I rashly allowed the guys who fitted my tyres last time to put the weights on the outside (visible) part of the rim. Didn't look great but not too bad whilst they were alloy coloured.
With new tyres, the weights came off and left the rubber backing on the alloys - looks bl**dy awful - but i cant find anything to shift them. i have scaped away with a plastic spatula, as I dont want to scratch the alloys, but anyone know a decent solvent that will get rid of the final bits without damaging the laquer on the alloys (tried meths and wheel cleaner to no avail)
Martin
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1993 M5 5 speed with AP brakes, Dinan III suspension
I rashly allowed the guys who fitted my tyres last time to put the weights on the outside (visible) part of the rim. Didn't look great but not too bad whilst they were alloy coloured.
With new tyres, the weights came off and left the rubber backing on the alloys - looks bl**dy awful - but i cant find anything to shift them. i have scaped away with a plastic spatula, as I dont want to scratch the alloys, but anyone know a decent solvent that will get rid of the final bits without damaging the laquer on the alloys (tried meths and wheel cleaner to no avail)
Martin
Martin,
I had the same thing when I got my car. The black stuff came off with T-Cut and lots of scrubbing!!
adhesives react differently to various solvents.
Disclaimer: test the solvent on the back of the wheel to ensur it does not harm your wheel in any way.
From experience I can tell you that the best product available for this particular task is The Ultimate Goo Remover (Goof Off Brand) which is produced by the Specialty Business Unit of Lilly Industries, Inc. located in Grand Rapids, MI (USA). I'm not sure if they have a website, as I have not checked. However their phone number is 1-877-GOOF OFF.
This is a clear citrus solvent which does not stain or leave any residue when used properly per instructions on bottle.
Another product that will also do the trick by disolving the adhesive and not risk damaging the painted surface is WD-40. This also works great for removing tar, bugs, etc. from the exterior paint as well. The beauty of it is that it will not eat away polish or wax and obviously will not damage the paint in any way either.
Two solutions that are actually proven work. Hope this is helpful.
BTW Mike, both nail polish remover and especially Lacquer thinner will quickly dissolve paint. Especially that of the Enamel variety being that it is considerably softer than Lacquer to begin with. Even Rubbing Alchol can can do this as well. Especially if the surface has been repainted, as almost any "original" paint will be more durable than that which has be re-sprayed.
I just picked up my M5 yesterday and the wheels seems to have dirt spots on the wheels that look like dirty, but dried raindrops. I tried using Bug and Tar remover and nothing. I tried "Goof off" and again no luck. I haven't tried WD 40, but I can imagine that working better than Goof off. Any other suggestions as to how to get this off the wheels?
Don't even bother trying WD40, as you need something other than a solvent type product to remove what sounds like hard water spots from your rims. The previously mentioned products work great for one application only here, which is to remove wheel weight adhesives and also tar from rims and that’s all.
First though, did you by chance pick up that sweet black '91 E34 M5 with around 30K miles on it that was FS there locally in the St. Louis area?
Assuming that the rims in question are of the stock painted variety I'd recommend the following. First I'd try Meguiar's M07 Show Car Glaze since it is a non-abrasive polish that will only use the pad used itself along with the rubbing motion to gently polish the painted surface. As always I'd always recommend using the least abrasive products first and then work backwards to limit the amount of paint removed during the polishing process. If the spots have become literally etched into the surface you could then go to a more abrasive product like Meguiar's Fine Cut Cleaner M02 which is a slightly more aggressive product in regard to its actual abrasive qualities. This will also not harm or scratch the painted surface though so you don't have to worry about any other residual effects when using it properly. Obviously you should always use this process on the entire rim to achieve the most effective and consistent results overall. I’ll also mention that using a product such as Meguiar’s Final Inspection M34 or their consumer equivalent Quick Detailer once you are done will help prevent brake dust buildup in addition to cleaning away any residue left behind from the polishing process mentioned above. I always wipe my rims off with Final Inspection after washing any car and applying the appropriate tire dressing. This not only removes any dressing that may have mistakenly been touched on the rim as well as helping to repel the dreaded brake dust buildup on the rims.
If your rims happen to be polished (*) rather than painted you can use Meguiar’s NXT All Metal Polysh to gently remove any hard water spotting instead. This only if the rims are not clear coated.
(*) Do not, I repeat Do Not use any type of metal polish on any polished rims that have been clear coated, as you will only screw your rims up as a result. If the rims are clear-coated use only the process mentioned above for painted rims and NEVER use any form of metal polish on them. NEVER!!!
Even with that having been said I’m sure that someone will eventually read this and go down the wrong path and ruin their rims and reply later saying something like this does not work, etc. I’ve written this as simple as possible so that anyone can achieve excellent results when following the specific process regardless of the rim type used on their car. If you are not sure if your specific polished rim is clear coated or not please contact the wheel manufacturer and ask them, as that is always your best bet regardless before doing something that may actually harm the rims finish rather than correcting a pre existing problem instead.
Always be careful when polishing painted rims as well, as the more aggressive abrasives can quickly have you rubbing through the painted surface (silver) and into the black primer beneath. Always use common sense and your better judgment whenever you are tackling any project like this and ask questions whenever there is a question and or concern, etc. Whew, the disclaimer is nearly as long as the rest of the post itself here. ;-)
No I did not buy the 91 in St. Louis, I got an 02 E39. I am not sure what the E34 rims look like or if mine are polished, clearcoated, etc, but my spots are more than hard water spots. They look like dark gray brake dust that is in droplet form.
>”No I did not buy the 91 in St. Louis, I got an 02 E39. I am not sure what the E34 rims look like or if mine are polished, clearcoated, etc, but my spots are more than hard water spots. They look like dark gray brake dust that is in droplet form.”
As I understand it the E39 M5 rims were initially polished then painted in Shadow Chrome and finally clear coated by the wheel manufacturer that produced them for BMW. Therefore, this imperfection you are mentioning here is more than likely just into the clear coat only.
Without seeing as much as a photo of the damage you have so briefly described here I would have to say it is either minor paint etching caused by brake dust that has been exposed to droplet’s of water or perhaps even atmospheric fallout such as acid rain, etc. Remember brake dust can eat into either painted/clear coated and or polished aluminum surfaces if left for any length of time. This is especially the case when the brake dust is hot from either tracking the car and or otherwise spirited driving. Rain hitting on even a slight build up of brake dust can easily begin to eat into and or etch the surface in a fairly short period of time. This will create the exact scenario, which you have described here by the way, as you will visually see brownish/grayish spots on the rims surface depending on the actual coloration of the brake pads used on the car.
Using the process I have already suggested here for this type of rim you can remove this spotting on your rims. Remove the rims and clean them appropriately. Then polish them as suggested following all of this with a coat or two of your automotive wax of choice and you’ll be better protected against this I the future.
All of this actually depends simply on just how anal you are about maintaining your cars cosmetic appearance and nothing more. I’m well known amongst M5 owners globally to be one that perhaps takes all of this to an extreme. However, all of my cars basically look like they were new cars at all times including the two E34 M5’s which have 133K and 140K miles respectfully at the current time. Sure this takes a bit of effort, but the results speak for themselves as far as I’m concerned regardless.
M5saloon:
>”Lighter fluid is good for removing sticky residue!”
Lighter fluid can also quickly soften/deform painted surfaces as well. Especially if the surface has been re-painted so be careful here, as rather minor damage can easily and or quickly become something that will need to be painted again as a result.
I mentioned WD40 since it will not harm painted surfaces while quickly removing any adhesive/glue residue, tar, etc. WD40 has been used by countless body shops for this exact purpose ever since the product was first introduced back in the ‘70’s as I recall. I can tell you from experience that the same cannot be said about lighter fluid, as a quick drying Acrylic Enamel reducer such as Dupont’s 3812 for example would be used without ever even considering something like lighter fluid.
I’m providing this to help you as well as anyone else that happens to read this particular post. My input is based on my actual real-time experience after having grown up in the custom Corvette business and personally painting countless show cars and restored classics over the years.
- but i cant find anything to shift them. i have scaped away with a plastic spatula, as I dont want to scratch the alloys, but anyone know a decent solvent that will get rid of the final bits without damaging the laquer on the alloys (tried meths and wheel cleaner to no avail)
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