Bad idea the oven cleaner. I’ve tried it on spare parts as a test and it is pretty harsh. Especially for 20-30 minutes thats insane. I’d try with a mild formula like soap, then goo gone, then something like P21S. Meguiars makes a wheel cleaner that is pretty tough but I haven’t seen it eat paint or clearcoat. Thats worth a try since its easy to get in stores wereas P21S isn’t.
formula 409 works too.
Brian
the oven cleaner method you posted is OBVIOUSLY for STRIPPING the wheels so they can be repainted
I’ve used oven cleaner on other aluminum parts before, including for cleaning cylinder heads, and never had it do much damage. Like I said, I will try soft, and go to harsh, and see what works, and let you guys know.
–mark
I’d definitely try some aggressive wheel cleaner from a decent brand (meguiars etc) before trying some home remedy. Grab a small brush or something - like a toothbrush and go at it. Make sure to observe the “maximum” times listed on the cleaner bottle.
Update:
Now that the wheels are so bad that I don’t care about them too much, I figured why not try some SUPER FINE steel wool and see what it would do. Even if it took the clear coat off of the wheel, its not going to look worse than it does now. Well… this is a before and after picture of the one spoke on the wheel, after spending less than 30 seconds on it. Look how much better it looks! If I spend about an hour or so a wheel, getting them perfect, they are going to look awesome compared to how they do now!
I was desperate and used steel wool, it looks great from a few feet away but if you look closely you can see fine scratches. Wax hides the tiny scratches. Detailers must have some super secret magic potion because somehow they manage to remove the brown crud.
Yea, I definitely plan on using some nice hard wax on them when I am all through with them. I am very happy with how easily the crud comes off though. The corners will be tough, but I have time. They aren’t going to be getting any worse from me working on them!
One thing to remember is that the little pieces you scrub off will get caught in the steel wool and cause bigger scratches so be careful.
i didnt know we had 35 days in march… let alone any month 
Try a mothers mini powerball and polish perhaps. cleaned up my calipers and rims on the roush perfectly which were caked with brake dust and dirt. and itd be 10x easier to get in the corners and tight spots as well.
if not then just use it to buff out the wheel when your done with using the steel wool
I came in here just to post something that.
And tell mark he sucks.
fcuk beaten
I was thinking the same thing. It won’t hurt the wheels either.
Think the powerball is going to take off years of caked on rust and shit like that?
it did on mine. but like i said if it doesnt. it will make them nice and shiny after your done using whatever else you use. so you would use it either way regardless
Spray Nine works awesome on wheel gunk, I use it on the truck every spring. Give it a try and see how much of it comes off.
I’ll give it a shot!
from what I can see in those picture you want to use chemicals and not abrasion to clean them up.
sure the powerball will remove the dirt, and the clear coat. will probably end up looking worse a few weeks later.
what I would do.
- wheel cleaner, let sit for like 5 mins, agitate with an old rag, clean off
- repeat step one
- clay bar them
- if needed compound them
- beyond that give up and respray them.
I don’t know why giving up and respraying them would come before using an abrasive, heh.