| aka Stabby Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mead, CO Posts: 5,336 | 
you may laugh (i would, but i'm too tired!), but i just finished soft scrubbing my nearly 12 year old rims that were quite full of gunk (probably haven't cleaned them for real in the last two plus years). as aceyx said, if it's scuffs and curb rash, you're not going to be able to clean those off, you'd need to have them redone or repaint them yourself (a few on here have done that).
i spent about a day on each of my wheels (almost done with the last one!). here's the process i used (again, feel free to laugh, lol):
1) remove wheel from car
2) remove surface rust from brake disc surface where wheel mounts, i then apply copper anti-seize
3) give the wheel a rough cleaning, use a plastic drywall spatula or similar to scrape off any large deposits, rinse thoroughly
4) use goo gone or similar to soak any old tape from previous wheel weights and then use the plastic spatula and some paper towels to remove the sticky crap (i had 3-4 spots of old tape on each wheel!)
5) remove rust and gunk from machined surfaces of rim
6) using scrotch brite NO SCRATCH pads with soft scrub, i give each wheel a very thorough scrubbing, rinse very thoroughly
7) dry it off
8) use a wheel sealant (i'm trying wheel guard from chemical guys)
9) reinstall wheel and admire how shiny it is!
EDIT: forgot the most important step
10) drink a beer! __________________ 1996 318ti, California package, 267k miles
current mods: bilstein sports, bavauto springs, e30 m3 LCABs, solid metal ball joints, bavauto RSMs w/reinforcements, e30 3.73 LSD & halfshafts, supersprint cat-back exhaust, turner rear sway bar reinforcements, IE poly subframe & RTABs + camber/toe kits, powdercoated e36 32x front calipers, sport mirrors, H&R 28mmF/19mmR sway bars, x-brace, auto solutions SSK w/poly bushing upgrade, BMW CD43 head unit, DICE HD Radio w/iPod integration and "stealth" HD antenna, staggered style 68s, orange electronic TPMS, leather arm rest, JT Designs metal undertray
acquired and awaiting install: heated seat kit, cali top switch relo, lumbar support kit, park distance control kit, heated washer nozzle kit, m-coupe rear subframe, trailing arms, differential, and halfshafts, m-coupe front/rear brakes with master cylinder, under hood light kit, mud flaps, rear sun blind, auto-dimming rear view mirror, tilt steering wheel retrofit, apexcone 5000K HIDs with 55W ballasts
2002 X5 4.4 Sport Package, 53.5k miles
Current Mods: e46 m3 steering wheel |