Hot Rims paint damage

[ajent]

I used Hot Rims Chrome Wheel Cleaner with no issues on my wheels, but my grill is chrome so I had the idea to spray it on and let it sit, hopefully to help remove bugs, then I went inside. Well I forgot about it, until the next day, so I washed my car and noticed the cleaner got onto my bumper and now looks like maybe the clear coat was damaged. I tried the clay bar, quick detail wax, etc. but I can't get rid of it. The damaged looking areas are not smooth like the rest of the truck.

Will it need to be repainted?











I took a credit card and scraped a little area and it seemed to go straight to the bumper, paint came right off.

[Marc08EX]

Re: Hot Rims paint damage

Have you tried a paint cleaner such as ultimate compound? Do you have a D/A polisher?

I would give ultimate compound a shot first. Please let us know how it works out.

[ajent]

Re: Hot Rims paint damage

No I haven't tried any paint cleaner yet. I will try that, thanks for the quick reply.

[Marc08EX]

Re: Hot Rims paint damage

I'm looking forward to hearing the results. I hope the paint cleaner clears out the damage.

Do you have a D/A buffer?

BTW, to MOL!

[ajent]

Re: Hot Rims paint damage

No I don't have the buffer I work on the road so don't have room to have a lot of things with me.

[Marc08EX]

Re: Hot Rims paint damage

Just make sure to put some passion when applying the paint cleaner you're using and do overlapping passes on the affected areas. Work on a small area as well.

Have you tried it already?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Hot Rims paint damage

Ouch.

We really hate to say this, but you may have really shot yourself in the foot with this one. It's really unfortunate that you left this sitting on the paint for so long......... but we really don't want to beat you up too much here, we're sure you're doing enough of that on your own right now.

Definitely try using some Ultimate Compound, and don't be afraid to get a bit aggressive with it. You should be able to improve the appearance somewhat, but total correction may not be possible here. Chrome wheel cleaner is an acid based wheel cleaner that should be used on chrome only with care taken for surrounding materials such as powder coated or anodized brake components, etc. The bottle also states that it should not be used on motorcycles and we often get calls asking why not? The answer is because there are usually some delicate surfaces in close proximity to motocycle wheels that can be damaged by such an aggressive product. Spraying this onto a chrome grille might sound reasonable, but there's virtually no way to avoid getting at least some overspray onto the paint, perhaps some nearby plastic trim, etc.

Our fear here is that the product has etched so deeply into the paint (supported, unfortunately, by your description of it not being as smooth as the surrounding paint) and that a respray is going to be needed. So..... go at it with the Ultimate Compound and some pretty good elbow grease at this point. It may only help so much, but unfortunately at this point you may not have much to lose.

[ajent]

Re: Hot Rims paint damage

I've noticed yesterday my calipers are no longer shiny & neither is the locking lug nuts. I didn't leave the product on long on the wheels & seem to have same issue as the infinity owner.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Hot Rims paint damage

I've noticed yesterday my calipers are no longer shiny & neither is the locking lug nuts. I didn't leave the product on long on the wheels & seem to have same issue as the infinity owner.

Even though the Chrome Wheel Cleaner may be the correct choice for a chrome wheel, it is important to consider other nearby materials that may not be safe when using this product. Aftermarket brake parts such as powder coated calipers or rotor hats, or even factory finished parts like this, often are not up to withstanding the acidity of Chrome Wheel Cleaner. Do you have any pictures of the calipers and lugnuts?