Cleaning wheel rims...with what?

[Janners Mugs]

Putting the 1992 Marin Eldridge Grade back together and starting from the floor..hence wheels. The rims have sat in somebody's damp garage for a long time and are best described as dull, so dull they suck the light out of the surrounding county, yes that dull!
A clean with Nutz de-greaser has improved things, next was going to be an abrasive pad and then perhaps some metal cleaner (Brasso or something). Not looking for perfection, just nicely clean.
Any suggestions welcome, or any "NO DON'T DO IT!" pearls of wisdom.
Cheers
Janners.

Post looked lonely without a photo, so here are the rims and my coffee.

 

[bjellys]

Start with this put it on with a small paint brush (not too vigorously as it is slightly abrasive ) leave it for 30 to 40 minutes then wash it off .you can get it from some supermarkets
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/24252/Bar-Ke ... ream-350ml

 

[Janners Mugs]

Start with this put it on with a small paint brush (not too vigorously as it is slightly abrasive ) leave it for 30 to 40 minutes then wash it off .you can get it from some supermarkets
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/24252/Bar-Ke ... ream-350ml

Interesting, we have a cleaner here that has the same uses. We use on the stainless steel pans. I shall investigate.
Thanks for the link.
Regards
Janners

 

[CassidyAce]

Re:

I usually begin with some washing up liquid in warm water and a non-scratch washing up sponge: all those dark marks on the braking surface come off easily with just a little scrubbing.

 

[ishaw]

Re:

Citrus or similar degreaser and a toothbrush. A long time ago I remember using wd40 with good results. Wondered whether car alloy wheel cleaner would be good, it removes brake pad dust and grime.

To get the braking surface back to its best, some fine sandpaper and a quick spin of the wheels.

 

[enc]

Re:

I usually start by removing as much crap as possible using washing up liquid (helps break down the grease/oil) in hot water applied with a microfibre car wash mitt. The majority of crud is removed at this stage.
once dry, i hit the hub and rim with WD40 applied with a toothbrush the spokes are wiped down with WD 40 applied to a microfibre towel. finally, everything is given a polish with Autosol and sealed with poorboys wheel sealent and Gtechniq c2v3

its a laborious job but very rewarding

edit: dont go scrubbing at the decals

before ...

 

[Duxuk]

Always been a fan of Solvol Autosol metal polish. They'll come up spanking.

 

[Janners Mugs]

"Autosol" well done folks. There was something at the back of my mind that I used decades ago and couldn't remember what it was.

Cheers
Janners

 

[captaincowelly]

Re:

Wouldn't Autosol be a bit too abrasive?Great for getting a mirror finish on bare alloy but if you want the original look with the silver/grey anodized finish intact,surely Autosol is just gonna start rubbing that away?And once you've removed a patch you're stuck with doing the whole rim.
Personally I would degrease and use car polish (much less abrasive but will shift a lot of the muck) on the ano surface,then 1000grit wet n dry on the braking surface.
Seem to remember using polish on braking surfaces on rims bitd,wasn't keen on the judder n noise it produced :facepalm: .

 

[Voodoocurt]

Re:

I’ve used this stuff and it’s great...little elbow grease and it shines right up.