Cleaning pearl wheels - any adivce?

RichR

Hi, I bought my '92 feature @ a month an a half ago and have not been able to get the pearl wheels clean - does anyone have any secrets/tips, or advice?
Thanks.

TWF_John

What have you tried? I generally use the same techniques as paint care. I like Meguiar's Show Car Glaze to get them clean and then a couple coats of wax.

RDrink25

Try a Magic Eraser you can get it at a grocery store.

92LX

Be carefull ! If your not use to seeing 92 pearl wheels you might think they are "dirty" but its the pearl. You can if you clean to hard,,,, rub the pearl off.

gokstate74

Be carefull ! If your not use to seeing 92 pearl wheels you might think they are "dirty" but its the pearl. You can if you clean to hard,,,, rub the pearl off.

Agree. Some of the "dirty spots" I think might be the underlying silver and the white is wearing off. I have tried just about everything and met with various success/failure. Though I don't like to use it often, my favorite is Turtle wax F21 wheel cleaner. Really removes brake dust and caked on stuff. Simple green could be tried. A soft bristle toothbrush could be sacrificed.

Make sure to put some sealant/polish/wax on after cleaning to protect it like your paint.

l1k2gadd

The wheels on my '92 were very dirty and discolored when I brought the car home. After the car was here almost a year and I had been driving it all over I decided to try to clean the wheels. Fearing I would scrub/chemical clean the "white" off the wheels I resisted using anything on the wheels at all. Some products say in their disclaimer to test in a small inconspicuous spot first so I went the route of "elbow-grease". With a soft soft cotton rag (old T-shirt parts I think, I used soap and water and a lot of rubbing on the first wheel. I figured if I messed one up I still had three discolored wheels left untouched. I was shocked! It cleaned up and the white shines so nice I was fast to do the second one. A couple of hours later the second wheel looked like new. Ambitious to complete the job I took the time to do the third one with the same results. Well, I pooped out after the third one and the fourth one stayed discolored for almost 4 months, maybe longer. Recently I started on the fourth one but still didn't finish. The fourth wheel is still only partially done but I recommend a soft cotton cloth, soap (Dawn dish detergent here) and water.

gokstate74

+1 on the dawn (blue) dish soap--understand this strips any protection off the wheels too so protect them as above.

l1k2gadd

I used the same mixture that I wash my vehicles with, a squirt or so in a 5 (or so) gallon bucket of water, not full strength. My apologies if I misled anyone. I clean my Turbines with the same thing, but Turbines are a real pain to clean. Also, I believe Dawn is Dawn, colors and additives to give it scent or no scent. My choice is the Odor Eraser light green liquid, what odors it erases is a mystery to me though too.