get access to a wheel balancer. Even if I could, it sounds like I need to leave the wheels assembled so the balancer can spin them. If that's the case then I don't see why I'd ever need to disassemble them.

I talked to a local guy who does powder coating. I orginally thought we might slap the wheels in the oven to bake everything off down to the aluminum but then found out he thought we'd melt them if we tried that. He then suggested some sort of aluminum stripper (acid). He said he's used it in the past to strip right down to bare aluminum and plans on doing someone elses wheels soon (their wheels need to have the powder coating removed so he can redo it).

I'm stopping by his shop today to let him look at the wheels because I'm a little hestitant to let him soak the wheels in the acid. Plus, he says it's $200/5 gallons so it could be a costly mistake if it doesn't work. If it eats a hole in wheels it'll be even more costly.

I'm still on the fence about trying it.

Any thoughts?

-Bob

synth19

DO NOT USE ANYTHING OTHER THEN A NON_ABRASIVE SOAP ON VOLKS!!! I think it should be mandatory for all vendors to thoroughly go over what you can/can't do with volks... Also, the product "wheel wax" works great on volk lips. It keeps em shiny and won't fck up the finish. The posts are correct about your lips being ruined. Most of the volks have an anodized finish on the lips. However, there HARDLY are any places left in the USA that can re-anodize the lip for you. The chemicals are pretty toxic from what I understand. Wheels America, or a similar place can strip everything, repolish, and apply a clear coat. The other option is to strip and CHROME the lips. I've seen ppl actually do the both. Chroming obviously ads weight, but the lip looks marvelous.

synth19

Instead of experimenting with ppl who are not sure what the results of their work will be, talk to some ppl that have actually done this. I know our local "wheels america" have worked with plenty of volks. There is also a great refinishing place in PA that I've heard of:

http://www.wheelcollision.com/wccsvcs.html

ooze48

Agreed, I'm never happy having to experiment when the risks are great.

Thanks for the link. I'm going to give them a call because they're only an hour away so I don't have to get killed on shipping.

It might just be cheaper than me trying to do it considering how long it'll probably take me.

ooze48

I ended up calling this place for a quote and was told $230/wheel to polish the lips down to the bare aluminum and apply clear coat. YIKES! And that price does not include S&H because I will do the 1hr commute to deliver them and then pick them up 3 weeks later when they're done. 3 weeks??? Oh man...

If I want to skip the clear coat then it's $200/wheel, still quite a chunk of change and almost 1/2 of the purchase price.

Anyway, I'm not trying to complain. I'm just disappointed that there seems to be some price gouging going on here. If it takes 4-5 hours per wheel, I can see something around $100/wheel being more reasonable.

Oh well, guess it'll soon be time to dig in and get my hands dirty. I can't see myself causing much more damage than has already been done. (famous last words)

NCSU TL

So where are you now with your situation, have you picked a place or tried to do it yourself??

I have done the same thing and am pissed at myself and looking for options to fix em, just wondering if you have heard anything new?

ooze48

I haven't done anything yet. I've been in remodeling hell with my house and decided that I'll wait until the end of the season (when I take the wheels off the car for the winter anyway) to try something .

I mentioned the quote I got from the wheel place above. $800 seems a bit high so I'm probably going to dismantle them myself then bring them to a local powder coating shop that will soak them in an aluminum stripper acid. If I have any luck that'll take them down to the bare aluminum then I can just polish them.

I definitely will post back here once I start the process but it probably won't be for another month or so.

pistacio

iTrader: (1)

My volks are also dull and rainbow colored.....

ooze48....could you forward me that pm with this info too? I think it should be pretty "straight-forward" procedure but it would be nice to have a step by step from someone who has done it before to fall back on.

ooze48

Thanks again Kennedy! It's almost time to take my volks off for the winter. That's when I'm going to attempt "the procedure".


Here is exactly what Kennedy PM'd me:

o1s

8 hours per wheel of wetsanding and polishing. thanks to shitty wheel cleaner used by a detailer trying to be cheap.

fliplyricist1

nice job

and realy sorry to hear about what happened...that's why I NEVER touch any wheels (regardless of the texture/material) with any sort of wheel cleaners...only good ol' soap and water, and possibly a metal polish afterwards (if not clearcoated)

the only problem with what you are doing is that the lips will eventually become oxidized over time and will become gradually harder and harder to maintain even if you polish them every weekend to keep them clean. I should know, I stripped down my old enkei er01's white paint and did a full DIY face polish (never, ever again lol). But yeah, once you do sand them and get them to the desired reflectivity, definitely take them to a wheel shop and have them shoot a perfectly translucent clearcoat on them to protect em (over the counter spray clearcoats will turn yellow over time and look crappy, trust me on this).

Although, if I were you, I probably would have just saved the time and just brought all 4 rims to a wheel repair shop and have them strip down and repolish and clearcoat the lips, probably wouldn't have costed you more than 75 a wheel (at most). They woulda came out like mirrors too. I'd think they're worth it, since these aren't Rotas we're talking about...they're Volks.

Good luck though

ooze48

o1s, did you use the method I reposted here given to me by Kennedy?

If not, did you disassemble the wheels first before polishing?

What grit sand paper(s) did you use from start to finish?

Thanks!

o1s

no disassembly, i was worried that the wheel might not go back together. they were made in 98.
a guy i know did them for me. he did it for free because he wanted the practice.
i think he used a product from either zaino or poorboys to polish.
http://apexautocare.com/
i've been letting him expirement with my cars for a long time. he has always done an outstanding job!