Salt on Stock Rims....How do I remove?

[MARKUS]

I'm about to return my lease (2003 Grand Am GT) which has the stock chrome wheels. I noticed around the lip of rim there is hardened salt...rock hard! How do I remove this???

I've tried hot water, soap, a scrub brush, special salt remover junk, rim cleaner and nothing has worked.

Please Help.

Thanks

[coupe]

Can you provide some pics of this?

[MARKUS]

Unfortunately I don't have pics and the car is going back tomorrow so I won't have time to take pics and post them as I'm working. Sorry.

[coupe]

Im having a hard time believing it is salt. Salt dissapates quickly when it comes into contact with water.

[MARKUS]

It's really strange because it is very very hard, and white in colour and is on all four wheels. I wish I could get pics.

[Lowizle]

try some purple power on them, purple power pretty much cleans everything

[TheTrader]

I think its just plain ole corosion... I have the same stuff on my rims, and they have never seen salt......

[03GAmSE]

Originally posted by TheTrader
I think its just plain ole corosion... I have the same stuff on my rims, and they have never seen salt......

I'm thinking it's that, mine have seen salt and i have the hard specs on some of the posts too, nothing i have used comes even close to removing any of it... it sucks!

[mdcarlson1006]

I know what you guys mean, I have the same problem. I haven't tried to get rid of it, hasn't really bothered me but here are some pics I just took...

[mdcarlson1006]

ha hahttp://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif
Talking my pic was too big to be attached to my original post so here it is.....

[Nighthawk243]

That looks like a failing finish on the wheels.

[cobourg]

i am stuck having to run my stock rim this winter . im thinking of sprying (FLUID FILM.wool wax formula) on them and my under body when the weather gets bad . has anyone ever tryed this ?

[scotiez]

That corrosion looks exactly like how mine looked before i replaced the rims with the ones i have now. I spent hours trying to get rid of the corrosion but nothing worked.

[99blackSE]

Yeah that looks like paint/finish failure.

[cobourg]

sand that little strip all the way around the rim and paint it the same color as the car ?

[coupe]

It would look gay IMO

[cobourg]

no myspace.com is gay

[mdcarlson1006]

I'm not too worried about it, as long as it does not spread. Other than that I wouldn't know how to remove it. Probably have to get them re-chromed and that would be too much hassle.

[GrandAm2000se]

Its from your weights for balancing the tires, i have the same problem, it occurs due to the lead on aluminum, nothing can remove it, unless you get it refinished.

[scotiez]

It's just plain ole corrosion. My Chrome techs started doing that after the 1st winter i had my car. I keep my car clean and washed all the time and it still happens. It's not from wheel weights either. My wheels were never off my car when it 1st started to happen. Plus the wheel weights were on the back side of the rims, ( on mine anyway). After being on the car for the second winter, and when i had the chance in the spring to finally get them all cleaned up with polish and wax, the corrosion was worse, alot worse. I spent hours and hours trying to get the corrosion off but nothing worked. Being the profectionist that i am i was not satisfied with the corrosion, I sold the rims and bought aftermarkets that i knew were gona hold up year after year. For the price that GM wants for factory GA rims its ridiculous cause the quality is crap.

Anyway thats my thoughts and ideas about the Chrome tech rims.

[ancona46]

its corrosion its caused by not washing the rims enough....me and my mother in law have the same car bought a month apart she barely ever washed hers...i always wash mine atleast once every 2 weeks


bottom line is she had the problem i dont neglect causes it

[mdcarlson1006]

That must be it, I wash my rims as much as possible and the corrosion hasn't gotten worse. The previous owner must not have washed them.

[scotiez]

I washed the chrome techs that i had on my car weekly, even in the winter and i still had corrosion. Our city doesn't use any salt on the streets for ice, just sand so salt isn't what caused it. I think its a quality issue in manufacturing. Some people have alot of corrosion and some do not. Everyone has there own theory, mine is quality of the medal. Reason for it is because of how anal i am on keeping my car clean and washing it weekly even in the winter, and i take special care on the wheels and i still had corrosion. Alot of the times my car gets washed two or three times a week, just because i can't stand to see any thing dirty on it. Another reason i think its a quality issue is because i know one person who had the chrome techs replaced under manufactures warranty. I wish i would have thought of that when i had mine, but i didn't think wheels would be covered in the warranty. Anyway thats my theory, everyone can think what they want, but this is what i believe.

[JBlack16]

I have the same problem and it must have been the previous owners that didn't clean em enough because now that i have to drive it during the winter i wash it every week. How much do you think it would cost to get refinished/ where would you em to get them refinished at. I'm not too worried about.

[jackpot]

yea that pic posted is exactly what is happening to my rims, sometimes it comes off in pieces, thin as paper, really annoys me, the same I wash my car often and its been this way since I bought the car

Would love to buy aftermarket rims but holy $$$$ batman lol, be a while at the earliest

its a bit of a piss off

peace
JP

[Rainbow1616]

I don't believe its neglect or not washing your car I just believe its random crap gm quality control. I bought my car new and wash it every week and I have the same corrosion. :(

What are good after market rims that won't do this???

[tenspeed]

What are good after market rims that won't do this???

Any time that bare aluminum metal comes in contact with heat, moisture and oxygen, you get aluminum oxide. A rim that eliminates it would be made out of a different material. I would think that most aftermarket rims are aluminum. Some have a clear coat, some are painted, some are powder coated, some are raw and have oil based metal polish on them.

The trick is to keep the oxygen away from the metal.