Stain On Wheels

[BIGCOUNTRY]

i have a 1997 chevy z71 truck. it has the factory clear coated alum. wheels on it. the problem is they have some mud staains and tarnish on them. what is the best product to use. also i have a 2001 jeep grand cherokee and the headlight lens look like ****. do they make a kit or product to make them look new again?

[Murr1525]

Re: Stain On Wheels

For clear coated wheels, you can treat them like paint and use clay and a paint cleaner.

For the headlights, assuming they are plastic, PlastX would be the product to use first.

[BIGCOUNTRY]

Re: Stain On Wheels

i have used the pla. x stuff and it did not work. i saw a couple kits with buffing wheels and rubbing compound for around 40 dollars. i read that was the only way they would come clean. so if the wheels are alum. and are clear coated i can use a paint cleaner?

[Murr1525]

Re: Stain On Wheels

Clear coat is paint without pigment, so you can give it a go with the same products.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Stain On Wheels

so if the wheels are alum. and are clear coated i can use a paint cleaner?

If the aluminum wheels have a clear coat finish, then try and see if you can fix a small area by hand using ScratchX, which is a paint cleaner for removing stains off of paint. You may have to put a little passion behind the pad as the clear coat paints used on wheels is different, usually harder, than the clear coat paint used on the body panels.

If you can't fix or even improve a small area with ScratchX by hand then chances are good getting more aggressive isn't going to work either.

Are you sure they are clear coated and not Anodized?

If they are anodized there is nothing you can do to fix them without having the anodizing removed first, this gets costly and complicated.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Stain On Wheels

Checked with Tom MacDonald who is our in-house wheel expert and he said from the factory these are clear coated wheels and to try one of our paint cleaners like ScratchX or Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner and/or Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax.

Please update us to your results....