Ok so I'm wondering if I did the right thing (don't suggest I post before I do, too late for that). I was washing my wife's 4Runner yesterday. It get's cleaned once in a while but nothing like Spike. It's a working vehicle so it doesnt get much TLC. After the wash I was staring at the rims, which have been bugging me for a long time. Lots of brake dust and other crud that's sort of stained the rim. A basic wash didn't take care of it, neither did a scrub with some umph and a terry towel. I then tried some Mcguire's cleaning wax. That improved it, but not much. I found an old jar of Mothers Mag/Alum Polish in the shed. Took that too the rims with plenty of elbow grease. Eventually the rims looked great. I dressed them after with a bit of the Mcguire's wax. I'm wonderiing if I damaged the painted surface with the Mothers polish? While it might look better for a while, did I actually just scratch up the painted surface so it's only going to attract more grime in the long run? Is this the best way of handling really stained rims? :confused5: Thanks all
stained = brake dust or stained = dirt? If brake dust, it's already etched the paint. You should hit them with some clearcoat if you can get it 100% off but it takes extreme methods. I recommend Diamond Clear Gloss from eastwood.com