Are there any products sold locally that will help clearcoated wheels neglected since 2003?

The clean one is a 1 year old replacement wheel. The wheel on the left is one of the original wheels cleaned with the Mother's stuff in the pic. Both had 2 applications with light scrubbing with a soft brush. I feel I need something really aggressive, but when all the residue is removed, what condition is the clearcoat in?

 

Count me in, too! I need to know.

 

Bump... Is powdercoating the only answer? lol

 

Try using a clay bar then some Ultimate Compound. Follow it up with polish.

 

You're going to find that the back side of OEM wheels has almost no clearcoat on it. (Another wonderful cost saving move that 99% of the population doesn't worry about.) So what you have is brake dust staining and good old fashioned oxidation. You can remove it by any number of methods right up to Scotch Brite. I say that because that side of the wheel is basically unfinished anyway.

However, if you do take everything off in your quest to make them look better, you will have even more significant problems in the future. That will be because you now have totally unprotected aluminum back there.

So I'd think long and hard about if you really want to clean them. If you do, and you want the effect to last, you'd better consider refinishing the back sides. Truth be told, a coat of silver paint may be your best way out.

 

That sucks. I had noticed my error too late. At least the dirt and dust was one uniform color...

 

At this point, unless you want to go through the process of totally re polishing them and then re clearing them, I would suggest degreasing them very well, prepping them, taping them off and paint them with a nice silver, then clear, and work on keeping that clean.

 

Don't feel bad. As I mentioned earlier, 99% of the population doesn't even worry about the back side of their wheels. You can feel good that you now know what you need to do to fix them up and prevent that kind of thing from happening again.

 

Live and learn I guess. I really was serious about powdercoating tho. This is why I hate being a clean freak when I drive a truck that 2 previous owners had sucked at keeping clean.