road grime

[Mcross]

Hi all, I am trying to clean some road grime inside the wheelwells, which are part plastic, balance painted aluminum. I dont want to harm the paint or plastic to remove the grime, which appears to be a combination of oil, dirt, tar, etc, and is about 1-2 mm thick. I also dont want to use a powerwasher.

Any thoughts or recommendations on how best to clean this?

Thanks much,

[rpickett]

I tried the EXTRA All Surface Cleaner on the wheelwells of our tahoe this past weekend I just sprayed it on let it sit for about 3 min and sprayed it off. It worked well, very little dirt remaining you could use a rag or something to wipe it out before you rinse. This would remove all dirt oil road grime.

[Eggroll]

I use dilluted Simple Green. It can be found at your local walmart. You can use it full strength if you have a lot of road grime.

[4.6GT]

Another vote for simple green, i have never had it stain/streak anything i have used it on and it always does a great job.

[Rick]

On my car once in a while (yes I am anal) I jack up one side of the car, remove the wheels. I have a wash mit just for this purpose. I wash the back side of the wheels and wax them front and back (the brake dust can barely stick to them once you do this) and then use that same wash mit to clean the wheel wells. Just regular car wash soap weems to work pretty well as long as you scrub a lot. Mine have stayed clean since I got the car barely used so your results with this method may varry. I would suspect a good degreaser with the mit or sponge or whatever would be good. In between this I will get the mit out after I've washed the car and use the left over soapy water and get what I can, but it's good to remove the wheels once in a while to get everything.

Ok yes I'm psycho, but I have the cleanest brake calipers you'll ever see.

[Memphis 986]

Removing the wheels is anal? Oh well - color me guilty. I too do this on my won car about once a year. I spray simple green concentrate, let set for 45 seconds or so, then wipe down with soap & water with a sponge.

I too wax the inside and out of wheels after washing with soap & water.

Just wanted to let you know that you weren't alone !-)

[MattN03]

Originally posted by Memphis 986
Removing the wheels is anal? Oh well - color me guilty.

Hey to another Memphis Meguiars user!! I clean the wheelwells during each washing on my Ranger & Mach 1-the best I can anyways. Then, at least every 5000 miles (when I rotate the tires on the truck) I'll do a full cleaning that includes washing & polishing the inside of the wheels, the suspension components, brakes, & the fenders. I've only done this to the Mach 1 once since I got it last August, but there's only 3000 miles on her

[Rick]

Phewwww it isn't just me.

[MattN03]

I'm going to show my g/f this site so she knows I'm not the only one thats "crazy" LOL

[Spotty-Dog]

Originally posted by Memphis 986
[
I too wax the inside and out of wheels after washing with soap & water.

Doesn't everybody? I suppose I might go a little farther in washing the insides of the rims with a soft bottle brush and behind the spokes everytime I wash the car.

[rusty bumper]

Anybody that can detail a car in the Memphis area must be tough!

I detailed a car for my wife's aunt in Cayce, MS around the 4th of July 2 years ago, and I just about over did it.

Thank God it was a small Geo Metro!...The heat & humidity was ridiculous out there!!

[MattN03]

Originally posted by Rusty Bumper
Anybody that can detail a car in the Memphis area must be tough!

When people from our Phoenix division at work come to Memphis for anything during the summer, they almost die!

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by MattN03
When people from our Phoenix division at work come to Memphis for anything during the summer, they almost die!

I'll never take another walk at the Overton Park Zoo during the summertime!!


Does this look familiar?

[MattN03]

That looks very familiar! In fact, I live less than a mile from the zoo!

[Memphis 986]

I'm so close that I can smell the elephants