Alex33

Hi all, I was fortunate to have an extended weekend so I took advantage and did a quick wash. Not a big deal but this time I also pulled off the wheels and tried my first in/out wheel cleaning. Not sure when this was last done but I know in the year and a half I have owned my C43 it has not been done. This was last minute so I used Meguiar's Hot Rims Aluminum Wheel Cleaner (Seen Here) that I picked up at the local Autozone, generic car wash soap and a green scotch brite pad (to agitate). After staring at the offerings at Autozone for 20-30 minutes, I chose the aluminum wheel cleaner because I deemed it the least caustic (it's the only cleaner that does not warn against touching with your bare hands) and I figure a rookie like me needs a large time cushion before it will do some serious damage.

Anyway, up on jack stands she went and I pulled off the wheels. I did a test run on the driver front earlier this week before work so it was not as bad as the others. I've been using soap and water on these wheels since day one because it was pretty apparent they were refinished by the previous owner with what appears to be a decent paint job. Also, I didn't want to risk harsh cleaners damaging the finish before I was ready to make a change.

It was fairly straight forward and also a bit time consuming. I rinsed the wheel, gave it a wipe down with soap and water (inner and outer barrel), rinsed again, applied the wheel cleaner front then back. I wiped the front with my soap and water towel, then used the scotch-brite on the inner barrel. I did this twice on all 4 wheels and dirt continued to come off the inner barrels and the insides of the spokes. I started this fun project around 1330hrs and got her back together around 1645hrs (the sun was setting and I was losing light). Now that I have a better idea of what's involved, I would say doing an excellent job with the right tools will take at least a day but will definitely be very rewarding.

Here are the faces after:



Here are the insides after:



To give you an idea, the first wheel on the right was my test wheel from earlier (just used soap, water and scotch brite the first time). As you can see, they still need a lot of love but they are definitely cleaner than before. I didn't take before pics because everyone has seen the inside of a wheel that has never been cleaned.

Here's a fun fact: Two wheels are from Belgium, one is from Austria and one is from Germany and all have OEM part numbers.

Here are a couple snaps after I put her back together:

eFifty5AMG

Looks good Alex
What is your shark fin for? Also, your center caps seem to be yellowing. Some factory caps would look nice.

Alex33

Not sure on the shark fin. I think the previous owner stuck it on there to hide something or he thought it was neat the center caps will get replaced eventually. I haven't decided if I want the color ones, black and white or oem. Thanks for the kind words

eFifty5AMG

Just can't go wrong with Monos. Always have loved that iconic look. Need to get my hands on a nice set

edwonger

I wish my set was like that =( I need to get mines refinish.