The Squeaky Wheel

Brand new Corvette with the upgraded chrome wheels.
Cleaned it today for the 1st time with the regular Zaino wash.
On the way home from work I stop by the AutoParts store and the salesperson recommends EagleOne Chrome wheel cleaner.

so I spray it on like the standard EagleOne wheel cleaner I've used without problems and hose it off.

Nobody bothered to tell me that it would bleach the calipers and the inner part of the rotors.

FAAARRRRRRRQQQQQQQ !!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like I permanently spotted the finish on these items as I couldn't make a dent in it with water & elbow grease.
But I'm praying that someone has a solution (doubtful, I know).

Very truly bummed. Thankfully it's one of those things that only I, or someone looking very carefully, will ever notice.

ZaneO

What does the label say?

The Squeaky Wheel

Yeah, I thought of that too.
Label says nothing aside from "For use on chrome & wire wheels."
I read it before using and would have avoided it like the plaque if it made any warnings about other finishes.

I'm hurtin' here...Don't have the heart or guts to tell the wife and am hoping she won't notice (which is highly likely)

cthusker

Might have a couple of ideas but it would be much better if you could post a couple of pics......... better to see what you need to fix...

The Squeaky Wheel

Here are the gruesome details:

The Squeaky Wheel

notice the spotty bleach marks.
I got the caliper, inner rotor, and the brake mount arm.

Arrrggghhhhhh !!!!!!!!

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

chrome wheel cleaner is very hard on paint and zinc coating, it appears that it etched into it, which likely means no easy repair. Wheels, calipers, rotors, and such must all be cool to the touch and in most instances a less aggressive wheel cleaner is warranted.

The Squeaky Wheel

Unfortunately, that's about what I expected to hear.
It looks and feels permanent.
I'm not the type to replace expensive items like these because of cosmetic blemish which hopefully only i will notice. So now I'm off to drown my sorrows in a few beers.

Do you think the standard EagleOne wheel cleaner is safe to use? If not, please provide me with a better suggestion. I'm not going to cheap out.

ZaneO

With regular maintenance, you shouldn't need much more than soap and water to clean your wheels.

6']['9

i dont think that it "bleched" the calipers much less the metal behind it. IF that wheel cleaner is for chrome rims then why didnt it mess up your wheels?? I think if you remove the wheel and maybe polish it with some kind of metal polish like blue whatever it is or mothers polish that should come off. I know on my uncoated wheels when i would use the wheel cleaner it would make them white sometimes. That happenes a lot when you spray the wheel cleaner like that on hot surfaces. It would eventually come off using a little elbow grease and some metal polish..... i wouldnt worry too much about it.

BTW you dont have chrome wheels so i wouldnt use chrome wheel cleaner for polish coated wheels. Your best bet is to use soap and water and ocassionally (SP) polish them with some blue magic or mothers polish. good luck

0TH0001@properautocare.com

First of all you should smack the autoparts guy.. okay not really

Chrome is a very durable surface and most chrome wheel cleaners are fairly aggresive because the chrome can tolerate it. However, you wheels are clearcoated. They are chrome underneath, so I wouldn't even recommend chrome wheel cleaner on the wheels let alone anything else.

It looks like a chemical reaction occured and the results are pretty permenent. You might want to call Eagle One and see what they recommend. Clean your rims and place a quality sealent (don't use carnuba wax because it will melt off) on them and use soap and water to clean them of a very mild wheel cleaner. Sorry to hear about your bad luck, keep us informed.

Humanoid 2.0

Are you sure you have the chrome, they don't look like it from the photos.

I do not like EagleOne wheel cleaners. I got the one for clear coat wheels and it still stained. I use the pinnacle wheel gel, and have had no problems.

Good luck in fixing your issue.

ZaneO

I completely missed that...I was thrown off when you said, "upgraded chrome wheels." As said above, those wheels are clearcoated. You need to treat them like paint.

cthusker

Why not just get the calipers powder coated or paint them. Mine are powder coated but many have good luck with painted calipers. The rotor could also be masked off and painted with high temp black to hide those marks. To me that's an easy DIY fix if you want to do some work....

fastskyline

yea just paint the calipers...it will look better than before. i have been using meg's hot wheels cleaner (neon pink bottle) for years and never had any sort of problem.

0TH0001@properautocare.com

The hotwheels cleaner is very mild, and I have never had any problems on clearcoated wheels with it. Just make sure your rims are cool to the touch!

agentf1

This is why I just Zaino my wheels and maintain them with just soap (Z7) and water.

Sorry to hear about that. You wanted to paint those calibers red anyway didn't you?

bugman

Exactly !
First of all - your wheels are not chrome. So you should not use products made for chrome.
You have the "high polished" wheels -- which are just aluminum that is (rather poorly) polished to a gloss, then clearcoated. So to clean them you should use nothing more or less than you use on the clearcoated paint of your car. -- regular car wash soap will do great for you.

Second - yes, you should take cthusker's advice.
if you're not familiar with the process, go to http://c6.81x.com
and click on "Calipers" -- plenty of pics to show you how to do it. Will cost you about $20.

before:

After:



for the black parts: Plasticote universal black engine enamel #203.



Just my opinion -- you'll definitely have to ditch those aluminum wheels eventually. Start looking into

• corvettes of houston - probably the best deal, or
• west coast corvettes

For some nice chrome wheels at about $1000 total - can't beat that!

The Squeaky Wheel

Bugman....

Yeah !!!!!!!

Great stuff. I've always liked the look of the red or yellow calipers on Porsches and what-not. That will be my summer project and will make everything look better than new.

What did you use to cover the bolts & rotor?

Thanks man. Things are looking waaaay up.

cthusker

Some blue painters tape and you can mask anything. For the rotor area you can mask it. Then take a razor knife and just cut the tape exactly around the area you want to protect. If you happen to get a "LITTLE" paint on the braking surface of the rotor no biggie.... brake pads will clean it right off first time you stop! Your entire project is as Bugman says.. about 20 bucks and a little fun time with your car. BTW... make sure you know how to lift your car properly and safely to take off the wheels. I believe Bugman has all kinds of pictures on his website showing EXACTLY how to do it! You won't be working under the car but BE SAFE! You want to make it look better not create more problems... : :