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Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2023 4:02 am
by 009jim
I have factory alloy wheels on my RT. They appear to be a light grey painted finish. I've been cleaning the wheels starting with slightly soapy water which removed dust and grime. Then I used a rag lightly dampened with some turpentine to easily remove tar spots. Then things got more difficult. I still have some "stains" which I was able to have limited success with a conventional auto polish. Anybody got ideas to remove the remaining marks / stains? I suspect these have resulted from bugs gizzards that were left on the surface for too long.
Re: Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2023 7:43 pm
by Excellence
Fwiw - my advice would be don't try to keep them in mint condition. Doing that may well involve removing some of the overpaint protection thereby exposing fresh and less well protected paintwork to further damage and each time you really put the elbow grease into it the deterioration rate will probably accelerate. My wife reckons every time she washes my favourite jumper it gets dirtier quicker and started looking tatty really fast.
Don't sweat it.
If it looks nice and clean - that'll do.
Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear! Good luck.
Re: Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2023 11:43 am
by 009jim
Excellence wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 7:43 pm
Fwiw - my advice would be don't try to keep them in mint condition. Doing that may well involve removing some of the overpaint protection thereby exposing fresh and less well protected paintwork to further damage and each time you really put the elbow grease into it the deterioration rate will probably accelerate. My wife reckons every time she washes my favourite jumper it gets dirtier quicker and started looking tatty really fast.
Don't sweat it.
If it looks nice and clean - that'll do.
Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear! Good luck.
Good advice - I agree!
Re: Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2023 9:06 pm
by exportman
If you want to spend your time cleaning a bike sell the RT and get a HD
Re: Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2023 9:23 pm
by ald71
Hi,
AutoGlym alloy wheel cleaner did a good job on my RT when I got it. The wheels had been coated wit ACF 50 which had gone hard and very dark and crusty, a couple of goes with the cleaner and an old tooth brush got them up to scratch.
Re: Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2023 10:17 pm
by Steve398
I’m from the ‘keep them clean’ camp…
When I first got the bike the wheels were not great but some car wheel cleaner removed the brake deposits, then it was a wash after each ride.
TBH I haven’t noticed any staining on the wheels after this regime.
Re: Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2023 2:20 pm
by Doctor T
Mine are flaky and cruddy. Stops me worrying about keeping them clean
Re: Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2023 5:43 pm
by Steve398
.Deleted
Re: Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:44 am
by frogor
Hydrogen peroxide is a very effective bug body remover. Spray a bit on bug remains, wait a couple of minutes, wipe off the mess. Works quite well on windscreens or any area that collects bug remains, Keep it in a dark container, as exposure to light will quickly turn it into plain H2O.
Re: Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2024 1:52 pm
by Doctor T
Hydrogen peroxide is also great for making bombs. Baby wipes are brilliant for getting bug from the screen and helmet visor
Re: Cleaning Alloy Wheels
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:20 pm
by Capt Sisko
I've used Autoglym Engine & Machine cleaners and got good results.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001AZE5WS? ... tails&th=1