I've got horrible rust stains on my car's rims, and I'm at a loss as to how to get rid of them. A bit of googling suggests the use of steel wool, but I'm not sure how much I trust that. Any suggestions?
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migrated from diy.stackexchange.com Aug 30 '11 at 14:49
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I'd try some CLR in a very small spot to see if it can remove it. I'm not sure the effect it will have on metal so try it in a very small/inconspicuous spot first (maybe on the very edge of one of the spokes). |
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I've had very good results with this. It will take a bit more work to clean your wheels than CLR (or some other corrosive) but is probably safer for the wheels, and avoids the potential damage that steel wool might cause. |
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You could try using Cola and report back the results ... the Mythbusters didn't try Cola on Aluminum (which is what I am assuming your wheels are made of). You should try using one of the 3M (or any other brand) recycled plastic bottle scrubbers. The aluminum should not be harmed as it is a much stronger material than thin woven plastic. |
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An Oxalic acid scrub is the old standard method of removing rust stains from chrome and other metal objects. It's sold as "wood bleach" in lumber yards, and likely sold as "rust remover" at hardware stores. My tin of the stuff is 20 years old, so I'm not familiar with what the brand names are today. |
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Mother's wheel polish has never failed me. |
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