So I gave my car to these guys to wash while I was at work a few days ago and when I get the car back the rims look like ish.. needless to say i was not happy and they said that they use the same stuff on all the rims and tires and that this has never happened.

If anyone knows of anything that can get this back to normal without having to paint them PLEASE let me know!



They went from this:


To this:

holy ****!
that looks like super brake dust (hopefully) did you try scrubbing them?
The 'wheel cleaner' they used may have not been safe for your rims, or some new guy just simply sprayed the wrong bottle on there and ate away your paint. Give that place hell, I'm sure they could give a crap about most cars when they wash 'em.
GL with that man.

ha that last picture is 10 min after i watched them go over it with a chamois to dry it.. it's "clean"

and if you look it etched the brake calipers as well

youre probably **** out of luck... i doubt theres any kind of liability or warranty at a car wash.

go and put a brick thru there window with a note ... or walk in and ***** smack everyone and walk out without saying a word

I would sue.. get you a new set of g35's ...

i would've got a cop to write an incident report on that. there is liability, different state to state. get ahold of the owner and ***** up a storm until he does something. no way i would've left the property with my wheels f'ed up like that!!!

Looks they used some type of acid (lye) on there and it etched the wheels, kind of like when you spray Easy Off Oven Cleaner on aluminum.
I would ask the owner to pay for them, if they refuse, take them to court.

looks like they used some wheel acid and let it sit on them when they were hot....I used to work at infiniti for a while and all the noob detailers used to screw those g35's up all the time lol.I have the same wheels,with g35's you have to let them cool first,wet them first and then use some diluted wheel cleaner and spray, wipe and rinse them as quick as possible

I don't mean to thread jack, but how do you get your center caps to sit so flush like that? I have the 17" version of that wheel and when I put mine on they don't sit perfectly flush.

Minor trimming is required for them to sit flush.

OP, you got owned hard. Sorry to see. As others stated, I wouldn't have left w/o a written agreement to replace/repair from the owner.

Go back and hope he's cool about it, and hope he doesn't pull the "I don't remember you, why didn't you say something when it happened?" card.

On a side note, I'll never understand why people use car washes...asking for trouble IMHO.

Also, what have you done to try and remedy the problem, as far as cleaning/restoring products are concerned? Might be a simple fix w/ any luck.

dude, try goo gone... that stuff works wonders with alot of problems, i had dirt like this on my rims and i was pissed i couldnt get it off after scrubbing so hard, out of chance i saw goo gone and figured i would try it, and it worked, hope it works for you!

damn son i woulda smacked the **** out of the guy who did the rims , thats why i NEVER EVER go to a car wash , i wash my out shizzzz bc if anything does happen its my fault

if u can get a hold on afterlean , idk how to spell it but its a spray that they use in prep to taker care of things like this, or try the goo gone

Hit me up if you end up wanting another set. I am selling them off my 300zxt for a pair of racing weight 17x10s.

I used some of the best wheel cleaner I ever have the other day. I will get the name of the stuff for you. It got some nasty black crap off nothing else would. (Using a worn out scotchbrite pad is always a good idea IMO.)

GL

i have seen someone use one of the products to get the hazing off of the headlights before (they ran over very fresh asphalt and didnt know about it sticking to their rims for almost a week and they used it and it came right off.
second option you have is to scuff them down to get it off then clean them very well and re clear them

dude thats super ugly... sorry

my first job was a car wash. we had this wheel cleaner (wheel bright) that would eat the paint right off a wheel i know cuz it ate my wheel paint i hate to say it but i think they need a paint job

are those marks etched in? DID that stuff really eat away? try a really good cleaning by hand.

not that it helps now but i never allow them to use products on my wheels i dont want the over spray on my car. I use a good long life wax (collinite double coat) on my rims then everything easily wipes off of them no need to use harsh chemicals, plus if they do apply something the wax is eaten away instead of the paint.

people think googone is gonna magically restore his paint? did they even read the thread?

now adays with companies like alloy wheel repair and dentwiz, its not even that expensive to get somethin like this fixed.

haha guys stuff like goo gone and any form of a cleaner is not gonna work.. whatever he used ATE the paint.. the black stuff is not dirt.. that picture is of the wheel "clean" like i rubbed it with my finger and nothing

but i've been talking to the guy and we are finding someone to paint them because it's etched not dirty, at his expense of course!

and the ONLY reason i took the car to these guys is because they are well known in this tiny town and other than this ridiculousness they actually do a wonderful job and i work from around 9am to 10pm the majority of the week so i have lost time for simple things like washing the car.. and it's attached to a bbq joint

yes trimming for the center caps as well

im a detailer at a high end dealer, and i have to say, ive seen nothing like that.

we did have issues with wheel acids removing the zinc coating from the calipers and rotors, as well as softening and damaging the clearcoat, we had a big meeting and switched brands.

granitize is good stuff.

they used acid man...only way to get them to look nice again is to powdercoat/paint them. i only use soap because of that fear

+1

Soap, water, hard work is all u need to make them bishes shine!

QFT, when I worked at Volvo, the #1 thing they stressed was not to let the acid sit on the wheels, especially during hot days.

The only way to get them back to the way they were before is to repaint/powdercoat them unfortunately. You might be able to get them looking better from compounding/polishing but they won't ever be flawless.

And I always just use a new bucket of car wash soap on my wheels...never ever have I used acid/wheel cleaner.

oh yea...hot days + any strong chemical/degreaser = strong possibility of fail.

yea the acid + this good ole MS 108 degree heat and his lack of knowledge on the product he used is definitely the cause.. but i found a company in memphis that's gonna hook us up since it's only 3 of the rims that need help

itll buff out

FYI...i'd be ****tin..IJS

wow, reminds me of when you put bleach in a sink, and come back 10 minutes later and see the same type of black streaks

ha same idea.. cept uglier and more costly

so slowly but surely i'm getting them back in a uniform color and "good enough" condition



matched the center caps as well

Good to see your making progress!

A little late here but I had the same thing happen to my 2003 Titanium Edition 17s... peeled the paint right off the wheel. I wasn't as lucky as you in regards to getting compensation. I just got two from the junk yard and called it a day.

did you do it yourself or was it some guys cleanin your car like my situation? cause if it was them then they should have paid for it absolutely!

It was a carwash and It's too late now. This happened in winter which is the only time I don't wash my car since its cold...

That black stuff is actually all the tire gloss/old rubber that was built up on your tires and the chemical broke it loose and and never rinse it all off.....If it were damaged paint you wouldn't be able to clean it up at all!