Tar & Discoloured wheels

[Chattonmill]

My Missus has just down the Bi-annual clean of the Merc and it has thrown up a couple of bits.
With all the road repairs I have collected an amazing amount of tar on the car(either that or I have been melting the tyres) does anyone have a good solution for tar removal? Product etc.
Also the Alloys are tarnished a goldy sort of colour, I assume a good cleaner is needed, any recommendations?
Cheers
Max

 

[KillerHERTZ]

WonderWheels. Will clean any wheels making them look like new.

 

[wemorgan]

My Missus has just down the Bi-annual clean of the Merc and it has thrown up a couple of bits.
With all the road repairs I have collected an amazing amount of tar on the car(either that or I have been melting the tyres) does anyone have a good solution for tar removal? Product etc.

Try a Meguiars clay kit.

 

[Chattonmill]

WonderWheels. Will clean any wheels making them look like new.

Is that the car plan one?

Try a Meguiars clay kit.

I have never tried a clay kit, is there any chance of getting it wrong

Thanks Guys

 

[wemorgan]

I have never tried a clay kit, is there any chance of getting it wrong

I'm no expert, but I've used it several times on my old CLK and once on the A2. The only tip I can give is keep the surface well lubricated with the supplied bottle of 'stuff'. It removed all the visible road tar from my cars, plus the general grime I never knew was there

I hope a more experienced user can come along to give more comprehensive advice.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Yeah, thread on it HERE

 

[Alps]

yep its the car plan one, halfords had a good deal on the 4 ltr gallon. for the yellowy residue use the clay kit as mentioned above, then t-cut it, then use something like autogym super resin polish, and they will come out like new, its a bit of work, but worth it.

I done the clay\cut\wax to the bodywork this weekend and was amazed at teh amount of sap\tar that you couldnt see that came off, paint is like glass now! probably need a few more claying sessions and a few stonchips touching up before i`ll be totally happy!

 

[blondebier]

does anyone have a good solution for tar removal? Product etc.

Hi Max,

I usually use a bit of WD40 on a clean cloth and that usually gets rid of tar splashes.

I'm sure there are products that are specially designed for it, but WD40 works pretty well, and I've always got some in the house.

 

[Chattonmill]

Hi Max,

I usually use a bit of WD40 on a clean cloth and that usually gets rid of tar splashes.

I'm sure there are products that are specially designed for it, but WD40 works pretty well, and I've always got some in the house.

Having had a closer look, it is not just a couple of splashes The whole car is covered! Not a smooth panel to be felt.....I feel this could take a while. Will try the WD40 later.

 

[Howard]

White spirit will do the same thing ....

Soak a rag in it , and wipe the panels down .... you will need to re-apply wax afterwards as it will strip it .

 

[kwakdonut]

WonderWheels. Will clean any wheels making them look like new.

Only if your wheels are perfect! This stuff eats alloys if you have lost lacquer anywhere.

I am +1 for the Meguairs Clay Kit. Used it on mine and got all tar off easily. One wax later and it looks and feels fantastic!

 

[comports]

And Clay for me every time. Very easy to use - although can be hard work - but the results are amazing.

Simply spray the lubricant (or diluted washing up liquid) on the panel, rub with clay bar (Do not drop the clay bar in the dirt though) and the panels come up clean and as smooth as glass, ready for a polish or wax.

 

[st13phil]

I've never tried getting tar spots off with a clay bar, but have had very good results with Autoglym's Intensive Tar Remover. As others have already said, whatever you choose to use you will need to apply polish afterwards.

 

[Lockking]

Drop of petrol on a cloth does it.

 

[Sp!ke]

Simply spray the lubricant (or diluted washing up liquid) on the panel, rub with clay bar (Do not drop the clay bar in the dirt though) and the panels come up clean and as smooth as glass, ready for a polish or wax.

I dont think you should be using washing up liquid, its full of salt and other nasties.

 

[H13BS M]

Hi there I do this everyday so here are my full proof products. To remove tar from wheels and bodywork with ease and safetly, then the best product is tardis. This is most defently the best tar remover on the Market. Then for the wheels buy urself some bilberry wheel cleaner. This is a non acid wheel cleaner that packs a punch without it eating the laquer off like the awful acid wheel cleaners on the Market.leave it to dwell on the bone dry wheels as it will stick 100% much better then if you apply wheel cleaner to a wet wheel. After it's dwelled for 10-15 mins then start scrubbing with you wheel brushes ect, till your happy, then rinse off. Once rinsed, get yourself some clay( sonus green is a resinable price and quite good) and rubbed all over the wheel with moderate pressure. You will need a quick detailed for lubricate, as the clay will stick to the surface making it hard to remove defects. Then using this and then a combo of tardis, will remove the defects and alot of oxidations. Once done rinse the wheel off and dry. Then your wheel will be clean but will still might be slightly discoloured. If this is the case, go buy a pre wax cleaner like lime prime, but make sure it has micro abrasives in it. This will eat the last of the oxidations and bring clarity bk to the wheel.make sure though that you work it in until the pre wax cleaner as turned clear. This way you will know that the micro abrasives in the pre wax cleaner have broke down and eaten as much oxidations out of the surface. Once this is done, buff off with a microfibre. Now you will be left with a true colour, defect free alloys. At this point you will relisr how much work you have put into the wheels and will think,' I don't want the wheels to get wreck again as it took so long to correct the issue'. Trust me this will be the case. So go buy a heat proof sealent called fk1000p. 2 coats of this on each wheel, and your have no worries for 6 months, whatever the weather. This sealent withstands heat generated by breaks so is an awsume product for wheels. Plus you can use it on the paintwork before winter to protect it over the winter months. Apply this to the wheels like wax and leave to cure for 45 mins, then buff off. If your gona pit 2 coats on, leave for 24 hours to let that coat soak into the surface.once this is all done you'll never have a problem again! Just top the wheels up with fk1000p every 6 months!

Sorry there's proberly lots of spelling mistakes as I'm typing this on my iPhone, so forgive me! Lol!

Hope this helps mike

 

[Nasco12]

^ Wow.

 

[Chattonmill]

^ Wow.

+1
Thanks for that, I have been shopping....well internet shopping and have purchased all sorts of goodies.
I have never been one for over kill on car cleaning, but this may change everything!
To start I relocated the Meguiars factory to my driveway with the following:

NXT Generation Car wash Shampoo
Smooth surface clay kit
Deep Crystal Polish
NXT Generation Paste Tech Wax 2.0

Also some Wonder wheels

Looks like my weekend is accounted for then
Thanks for all the advice and help.

Oh and once I had ordered all of that I went out with the WD40......Works a treat, so could have saved myself time and effort

 

[Oily Rag]

^ Wow.

Yep, WOW, he's the man. Again, in depth, and understandable(despite spelling mistakes)analysis of the correct way to clean your wheels, and by the way H13BS is doing himself out of some trade to tell you this, so don't tell anyone.!!!!!!!!

 

[Chattonmill]

I have now ordered some bilberry wheel cleaner as well to avoid killing the alloys!