I cleaned up my wheels on my Roadmaster, helped a lot. There is some minor corrosion on the metal that I just lightly sanded with fine grid wet sandpaper, not much help. What really looks the worst is the center caps, all look about the same, seems like the color or clear coat is coming off as they look blotchy. These caps are out of dealer stock and I cannot find repo's or NOS. Ebay has a few, all used and look worst. Can I simply spray paint these and clear coat after taping off the black center section? Take the an auto painter?
Go to any parts store and buy a bottle of Aircraft Stripper paint remover. Paint it just on the silver part, NOT the black plastic part. The clearcoat will bubble off. Use some chrome and mag polish on the bare metal, followed by a good coat of car wax. The caps will GLOW. Also used some polishing compound followed by wax on the black plastic centers. Put a fresh coat of wax on them about every month and they will stay nice. Clearcoat is not needed as long as you keep them clean and waxed. You'll love them! -Mike
Before and after I cleaned up my center caps today. Used the Aircraft paint stripper followed by metal polish and then car wax. They look so much better, I still need to do a bit of cleaning on the black section but my wheels are looking much better. Thanks for the instructions, saved me a lot of grief.
white walls I did not think the white walls cleanable, they look pretty cracked. not sure how old the tires are but the are no longer made Michelins.
get a box of SOS pads at your local store, should be in the kitchen cleaning aisle. If they don't get the white walls clean, they are not getting clean. I have a specific white wall cleaner I use to touch up that is just a spray, but it won't do the job the pad does. You might have to go over them twice. Just get the pad wet and scrub, rinse and scrub again. Great tip on the aircraft stripper Mike... Andielee, you did a nice job on the wheels!
Sos I read about sos pads while researching cleaning white walls. I will give them a try next day off and hope. The tires still have about a year of life in them and are high end tires.
I've used SOS pads since my first car in 1956. Also used the original Whesley's Bleach White when not so dirty. . New formula not as good.
Yes it does work well but I would not recommend it with the caps posted here as the eazy off foams up expands and it will do damage to the plastic center caps.. As for SOS pads, they do wonders IMO for white walls. Extra stained ones rather than the pad and water, the pad dipped in Lacquer thinner works great, then hose off with water. Those caps turned out really nice! Judging by the pics, I can't see you having problems getting those white walls clean.
white walls I plan to get some SOS pads and give it a try tomorrow or Tuesday, my days off work. I plan to try the pads with various cleaners and lacquer thinner.
white walls cleaned I cleaned the white wall with SOS pads and water plus a lot of rubbing. They came out a lot better. Up close you can see fine cracks in the white wall due to age.
Nice job! Over time and additional cleanings, the cracks will get a bit cleaner, but not much you can do other than replace the tires. Besides, nobody will see the dirty cracks as you cruise down the road.
clean thanks they came out looking very good, I was surprised as I thought the dirt was permanent. They are expensive tires and no longer made, kind of like the wagon itself. They should be good for another year, maybe more as the wagon is not my commuter car. I like the SOS pads, cheap and no harsh chemicals to damage the wheels.
