Polished Wheel Disaster

[DrewM]

I accidentally sprayed an alcohol-based sticker remover on my polished silver wheels, thinking it was wheel cleaner. The car is a 2001 BMW 325i. The wheels are shiny silver mag wheels. The result is I stripped off whatever clear coat was on the wheel and the wheel now appears splotchy with some shine remaining, but in many areas none remaining.

Any ideas what to do? I suppose I could try to buy a new wheel, but I'd prefer to try to restore this one. Di I strip off the remaining coating? If so, what do I put back on? Do I try to paint the wheel?

Thanks for any knowledge you might have.

[Murr1525]

I wouldnt think alcohol would remove an entire clearcoat so easily, but maybe it is possible. You wouldnt happen ot have any picture or anything would you? Certainly could help those with more experience see whats up.

[DrewM]

Sorry, digital camera not available. The wheel is splotchy, meaning some shine still left in places where the alcohol-based cleaner missed. It's just mixed shine and non-shine, some areas kind of darker grey while others are still nice and shiny.

It's been suggested I either (a) strip the entire wheel (with something like oven cleaner -- !), then recoat with some sort of coating, (b) I paint the two wheels on that side of the car in a silver paint that comes closest to the original look of the wheel, or (c) I just buy a new wheel or find one at a junkyard.

None of these seems like a great solution, but buying a new wheel is obviously the best -- except for the expense, of course. Seems silly I can't somehow polish or paint the wheel back to near 'normal'.

[Tim Lingor]

Hi Drew,

Sorry to hear about the wheel issues. I too am a little surprised that alcohol would do damage to the OEM clear coat. Do the spots feel any different than the non-damaged part of the wheel? What have you tried to on the spots?

I wonder if you have simply etched the clear coat and not actually removed it. Hence my question as to what you have tried on the wheel since the accidental spraying. If it is etching, it may be possible to remove the stains. But if it is indeed clear coat failure, then you will need to take it to a professional shop to have the wheel refinished.

Tim

[OctaneGuy]

Re: Polished Wheel Disaster

Can you post or PM me the name of the product you used? I'd like to verify that this cleaner did indeed attack your clearcoat.

Thanks!

Richard

Originally posted by DrewM
I accidentally sprayed an alcohol-based sticker remover on my polished silver wheels, thinking it was wheel cleaner. The car is a 2001 BMW 325i. The wheels are shiny silver mag wheels. The result is I stripped off whatever clear coat was on the wheel and the wheel now appears splotchy with some shine remaining, but in many areas none remaining.

Any ideas what to do? I suppose I could try to buy a new wheel, but I'd prefer to try to restore this one. Di I strip off the remaining coating? If so, what do I put back on? Do I try to paint the wheel?

Thanks for any knowledge you might have.

[Mike Phillips]

These wheels are either clear coated or they're not. If they not then you can restore the luster of the aluminum using a quality metal polish like NXT All Metal Polysh.

First you need to determine if the wheel is/was in-fact coated with a clear coat finish. The clear coat paints used on factory wheels are pretty tough, I would think the clear coat is merely dull from exposure to this chemical and not stripped off.

Simply take any quality cleaner/wax or paint cleaner and rub in a small area with a clean, soft foam applicator pad, either our A12 Cleaner/Wax or ScratchX or even ColorX would be great products to test with.

If when you turn the pad over you see a dark gray color, that would indicate the coating is gone and you're now removing aluminum. If the pad collects no color, as in it stays the color it is and/or the chemical you apply to it, (ColorX is a bluish color), then the clear coat is still intact and chances are good a little bit of rubbing with one of these products will restore clarity and gloss.

[Mikeyc]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
Simply take any quality cleaner/wax or paint cleaner and rub in a small area with a clean, soft foam applicator pad, either our A12 Cleaner/Wax or ScratchX or even ColorX would be great products to test with.

If when you turn the pad over you see a dark gray color, that would indicate the coating is gone and you're now removing aluminum. If the pad collects no color, as in it stays the color it is and/or the chemical you apply to it, (ColorX is a bluish color), then the clear coat is still intact and chances are good a little bit of rubbing with one of these products will restore clarity and gloss.

I think this should be obvious, but I'm going to say it anyway. Make sure to clean your wheels first before performing this test. Otherwise, the brake dust will make the determination of clear coat/no clear coat difficult.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Mikeyc
I think this should be obvious, but I'm going to say it anyway. Make sure to clean your wheels first before performing this test. Otherwise, the brake dust will make the determination of clear coat/no clear coat difficult.

Very good point... thanks for "Bubba-Proofing" this thread!

[DrewM]

It doesn't look like I did strip off the clear coat. The wheels remain completely smooth to the touch--no high or low spots as if I had stripped off a layer of anything.

The product I mistakenly sprayed on the wheels is called "Oops! Waterbased All Purpose Remover and Cleaner." It's a completely colorless liquid in a spray bottle, meant for removing stickers, grease, markers, nail polish, paint overspray, that sort of thing.

Despite the "water based" name, it lists ingredrients as including "dibasic Esters [and] 2 butoxyethanol" with lots of warnings about avoiding contact with skin, avoiding vapors, etc. That's the source of my claim that it has alcohol (or petroleum) of some sort in it.

Despite the smoothness of the wheels, they have a mottled appearance that looks like camoflage made up of shiny and dull--light silver and darker gray. This is definitely not dirt of any kind since I have completely washed the wheels.

I just tried Scratch X on the wheels and it made no difference. It did not remove any color whatsoever, so I guess that confirms that it's not down to the aluminum layer and that I haven't removed any clearcoat on the wheels.

I'm stumped as to whether there's some kind of polish that will even out the tone of the wheel -- or whether my only choice is (expensive) wheel refinishing vs. (cheap) wheel painting.

I'm not familiar with NXT metal polish or other such products. Any suggestions as to a hierarchy of products from mild to aggressive that I could try?

Thanks again for any insights about this mystery.

Drew Maddock
Pasadena, California
(Where it's going to rain on the Rose Parade and maybe the game)

[OctaneGuy]

Hey Drew,

Unless some other SoCal person volunteers, I can probably meet up with you somewhere and have a look. I'm in the Marina Del Rey/Culver City area--but I'm often in the San Gabriel area--around 3 times a week.

I wouldn't mind having a look and taking some pictures to post back in the forum.

Richard

Originally posted by DrewM
It doesn't look like I did strip off the clear coat. The wheels remain completely smooth to the touch--no high or low spots as if I had stripped off a layer of anything.

The product I mistakenly sprayed on the wheels is called "Oops!

SNIP

I'm not familiar with NXT metal polish or other such products. Any suggestions as to a hierarchy of products from mild to aggressive that I could try?

Thanks again for any insights about this mystery.

Drew Maddock
Pasadena, California
(Where it's going to rain on the Rose Parade and maybe the game)

[Mark2]

It's pretty strange that a clearcoat on a wheel is that sensitive. What brand are they?

[Pete-FWA]

If a wheel is even warm to the touch, cleaners can leave such marks because they dry (or start to dry). Hot temperatures and hot wheels are even more catastrophic in the appearance damage.

Really, I don't believe it to be fair to fault the wheel surface. Think about what would happen to a paint finish in the same situation. Go to some used car lots in the rain or when the dew forms at night. Look at the tops of bumper covers and front fenders. Many times there are visible marks in the paint that appear to be water streaks or puddles, ones that don't go away, despite wiping, washing, or rainshowers. This is caused by engine cleaner overspray laying on the finish for a bit too long. It's the same type of problem as the wheels we're discussing here. Not the paint's fault

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

It does sound as I suggested that the clear coat is etched from the product. As Pete mentioned, if a product is sprayed on to a warm wheel the concentration of the product increases dramatically. In this case, it may have etched the clear.

You say you have tried ScratchX will no success? How did you apply the product? I would suggest using a piece of terry cloth toweling and REALLY working the ScratchX in until it is basically gone. Then wipe off the remianing residue. You may need to do this several times. See if that helps. If so, I would then use Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax or the NXT Metal Polysh as the final coat.

I know the white, fogged looking spots you describe. I have seen it caused by using an Aluminum Wheel Cleaner that was not designed for Clear Coated wheels. The bad part is that the etching may simply be too deep, and can not be polished out.

Give the ScratchX another try and report back!


Tim

[DrewM]

As I said, there does not seem to be any removal of the clearcoat since the surface is completely smooth to the touch. Yet there is clearly discolaration in the splotchy pattern I mentioned.

I didn't actually use the "Oops" product on hot wheels. That's a mistake I'm careful not to make. The car (a 2001 BMW 325i) was rolled out of the garage after sitting all night, then washed. So, the wheels were cool. So, the product I sprayed on them was'nt intensified in some way by heat.

The wheels are the standard shiny silver five-spoke wheels on 2001 BMW's. You wouldn't think they'd react so quickly to this spray-on product, but they did immediately -- faster than I could grab the hose when I realized what I'd sprayed on them as the disoloration or stripping or whatever happened began!

I will try ScratchX again--although I did give it a pretty good number of buffings with a cotton rag. I'll try more. Then, as you suggest, I'll try to locate some of the other products -- NXT wax and polish. Those failing, I'll take the car to some sort of wheel polishing place, I suppose. It's not the end of the world to have a less-than-perfect wheel, but I'll give it a go.

Thanks very much for the advice. I you think of anything else, let me know.

Drew Maddock
California