Most liked posts in thread: How I Clean Wheels

So...can we now say that WD40 stands for Wheel Detail 40?????

 

The solvent in WD40 is basically kerosene. It will do a very nice job of cleaning stuff, but it will leave an oily residue, that is it's job. Displace the water and leave a bit of oil behind.

I have been using it (and brake cleaner) for years instead of a parts cleaner for that very reason.

 

WD-40 isn't a lubricant, it's a water displacing coating. It evaporates in a couple of days. Hose your brakes down all you want, the lubricating properties of WD-40 are short lived.

Dave

 

Simply brilliant!!!

I'll have to remember that WD40 trick. Sweet.....

 

Dang! I'm gonna try that on my track wheels.

Pat

 

makes sense. WD is for water displacement, so it will penetrate and cling to dirt, and hose off as oil and water don't mix.

 

Cool. Will it hurt painted wheels?

Jim

 

Wow I am going to have to try this trick. Thanks for the tip!

 

Wow they look great! When you say 'soaking overnight' are you referring to simply spraying and leaving it on the rims or are you referring to some liberal amount of WD40 in some sort of bucket with the rim face down in it overnight?

 

I'm speechless.

....Les

 

You should try to mask off the tire as much as possible because WD-40 destroys rubber. Do you know the red straw that comes taped to the can? I had the bright idea to store the straw using a rubber band around the can, and wondered why they didn't do that. Tried it a few times and the rubber band always disintegrated.

The new style cans of WD-40 now have a flip-up "smart straw" that are part of the nozzle and not a separate straw that you can lose.

 

WOW, I'm speechless!

 

Rubber bands are latex rubber, everything dissolves latex. WD-40 won't affect tire rubber at all.

Dave

 

Like my Dad says, duct tape and WD 40 can fix the world!

 

What about the Rotors????

When you spray the wheels you are bound to get some WD-40 on the Disc Brake Rotors. I would think it would have to be removed from the Rotors before driving the car. Oil & Brake pads just do not get along together very well.:confused5:

 

I don't know,

I just can't see putting any type of oil on my brake pads. Not even WD-40. If I was going to clean my wheels with WD-40 I would take them off of the car and spray them.

But then, If they are off the car I could use soap and water like I usually do.

They do make a spray cleaner that will not hurt the brake pads. Eagle-1, Mcguires, among others. A lot safer then oiling the brake rotors & pads.

Google "Putting WD-40 on brake pads" and see what other people say.

 

WD-40 on brake components seems like a damn terrible idea. Sure it may clean it and make it look shiney. There is a VERY good reason why you shouldnt even touch the brake surface of the rotors OR the pads during install, unless you have gloves of some form on.

As far as it "moving the flake closer to the surface"...yeah that is not physically happening either. The oily residue left behind gives the part a 'wet' look much like a very good wax does. (a good wax lasts longer then a day though) B/C of that, the flake with-in the paint sparkles more and looks to be closer to the surface.

Cleaning wheels w/ wd-40 has a lot of merit, but you need to be careful in how you do it. Hell ive been told by a lot of 'ole-timers' that WD-40 used to be used as a one-step clean/wax...lol

 

Being an "old timer" myself, I'm going to follow you advice and give it a try. thanks for passing this along.

Jim