Best wheel cleaner

[Scooter363y]

I have a 2014 gold wing that I am having a small problem with. The front wheel is very dirty. I try to scrub it when I wash the bike. But it seems like the brake dust has possibly etched itself onto the wheel. I think that Honda was using a clear coat on this year. I don't want to use something that would possibly damage this coating. So if anyone has had this problem and has found a product that cleans without damaging the coating please share with me.

Thanks
Scooter

[tamathumper]

I'm in the same boat as you.

And because I hate cleaning wheels so much, I find the "best" wheel cleaner is wind.

I've tried Mother's, Nu-Polish (probably not even made anymore, it's so old the plastic bottle cracked from age), P21S (popular in the Porsche community), and Adams Deep Wheel Cleaner (good line of products). None of them get rid of the dull gray of the wheel, and I'm not going at it with a power drill and a wool ball because like I said, I hate cleaning wheels.

[MikeB]

The clear coat is no doubt compromised and needs to be removed.
Simple paint remover is probably the best way to go to get the clear coat off and then polish the wheel as you would a bare aluminum wheel is polished.
The other option is have the wheels cleaned and powder coated.

[Captron]

I used "Mothers" rim cleaner on my front rim last week..All's I can say is WOW!!! My front rims shines like I have chromed it...

Ronnie

[Viking]

To just get all the dirt off my rims, I use orange citrus hand cleaner. Yup, same stuff I use to get grease and dirt off my hands, which I purchase in a gallon jug. It has some kind of grit in it, probably pumice, and is also probably petroleum based. I put it on a scrubby, and it takes it all off. Then I spray with S100 Cycle cleaner, give it a wet wipe with a cloth and rinse. My rims look like they did when the bike was made. Not too shiny, and not too dull.

[Corkster52]

Gonna sound crazy, but for at least getting part of it off, crumpled up aluminum foil does an surprisingly good job!

[C-dub]

For my car, truck, and bike wheels I've always used just warm or cool water and Dawn dish soap. It's gentle enough to be used on oil soaked birds, so I figured it would be good enough for this too. A little elbow grease and patience and they turn out great. No need to sparkle. They're not chrome and are just gonna get dirty again.

[Captron]

Gonna sound crazy, but for at least getting part of it off, crumpled up aluminum foil does an surprisingly good job!

Hmmmmmm what an excellent idea, going to give this a try......

As a clean freak, I'll try anything at least twice! lol


Ronnie

[Captron]

To just get all the dirt off my rims, I use orange citrus hand cleaner. Yup, same stuff I use to get grease and dirt off my hands, which I purchase in a gallon jug. It has some kind of grit in it, probably pumice, and is also probably petroleum based. I put it on a scrubby, and it takes it all off. Then I spray with S100 Cycle cleaner, give it a wet wipe with a cloth and rinse. My rims look like they did when the bike was made. Not too shiny, and not too dull.

Never used the S100 product as of yet, BUT I've been reading about it lately...........thanks for the head's up! I will use this at the end of the season when I have to put "Blacky" away.. (She's a trike) so I always jack up the back of the trike and use a long handle brush with plenty of soap and water and wash the underside the best that I possibly can... Don't want any salt staying on her during her winter hibernation period...

Ronnie

[Corkster52]

Hmmmmmm what an excellent idea, going to give this a try......

You just make a crumpled up ball, roughly the radius of the part you are trying to clean, and scrub away. Aluminum to aluminum will not scratch!

[Corkster52]

I forgot to mention the water! It is very important!!!

I found some of the info I referred to when I found out about it a couple of years back. Here it is:

In English - How it works
A common way to clean a rusted chrome surface such as a fender is to use a fine steel wool. However, when you use this method you have to use a lot of elbow grease and you still end up with a slightly dull surface with some amount of scratching not to mention the messy 'dust' left over from the steel wool. That's because you are physically scraping off the rust.
When you use the aluminum foil method you are dissolving the rust chemically so you don't need to rub nearly as hard and since the aluminum foil is softer than the chrome, you are left with few if any scratches. This method also allows you to get the rust out of some minor pitting without having to dig into the surface.
The aluminum oxide that is created by friction when you rub the surface of the chrome leeches the rust away and when combined with the water you added creates it's own polishing compound so you end up with a clean, smooth, shiny surface.
Step by step - By the numbers, people
1- Cut the aluminum foil into small squares. 3" by 3" should do.
2- Wipe down or wash the surface to remove any surface dirt.
3- Dip a square into some water or sprinkle some water on it and spread it around on the surface of the foil.
4- Cup the wet square over the surface you want to clean so you get a nice even coverage.
5- Start rubbing a 6 or 8 inch area and remember you don't have to rub very hard. As you rub, you'll feel the surface get smoother and smoother until the foil just glides over it. You will also notice a light brown paste building up. This is the polish that results from the chemical reaction.
6- When the surface is nice and smooth and you have polished it, take a clean cloth and wipe the polish off.
7- Once you finish cleaning and polishing the item you need to cover the surface to protect it from the elements. At a minimum you can wipe it down thoroughly with a clean cloth. Since cloth inherently contains some amount of oil, this will give you at least some protection.
The best method would be to use a small amount of chrome polish or maybe something like turtle wax or an equivalent kind of wax or polish. Make sure you wipe the surface down with a paper towel first instead of a cloth because paper doesn't contain any oil so you will have a clean and dry surface for the wax or polish to adhere to.
Limitations - There's always a catch
If the surface is severely pitted or some of the chrome plating has peeled off, there is a limit to how much you can do. Since this method removes the rust chemically, you should still be able to get rid of most if not all of the rust. And since it creates it's own polishing compound, you should be able to feather (taper) the peeled off edges to help prevent more peeling in the future. Again, once you have the surface as rust free and smoothed down as much as possible, don't forget to apply some form of wax or polish.
Tips - Things we noticed along the way
Use a little extra water if you want a super fine finish.
Wad up a larger piece of foil when you work on pitted areas. The edges created will help smooth down the pits.
Don't rub too long with the first 'paste' created. Once the surface feels nice and smooth and you've wiped the gunk off, you can use a new piece of foil with some more water to get as much shine as you like.
Don't waste your time with a severely pitted surface since the rust has probably eaten down through the chrome to the bare metal. Smooth it down as much as you can with steel wool then use the aluminum foil method to remove as much rust as possible.
The aluminum foil method also works pretty well on steel. It removes the rust well, but don't expect that super shiny finish like you get with the chrome because it never had that to begin with.
To get the best results, remove that fender or other part so you can work on it easily without having nooks and crannies to dig into.
If you're working on severely rusted rims, you might want to use a steel brush to remove the worst rust spots first. This will also remove any caked on road gunk so you have a better surface to work with

[Captron]

I forgot to mention the water! It is very important!!!

I found some of the info I referred to when I found out about it a couple of years back. Here it is:

In English - How it works
A common way to clean a rusted chrome surface such as a fender is to use a fine steel wool. However, when you use this method you have to use a lot of elbow grease and you still end up with a slightly dull surface with some amount of scratching not to mention the messy 'dust' left over from the steel wool. That's because you are physically scraping off the rust.
When you use the aluminum foil method you are dissolving the rust chemically so you don't need to rub nearly as hard and since the aluminum foil is softer than the chrome, you are left with few if any scratches. This method also allows you to get the rust out of some minor pitting without having to dig into the surface.
The aluminum oxide that is created by friction when you rub the surface of the chrome leeches the rust away and when combined with the water you added creates it's own polishing compound so you end up with a clean, smooth, shiny surface.
Step by step - By the numbers, people
1- Cut the aluminum foil into small squares. 3" by 3" should do.
2- Wipe down or wash the surface to remove any surface dirt.
3- Dip a square into some water or sprinkle some water on it and spread it around on the surface of the foil.
4- Cup the wet square over the surface you want to clean so you get a nice even coverage.
5- Start rubbing a 6 or 8 inch area and remember you don't have to rub very hard. As you rub, you'll feel the surface get smoother and smoother until the foil just glides over it. You will also notice a light brown paste building up. This is the polish that results from the chemical reaction.
6- When the surface is nice and smooth and you have polished it, take a clean cloth and wipe the polish off.
7- Once you finish cleaning and polishing the item you need to cover the surface to protect it from the elements. At a minimum you can wipe it down thoroughly with a clean cloth. Since cloth inherently contains some amount of oil, this will give you at least some protection.
The best method would be to use a small amount of chrome polish or maybe something like turtle wax or an equivalent kind of wax or polish. Make sure you wipe the surface down with a paper towel first instead of a cloth because paper doesn't contain any oil so you will have a clean and dry surface for the wax or polish to adhere to.
Limitations - There's always a catch
If the surface is severely pitted or some of the chrome plating has peeled off, there is a limit to how much you can do. Since this method removes the rust chemically, you should still be able to get rid of most if not all of the rust. And since it creates it's own polishing compound, you should be able to feather (taper) the peeled off edges to help prevent more peeling in the future. Again, once you have the surface as rust free and smoothed down as much as possible, don't forget to apply some form of wax or polish.
Tips - Things we noticed along the way
Use a little extra water if you want a super fine finish.
Wad up a larger piece of foil when you work on pitted areas. The edges created will help smooth down the pits.
Don't rub too long with the first 'paste' created. Once the surface feels nice and smooth and you've wiped the gunk off, you can use a new piece of foil with some more water to get as much shine as you like.
Don't waste your time with a severely pitted surface since the rust has probably eaten down through the chrome to the bare metal. Smooth it down as much as you can with steel wool then use the aluminum foil method to remove as much rust as possible.
The aluminum foil method also works pretty well on steel. It removes the rust well, but don't expect that super shiny finish like you get with the chrome because it never had that to begin with.
To get the best results, remove that fender or other part so you can work on it easily without having nooks and crannies to dig into.
If you're working on severely rusted rims, you might want to use a steel brush to remove the worst rust spots first. This will also remove any caked on road gunk so you have a better surface to work with

WoW! many, many thanks for this report, I had other plans today BUT "Blacky" is most important to me, and being a clean freak, I must report to duty ASAP, so with a wad of aluminum foil now in hand, a trip to the garage is NOW in order....Thanks...............BYE!

Ronnie

[keithg64]

Have you tried wd40. It's an excellent cleaner. Spray onto your rag and wipe the rim down a couple of times. Should be good to go.

[Captron]

Have you tried wd40. It's an excellent cleaner. Spray onto your rag and wipe the rim down a couple of times. Should be good to go.

Thank you Keith,
I've used WD40 for fogged up headlights but never for cleaning rims Thank you!!

Ronnie

[Wingman 5]

Hey there I clean a lot of Rc airplanes engines and I do use it on my bike I think it’s better then the cleaner s100 and the name is LA’S totally awesome cleaner you can buy it at rural king on the back of container it will tell you how to mix for that job your doing I usually mix 1 part cleaner to 1 part water you may Need to experiment a little try it you will like it and the wife can use on the house.

[MikeB]

Hey there I clean a lot of Rc airplanes engines and I do use it on my bike I think it’s better then the cleaner s100 and the name is LA’S totally awesome cleaner you can buy it at rural king on the back of container it will tell you how to mix for that job your doing I usually mix 1 part cleaner to 1 part water you may Need to experiment a little try it you will like it and the wife can use on the house.

I have to assume that you are talking about "LA's Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner". The lack of punctuation and capitalization makes it difficult for me to decipher.

I agree that it is a great cleaner and reasonably priced. It is usually sold at the Dollar Tree, at least that is where I found it. For a dollar a bottle, it is hard to go wrong.

Here is a web page reviewing the cleaner: https://clark.com/family-lifestyle/doll ... e-cleaner/

I can't say that I have ever used it on my Gold Wing wheels but I have used it on my Pace enclosed utility trailer painted sheet metal paneling. It removed months of oxidation and stains from the paint that Formula 409 and Simple Green just couldn't touch. I may have been able to get it clean with car wax but the Totally Awesome cleaner was a whole lot quicker and easier and it was only a dollar a bottle.

If all you need to do is clean road film from and brake dust from your wheels, this might be an excellent product to use.
However personally, I still use Simple Green and never have tried the Totally Awesome on the wheels. Maybe I will someday.

[Corkster52]

Here's another YouTube review that gives it a C+ rating



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