"Westley's" Bleach White damage to Aluminum wheels ??

[marksjeep]

Greetings,
I mistakenly used some Westley's Bleach White on what I believe are cleat-coated Al wheels. They're American Racing Baja wheels. I immediately noticed staining and hosed them off ASAP, but the stains are still there. I also get a black residue on a rag when I applied Mothers cleaner wax to it in an effort to determine if I nuked the clear coat.

I assume the wheels were originally clear coated because they had a very polished appearance and I have yet to polish them. Can I polish them and re-clear coat the wheels? Do I need to remove the existing clear coat first? Should I try wet sanding and polishing? No pics, my digicam took a dump, but the wheels (two of five) are hazed over with streaks.

Thanks
Mark

[Forrest T.]

I'm not certain if the AR Baja wheels are coated or not, but Bleche White is certainly strong enough to stain a coated or non-coated wheel.

Try a small amount of Mag & Aluminum Polish on a clean towel. If it turns black when you start rubbing, the wheels are NOT coated, and you can continue to use the Mag & Aluminum Polish to remove the staining.

If the wheel does not turn black, the wheels are coated. In that case, you'll want a clear coat safe polish like our Clear Coat Wheel Polish to remove the staining. You may want to consider a safer tire cleaner in the future, to prevent wheel damage.