Cleaning 928 Anodised Wheels

[Ozvino]

I have recently undertaken an effort to clean my 928 S4 Factory Anodised wheels (these wheels are often referred to as “Manhole Covers” due to the unique look of the wheels). Here is my experience for consideration if you are planning to attempt this job.

WARNING: The factory platinum anodising is extremely sensitive to chemicals and easily damages, especially by caustic wheel cleaners. Be very careful if you plan on using an alternative wheel cleaner. This is based on my experience, please proceed with caution as once the anodised finish is damaged, it is very difficult and expensive to replace.

Also - be careful of the fumes from the wheel cleaner. Do this work outside, the odour is quite strong and can be overwhelming if you are sirectly standing over the cleaner as its reacting with the brake dust

- Cleaning Equipment Used

-          -  Running water (hose)

-          - A rubber door mat to place the wheels on when washing down to avoid scratching the finish

-         -  A semi-hard plastic bristle wheel brush

-          - A soft plastic bristle brush

-          - A scotch pad

-          - Bowdens “Wheely Clean” wheel cleaner

-          - Petroleum Jelly

-          - Autosol Anodised metal polish

-          - Microfiber clothes

-         -  Disposable gloves

 

1.       With very hot soapy water (use a ph-neutral car wash) wash the wheels down and scrub away all of the loose dirt and grime with a soft brush and running hose. Repeat this 2 to 3 times until all of the loose grime is gone.

2.       Wipe down the face of the wheels and let them dry. Apply a very thick coating of petroleum jelly to the anodised face of the wheels. This will act as a protective coating while you clean the back of the wheels. 

3.       Spray the wheel cleaner on the rear of the wheels and let it sit no longer than 3-5 minutes. Agitate the dirt and grime with a brush and it will start to lift. Rinse the wheel, front and back but leave the jelly in place. You are only cleaning the rear of the wheels at this stage. 

4.       Repeat the wheel cleaning/agitation with a brush 2-3 times or as long as needed to remove 90% of the brake dust and grime. 

5.       Lightly spray the inside of the wheel with the wheel cleaner and take a scotch pad to remove any baked in dirt spots. The inside of the wheels does not appear to be anodised so you can apply mild pressure but note the scotch pad will act as an abrasive. 

6.       For the area on the inner lip (you can see this from the front of the wheels) use a combination of the soft brush and scotch pad. Lightly spray the wheel cleaner and agitate/scrub with the brush. Continue until the wheel is clean enough to your liking. Note that I was not able to remove 100% of the brake grime but I was happy enough to get close to everything removed. 

7.       Start to work on the faces of the wheels. Wash them off and then buff away the petroleum jelly. This in itself will clean away much of the grime. 

8.       Apply the Autosol Anodised metal polish. This appears to be a very mild polish and in my experience resulted in no anodised metal staining or decolourisation. Buff the polish off and repeat as needed. 

9.       To finish the wheels, apply a light smear of Petroleum Jelly and then buff to a shine. 

Here are a number of pictures outlining my results. Note the first shot represents the extent of the brake dust that I had baked on the rear of the wheels. I was able to remove almost all of this from the wheels. I do have some spots where the brake dust has corroded the aluminium however I have left this rather than take on an aggressive clean with a wire brush.

My wheels are not Pebble Beach quality finish however I was happy with the results. They retain some small areas of brake dust staining that I am ok with, I felt that these could have been removed with more aggressive cleaning however I did not want to risk damage to the surface.

Also of interest – my wheels had Waxoil overspray from when the sealant was applied in the factory, I thought this was kind of cool in a sloppy 80s manufacturing way – cool Patina!

Hopefully you experience similar results

Cheers

Dave

 

[Diamond911]

Thanks for the write up Dave, nice work.

[ANF]

Very much clean on the back now, amazing that they were let to get that dirty! Mine look like your finished one. I imagine now that they are clean it will be fairly easy to keep that way.

Well done and thanks for the tips

[Niko]

Nice job Dave.   

[StevepGT3]

Just watched Kane at Zuffenhaus Classics clean wheels with his dry ice blaster, from worse than that to clean as In about 3mins 

[KGB]

You're a great help Steve, thanks.  Should have read your post first...

[Ozvino]

I did think about the dry ice cleaning but, alas, like lawn mowing, I get pleasure from this type of thing so I'm good doing it old school 

[StevepGT3]

You're a great help Steve, thanks.  Should gave read your post first...

glad to be of assistance 

[911sies]

Good write-up. To keep them clean, use Ferrous Dueller. Removes iron contaminants (brake dust) without acid or other harmful chemicals. Safe on bodywork too. 

The wheels "bleed" when the Dueller finds iron deposits. A quick balst with the Karcher and you barely need to touch the wheels.

 

 

[Ozvino]

Thanks - looks very similar to the Bowdens cleaner when it reacts, that also turns purple

[nick964]

Hi Ozvino,  re your warning above

WARNING: The factory platinum anodising is extremely sensitive to chemicals and easily damages, especially by caustic wheel cleaners. Be very careful if you plan on using an alternative wheel cleaner. This is based on my experience, please proceed with caution as once the anodised finish is damaged, it is very difficult and expensive to replace.

I think this might have happened to my wheels whilst i had my S4 in at Porsche Melbourne for some work.  There is a stain on one now that wouldn't come off with soap and water.  I took back to Porsche and they sent off to Wheel Solutions who have thrown up their hands and said "no can do".   

Do you think the dry ice blast from Kane would solve if a caustic cleaner has been used ?   and/or you somewhat more labour intensive method above ? 

thanks

Nick

 

[Ozvino]

Nick, if the anodising has been damaged or removed I'm sorry to say it's all over red rover. It's just a plating at the end of the day so cleaning it will make no difference. What I removed above was essentially road grime and brake dust sitting on top of the plating, the anodising (plating) on my wheels  is in reasonable condition but not concourse. 

If PCM have admitted to the damage I would be asking for two new wheels - one new wheel would stand out significantly. I believe the wheels are still available but worth a kings ransome. 

I looked into fresh anodising and the answer in Australia is forget about it. 

Dave

[Peter M]

Dave,

Thanks for your tip about Autosol Anodising Cleaner.  Bought some off Ebay and agree it works a treat!

Thanks again

Peter

[nick964]

Guys,

Porsche rang today to say they have fixed my anodised wheels..  well DENIS CAHILL PAINTFIX fixed them.

anyone heard of this guy ?   

I'm going to inspect wheels tomorrow.  any advice on what to look for to make sure they have been done right ? aside from the obvious "they look crap"

thanks

nick

 

[Airhead]

Ferrous Dueller.

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4zyjLyBp64

 

[Diamond911]

Guys,

Porsche rang today to say they have fixed my anodised wheels..  well DENIS CAHILL PAINTFIX fixed them.

anyone heard of this guy ?   

I'm going to inspect wheels tomorrow.  any advice on what to look for to make sure they have been done right ? aside from the obvious "they look crap"

thanks

nick

 

Nick, I would be asking questions about how they/he "fixed" your wheels. If they damaged your anodising the only way to properly fix them is to get the re-anodised (and this is very costly and hard to replicate the original finish). Is that what they planned to do?

That's why you see so many polished and repainted finishes out there as that's the easiest option once the anodising is shot.  Let us know how you go.

[Ozvino]

Guys,

Porsche rang today to say they have fixed my anodised wheels..  well DENIS CAHILL PAINTFIX fixed them.

anyone heard of this guy ?   

I'm going to inspect wheels tomorrow.  any advice on what to look for to make sure they have been done right ? aside from the obvious "they look crap"

thanks

nick

 

Nick, sounds suspect but I am very happy if someone has invented a new mousetrap. I'm more than happy to know if a "fix" exists. 

Look at the pics above, especially the close up of my wheel, that metallic fleck is the anodising and it is evident. FYI I rang around and spoke to quite a few people and did a lot of Internet research. I also went to Neway wheels who have a good wrap - they were honest and said I would easily pour $2k into 4 wheels and probably wouldn't be happy. 

Curious to see the outcome, all the best, keep us posted

Dave

[nick964]

yeah.. i'm a bit dubious.. but hopeful.  let's see.  will let you know.

[nick964]

the wheels had been polished and definitely looked better, but there are still traces of the white stain caused by the  G101 cleaner they used on the wheels.

Is there anyone, anywhere, that re-anodises wheels that anyone can recommend ?

thanks

nick

 

[Ozvino]

You would need to get all four wheels stripped, refinished/polished and then re-anodised, it's going to be impossible to do one wheel and get the colouring/finish anywhere hear the others given they last did that finish over 20 years ago.  My suggestion would be to talk to a number of the metal platers around Melbourne.

Like I said above, I was advised against this given the likely hood they can't get close to the Porsche finish. Your other option would be to strip and paint all 4 wheels silver or replace them with new wheels. 

If PCM have admitted to the damage have you asked them to replace the wheel? They are apparently available

[nick964]

thanks Ozvino.  they have admitted they did the damage by using the G101 cleaner, however have made it pretty clear that they do not intend to replace the wheels as my wheels were not perfect before the G101 damage.    But if it is not possible to re-anodise them to match factory then....  

What would the new wheels cost from Porsche ?

 

[ANF]

Not sure from Porsche, but http://www.alloywheelsdirect.net/porsche_alloy_wheels/928_s4_928_gt_alloys

[ANF]

What ever you do, be wary of powder coating them. I have heard stories from the US about the heat generated from the powder coating process having a negative affect on the forged wheels.

[Bernie Knight]

ANF

Mmm worth noting. I did hear chrome can also weaken. 

[ANF]

I would believe that too Bernie, best to leave then as is (or buy new ones.....!)

This topic has me a little worried now..... I recently had a wheel alignment and balance carried out and I specifically told them not to clean my wheels, he duly listened (as I have been using this guy for years) and did not, just as well as they use an acid based cleaner!! My wheels have a gold hue, I know you can still buy the silver ones new (very expensive, but you can still get them) but I do not think you can get the "gold" ones..... shit my wheels are very rare!!