White Spot on Wheels

[jeanson]

Check out the white spots on my wheels:





This part's not too bad:


Spot when car is wet and immediately dried:




I have used the mr clean eraser maybe three times but I never scrubbed for too long to really scratch off the clear (I know it's abrasive but I find it hard to believe it would have done more damage than my wheel brushes.) I have used wheel cleaners (like turtle wax wheel cleaner) very minimally since I rather just save money and scrub off the dirt with a brush.

Just wondering if anyone might know what it is and how to remove it. Once removed I will obviously need to better maintain the finish to prevent the same white spots. I'll try claying on my next day off so I hope you guys can give me some advice, thanks!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: White Spot on Wheels

A lot of that looks like just plain old water spotting - as if there is such a thing. Water spots can be a piece of cake to remove, or darn near impossible. It all depends on what's in the water and whether it can etch into the paint if left there long enough, how delicate the paint is, etc. Since wheels can get fairly hot and will collect varying degrees of brake dust and road grime, letting even rain water self dry on them can lead to spotting. Which brings up the question - is the water we see in these images rain water or did you just hose the wheels down?

Rather than using the eraser thingy or a wheel cleaner (the wheels look pretty darn clean here (ie, no dark brake dust) have you tried just a quick detailer? Fresh water spots are usually easy to remove this way. A basic cleaner wax will often take care of the spots too.