Wheel Cleaning advice - will Acetone damage finish

Chris George · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 8:38 am **Posts:** 15

Will Acetone or Mineral Spirits/Denatured Alcohol damage the finish on Kosei K1 (silver painted) wheels?

I have some left over adhesive from previous adhesive backed balancing weights and lots of general road grime that I want to clean and I was going to use Acetone. Just curious if someone can verify it will not cloud the finish or otherwise damage the wheel. I am not sure of the manufacted alloy so I am hoping someone is familiar with these

I will also be bringing the wheels to Steve (hub cap heaven) to have them remove the rim-edge balancing weights currently on the inside edge of the wheel and re-balance using the adhesive backed weights applied to the inside cylinder of the wheel. Will the above listed acetone cleaning require any additional prep to the wheel before re-applying weights.

Thanks for replies
-chris

Rob Keehner · **Posted:** Tue Dec 16, 2003 2:10 am

It will speed the delivery of other chemicals into your bloodstream. Wear gloves. Don't know about your actual question though sorry.

Kevin Allen · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 6:42 pm **Posts:** 3479

Clean the gunk off with soapy water and a credit card (or something similar). Don't use acetone!

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Tue Dec 16, 2003 11:47 am

I've used either 3M Adhesive remover or Turtle Wax bug and Tar remover on various other brands of painted wheels. Goo Gone "should" work also.

Graham Jagger · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:53 am **Posts:** 1718

Do not use Acetone unless you want to strip the protective clear coat off painted wheels.

Go with what Dick or Kevin recommended. The 3M products tend to be the best for most shop use. But never forget about good old fashioned soap and hot water!

Graham

Scott Johnson · **Posted:** Tue Dec 16, 2003 6:47 pm

As others have said...

Acetone *is* paint remver, so any paint or clearcoat will get stripped in a hurry. Mineral spirits will not hurt anything, it will just strip off any wax that it comes in contact with.

Also, as others have said, a dedicated tar/adhesive remover is best (why re-discover the wheel).

Scott

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Wed Dec 17, 2003 10:49 am

On a related note, is there any problem with removing the paint from aluminum wheels (I also have the K1s) and running them with just raw aluminum? Not that I plan to do this, but I am curious if it would cause problems?

Also how hard would it be to strip the paint from these wheels and paint them yourself (and have it actually look pretty decent). Would you need a special paint? Special primer coat? Special clear coat?

Adam Ligon · **Posted:** Wed Dec 17, 2003 11:07 am

Richard Casto wrote:

On a related note, is there any problem with removing the paint from aluminum wheels (I also have the K1s) and running them with just raw aluminum? Not that I plan to do this, but I am curious if it would cause problems?

Also how hard would it be to strip the paint from these wheels and paint them yourself (and have it actually look pretty decent). Would you need a special paint? Special primer coat? Special clear coat?

Raw alluminium tends to oxidize, which is not pretty. As for stripping sandblasting is probably the best bet. And any good automotive paints, even rattle cans, should work fine. I have two sets of wheels that I have done this two. One is on 2k miles now and the wheels still look new.

Chris George · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 8:38 am **Posts:** 15

Thanks for the posts guys.
I did try the soapy water and it was only marginally successful. As many folks suggested, next step bug and tar remover.

Graham Jagger · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:53 am **Posts:** 1718

If the bug/tar remover doesn't work then go with the 3M cleaners.

Now here is another suggestion for the finish. This is popular with a lot of C4 owners with the factory sawblade wheels. Strip all the paint. Polish the aluminum until it looks like a mirror. Then put clear coat on the wheels. They'll shine like crazy and have a protective coating to stop the oxidation on the surface. Then your wheels won't look like everyone elses

Graham

Charlie Guthrie · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:14 pm **Posts:** 832

For gummy residue two "cleaners" have proved quite useful. 1. WD-40 is great for gummed adhesieves because it penetrates under the goo and releases the grip on the surface. Also, during the removal process it keeps the goo from reattaching to the surface, itself and and your hands. I use this for everything with high-security price tags and tire weight adhesieve. 2. Olive oil - works for all of the above reasons although not quite as quick, but the wife dosen't mind if I use it on household surfaces (glassware with price tags, etc.). Also, there are no known adverse health issues using olive oil.

As for sand blasting aluminum, the folks who do my anodizing work advise against bead blasting if you plan to anodize because the beads fracture and imbed in the surface preventing the anodizing from being complete. If you are painting, the bead blast finish should be OK, just don't use beads that have previously been used on steel surfaces because there will be some steel in the mix and that will lead to corrosion later. If you are painting any color other than clear, then a trip to the paint store is in order to get a primer specifically for aluminum (zinc chromate).

If it was me....unless the finish on the wheels is badly chipped or cosmetically ugly, just prep and repaint. Most factory paint finishes are better adhering than most that we can do (short of powder coating). If sanding for prep is too bothersome, I have used a liquid "Sand Ban" which attacks the previous finish just enough to roughen the surface so that the new paint will adhere. Who looks at wheels anyway? :-0
Charlie G

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